General Design Category

Taylor 28 - MERIT AWARD
Mithun

Project Description:
In Seattle's urban core, more than 35 percent of the open space exists within the public right-of-way street network. Until now, streets were viewed solely in terms of moving people, goods and services through a linear corridor. Taylor 28 changes that perception by demonstrating the value of streetscapes in the overall ecological and social fabric of our cities, giving back to the community by repurposing roadways as places in daily life.

Numerous innovations were required for Taylor 28 to achieve this vision, starting with forging a partnership between public and private systems. The rainwater reuse system illustrates the necessity of this collaboration, as it captures and stores rainwater for non-residential toilet flushing and to irrigate planting areas located both on private property and in the right of way. This seemingly simple decision actually goes against standard thinking in municipalities where separate water rights and maintenance issues dictate how the systems operate.

Taylor 28 employs extensive goals for rebalancing the neighborhood's ecological footprint, including strategies for rainwater infiltration, urban heat island reduction, air quality improvement, carbon reduction, and urban tree canopy and habitat restoration. The rainwater management system at Taylor 28 maintains pedestrian safety while achieving a zero-discharge site up to a 25-year storm level through the capture, storage, reuse and infiltration of the rainwater.

Promoting walkability in our cities has typically focused on improving physical connections such as sidewalks and street crossings. To make our communities walkable, we must also identify what makes people want to visit places on foot. Taylor 28 takes walkability to the next level by incorporating the psychological comforts of place, creating a sense of community and connection with nature.

Taylor Avenue attracts a multitude of users by various modes of access. Ground level retail opens up onto exterior public spaces with built-in and movable seating to offer visitors a variety of choices: contemplative space or user interaction, sitting indoors or out, in the sun or beneath a tree, dining with friends or reading a book. The space is abuzz day and night in an area that previously was devoid of interaction.

Jury Comments:
One of the issues facing our cities today is the need to transform decaying auto-oriented sectors to new uses. Taylor 28 project transformed an austere freeway-like street in a neglected part of downtown Seattle into a multi-use corridor that reclaims the street as urban open space. Taylor 28 transforms part of the street into a linear plaza a mimimum of 38 feet wide that integrates a number of functions: it captures stormwater in lushly planted rain gardens, provides generous space for pedestrians and bicyclists, and includes artful detailing to create a sense of space unique to the street. Taylor 28 constitutes a model of turning underused urban streets into vital pedestrian zones.