THE SEATTLE STORMWATER CENTER
+ URBAN REST STOP
Winter 2022, Graduate School, Instructor Myer Harrell
Situated next to the Yard56 | Ballard Mixed-Use project, this studio focused on providing a institutional building dedicated to stormwater research and water-reuse strategies.
The project sits West of Yard56, extending the public sidewalk and gathering spaces through the use of rotating massing and embracing the public realm.
Through architectural storytelling, the Seattle Stormwater Center + Urban Rest Stop addresses Seattle’s need for minimizing stormwater runoff to help keep the city’s lakes and wildlife clean and healthy.
STORMWATER RUNOFF
Current development in major cities have changed the natural landscape. The PNW was once an area with a dense tree canopy which allowed rainfall to fall on leaves and tree surfaces in order to allow for 50% of total rainfall evaporation. The other half (49.8%) infiltrated the soils and replenished the aquifer.
In contrast, development has caused an anthropogenic shift. Impervious surfaces have begun to dominate urban spaces, and dense tree canopies have been diminished. This shift has prevented rainfall from evaporating and infiltrating into the soil. Currently, about 83% of rainfall turns into stormwater runoff taking with it the toxins and chemicals from cars and roads into bodies of water.
As the annual rate of rainfall increases due to climate change, stormwater pollutants that affect local wildlife and water quality levels have inceased as well.
MASSING
URBAN REST STOP
