West Lake Union Traverse

Abstract

I am fascinated by one's ability to drift through a space. In an unobstructed environment, water and people flow; people might drift and wander while water takes a more direct route, but both generally follow paths of least resistance. These paths of least resistance are shaped by fine grained elements of built environments, climatic zones, subtle changes in topography and widening and narrowing of a path. Yet, the infrastructure that binds us together and the architecture within it appear large: networks and nodes of roads, energy, and communication reach widely to offer services but in doing so, divide space . The closer you look, the more you see, and the work of several designers and urban thinkers, specifically Irenee Scalbert, Lucius Burckhardt, The Situationists and Robin Dripps, inspire us to look more closely at how space is shaped by infrastructure; a careful and thorough inspection of our surroundings inspires site-specific amendments. The path is as important as the destination. In contrast to Rem Koolhaas' "The Problem of Large," what are the advantages of small? How can infrastructure be used to shape space at a site scale and to facilitate small moments in our urban landscape against a backdrop of infrastructural larger intentions? This thesis focuses specifically on the intersection between walking and space: how might each be used to inform the other and ultimately what is the effect of our social constructions of space on the quality of our walking? More specifically, how can walking be used as a way to transcend the way space has been circumscribed with lines intended to control, and reveal a whole landscape? Ultimately this project will explore design interventions that challenge how we perceive the space around us in order to facilitate pedestrian movement through the landscape of Western Lake Union. In the following section I will explore mapping strategies for visually communicating the many meanings of place. I will then look at design projects that focus on the experience of walking with special attention to scale of intervention, route and destination and connection to the landscape. Additionally, I will zoom out to explore examples of larger landscape infrastructure projects intended to connect the site to a larger urban framework. The design examples I have found the most inspiring are those that are responding to qualities of the land on a small scale, while maintaining a vision for how the site interventions will aggregate and function at a larger scale.