Allied Works selected for Vancouver Community Connector project
Oct 19, 2009
Allied Works Architecture and landscape partners Gustafson Guthrie Nichol of Seattle, with Arup engineering and artist Beliz Brother, were selected to design the Vancouver Community Connector – a new park, civic space and highway crossing in Vancouver, Washington. The new Connector is intended to unite the city’s growing downtown with the Fort Vancouver Historic Reserve, site of one of the oldest settlements west of the Mississippi River. In the process, it will reclaim the ground lost in the construction and expansion of Interstate 5 and the Columbia River Crossing project.
The design re-presents and interprets the iconic landscape, geology and cultural history of Washington and the Columbia River, supports existing historic amenities and offers a direction for new development. Above, the Connector features a sheltered central promenade lined with flowing water, a native Camas prairie and a wetland meadow with space for rest and reflection. At highway level, an articulated concrete structure provides durability, sound mitigation, and framed views of the landscape, city and sky.
The selection was made after a nationwide search for design teams and an intensive finalist design competition and public presentation. The jury remarked that the proposal was “the most powerful and elegant resolution of the desires set forth in the competition, and best responds to the vision of the Community Connector.”
For more information, please refer to the following articles and resources:
Allied Works Architecture and landscape partners Gustafson Guthrie Nichol of Seattle, with Arup engineering and artist Beliz Brother, were selected to design the Vancouver Community Connector – a new park, civic space and highway crossing in Vancouver, Washington. The new Connector is intended to unite the city’s growing downtown with the Fort Vancouver Historic Reserve, site of one of the oldest settlements west of the Mississippi River. In the process, it will reclaim the ground lost in the construction and expansion of Interstate 5 and the Columbia River Crossing project.
The design re-presents and interprets the iconic landscape, geology and cultural history of Washington and the Columbia River, supports existing historic amenities and offers a direction for new development. Above, the Connector features a sheltered central promenade lined with flowing water, a native Camas prairie and a wetland meadow with space for rest and reflection. At highway level, an articulated concrete structure provides durability, sound mitigation, and framed views of the landscape, city and sky.
The selection was made after a nationwide search for design teams and an intensive finalist design competition and public presentation. The jury remarked that the proposal was “the most powerful and elegant resolution of the desires set forth in the competition, and best responds to the vision of the Community Connector.”
For more information, please refer to the following articles and resources: