Weiss/Manfredi Architects - Olympic Sculpture Park

Final Design
Weiss/Manfredi
Olympic Sculpture Park
Seattle, Washington

Image courtesy Weiss/Manfredi

The Seattle Art Museum recently unveiled the design for the Olympic Sculpture Park by Weiss/Manfredi. The unique Z-shaped design connects three disparate sites, currently separated by train tracks and roadways, and joins art, city and sound into one continuous landscape.

"Our design is conceived as a continuous surface that unfolds as a landscape for art, wandering from the city across highway and rail lines to reach the water's edge.
This new topography, sculpted to rise over the existing infrastructure, creates an uninterrupted landform for sculpture, offering settings to view the city and the sound".
Weiss/Manfredi

Situated at Seattle's edge, between the modern cityscape and the natural beauty of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, the design will transform the waterfront property from a former industrial site into a vibrant green space where people can experience modern and contemporary art beyond the museum's walls.

Image courtesy Weiss/Manfredi

The top of the park, at the city's edge, features a transparent pavilion that becomes a luminous beacon at night. A descending pedestrian route links three archetypal landscapes of the Northwest: a dense temperate evergreen forest of fir, cedar, ferns and native huckleberry; a transitional forest featuring deciduous trees such as oaks, aspens and maples; and a shoreline garden that features low-lying pines and a series of aquatic terraces with kelp, algae and underwater grasses that form a regenerative landscape for fish.
The shoreline garden's stepped aquatic terraces are revealed and concealed with tidal fluctuations and will support salmon recovery in Elliott Bay. Native plants will provide an important backdrop for learning about and experiencing the Puget Sound's unique physical environment.

Image courtesy Weiss/Manfredi

The park will join celebrated cultural landmarks that have contributed to the area's architectural renaissance, including Robert Venturi's downtown Seattle Art Museum building, Steven Holl's Saint Ignatius Chapel, Frank Gehry's Experience Music Project, Rem Koolhaas' upcoming Seattle Public Library and the Seattle Symphony's LMN-designed Benaroya Hall.





				Features
		Final Design Weiss/Manfredi Olympic Sculpture Park Seattle, Washington Image courtesy Weiss/Manfredi The Seattle Art Museum recently unveiled the design for the Olympic Sculpture Park by Weiss/Manfredi. The unique Z-shaped design connects three disparate sites, currently separated by train tracks and roadways, and joins art, city and sound into one continuous landscape. "Our design is conceived as a continuous surface that unfolds as a landscape for art, wandering from the city across highway and rail lines to reach the water's edge. This new topography, sculpted to rise over the existing infrastructure, creates an uninterrupted landform for sculpture, offering settings to view the city and the sound". Weiss/Manfredi Situated at Seattle's edge, between the modern cityscape and the natural beauty of Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, the design will transform the waterfront property from a former industrial site into a vibrant green space where people can experience modern and contemporary art beyond the museum's walls. Image courtesy Weiss/Manfredi The top of the park, at the city's edge, features a transparent pavilion that becomes a luminous beacon at night. A descending pedestrian route links three archetypal landscapes of the Northwest: a dense temperate evergreen forest of fir, cedar, ferns and native huckleberry; a transitional forest featuring deciduous trees such as oaks, aspens and maples; and a shoreline garden that features low-lying pines and a series of aquatic terraces with kelp, algae and underwater grasses that form a regenerative landscape for fish. The shoreline garden's stepped aquatic terraces are revealed and concealed with tidal fluctuations and will support salmon recovery in Elliott Bay. Native plants will provide an important backdrop for learning about and experiencing the Puget Sound's unique physical environment. Image courtesy Weiss/Manfredi The park will join celebrated cultural landmarks that have contributed to the area's architectural renaissance, including Robert Venturi's downtown Seattle Art Museum building, Steven Holl's Saint Ignatius Chapel, Frank Gehry's Experience Music Project, Rem Koolhaas' upcoming Seattle Public Library and the Seattle Symphony's LMN-designed Benaroya Hall. Related Web links: Seattle Art Museum Weiss/Manfredi arcspace features August 12, 2002