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Design Waller Creek Finalist

Posted May 7th, 2012 by nate_cormier

Waller Creek, Austin, Texas

Design Waller Creek selected the Turenscape + Lake|Flato team, including SvR, to be one of four finalists in a competition to design a new world-class urban open space corridor in Austin, Texas. Turenscape of Beijing (www.turenscape.com/english) is internationally recognized for its expertise in revitalizing urban waterfronts through innovative and ecological landscape design. Lake|Flato of San Antonio (www.lakeflato.com) is an AIA National Firm Award winner and its architecture has been lauded for its responsiveness to climate, landscape and the regional vernacular.

Building on past collaborations in international competitions, SvR and Turenscape have formed a strategic partnership to facilitate Turenscape’s work in the United States. For Waller Creek, SvR’s Nate Cormier is the Turenscape + Lake|Flato team’s project manager and SvR’s Peg Staeheli is the team’s green infrastructure design lead.

The competition’s first stage selected 9 lead design pairs from dozens of portfolios received. The second stage winnowed these 9 to 4 teams based on full team qualifications, management plans, and April interviews with a distinguished jury that includes Seattle’s Rich Haag. In the third, and final, stage these 4 teams have been directed to develop detailed design concepts for public display and presentations to the Jury in October of 2012.

The Waller Creek Conservancy has committed to raising $50-60 million for the implementation of the first phase of the winning proposal. We’re looking forward to an inspiring summer of fast-paced design workshops in Austin, Beijing, San Antonio and Seattle. You can learn more at www.wallercreek.org.

Turenscape + Lake|Flato team preparing for Stage 2 interview

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Interpretive Benchbacks at Duwamish Hill Preserve

Posted October 4th, 2011 by nate_cormier

Thank you to Mette Hanson, interpretive planner and artist, for her beautiful work on a series of etched aluminum benchbacks at Duwamish Hill Preserve. These simple seating areas act as touchstones for education and interpretation during visits to the Hill. Their themes were synched up with views from each sandstone bench. We’re really pleased with the interpretive artwork itself and also the fact that it allowed us to forgo stand-alone panels so the landscape itself can tell the real story.

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Duwamish Hill Preserve Receives King County’s John D. Spellman Award

Posted June 2nd, 2011 by nate_cormier

SvR, in partnership with Friends of the Hill, Cascade Land Conservancy, and the City of Tukwila has been selected to receive the John D. Spellman Award for Achievement in Historic Preservation for its “exemplary work to preserve and interpret the Duwamish Hill Preserve.” Nate Cormier, ASLA, LEED AP, and Tom von Schrader, PE, LEED AP, will attend a ceremony on Friday, June 17^th, 2011 to receive the award from County Executive Dow Constantine and the King County Landmarks Commission.

Duwamish Preserve Hill is a 9-acre nature park on an unusual outcropping of bedrock rising beside the Duwamish River. The property is culturally significant to the Muckleshoot and Duwamish tribes for its association with Southern Puget Sound Salish oral tradition and mythology. Working with the tribes, the Cascade Land Conservancy, and the City of Tukwila, SvR developed a phased master plan and detailed designs for the first phase, including trails, interpretives, viewpoints, and an outdoor classroom. Phase 1 was constructed in 2009-2010. Design of Phase 2 is underway.

Tags: landscape architecture
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The Science of LID: Washington Stormwater Center Dedication

Posted May 24th, 2011 by nate_cormier

WSU’s LID Research Program Director, Curtis Hinman, demonstrates the rapid infiltration capacity of the porous concrete.

SvR’s Peg Staeheli, Kathy Gwilym, and Nate Cormier attended the dedication of the Washington Stormwater Center, formerly the Washington State University-Puyallup LID Research Center, on March 20, 2011. SvR worked with leading soil, plant, and hydrology researchers to design and engineer this pioneering research facility. The Center’s “designed experiments” include:

a parking lot with test cells to evaluate flow control and water quality performance of porous asphalt and pervious concrete
a grid of rain gardens comparing the water quality and flow control performance of various plant palettes and maintenance regimes
a gallery of soil mesocosms comparing the performance of various soil mixtures

Taken together, these LID stormwater features will allow in-depth and long-term research into the effectiveness of green stormwater infrastructure, providing relevant, high-quality data that will help improve policy and design. The event included speeches by Congressman Norm Dicks, WSU President Elson Floyd, and EPA Regional Director Dennis McLerran, among others. The event also celebrated the announcement of the Center as the Pacific Northwest location for the EPA’s Green Infrastructure Partnership, a program to disseminate leading research and technical information nationwide.

You can learn more about the Center at: http://www.puyallup.wsu.edu/stormwater/

WSU’s LID Center Project Manager, Tanyalee Erwin, introduces the guest speakers. Seated from left are Josh Baldi from the Washington State Department of Ecology, WSU President Elson Floyd, EPA Regional Director Dennis McLerran, and Herman Dillon, Sr. Chairman of the Puyallup Tribe.