Leave it better: a sound new park: an art park overlooking the Puget Sounds turns wasteland into recreational space.

Project:

Olympic Sculpture Park, Seattle, Wash.

Problem:

The site of Seattle's last remaining waterfront property has been home to a number of landscape-deteriorating developments. Originally a bluff overlooking the Puget Sound, the site was flattened for construction in the early 1900s. It was later the location of a fuel transfer facility. Despite the property's valued location, its industrial history left it unsightly and contaminated with toxic chemicals.

Solution:

The Seattle Art Museum purchased the land for parks for the city of Seattle in 1999 to aid with the expansion of the museum's facilities. The idea was to provide the city with a free park that could be a venue for large art installations and outdoor features, while highlighting the natural landscape and a giving the community a recreation area. The park offers views of the Olympic Mountains, Ellicott Bay and the Seattle skyline, and the design incorporates a 2,200-foot "Z"-shaped path that crosses the park from a steel and glass art pavilion and through outdoor sculpture galleries toward the waterfront.

Cost:

The Seattle Art Museum raised $85 million to cover land acquisition, construction costs, architecture fees, a portion of the artistic program and an endowment for future park operations.

Lead Time:

The land was acquired in 1999 and the museum was ready to put a plan into action, but Erika Lindsay with the Seattle Art Museum says there were snags in the planning. "In 2001, we had a sizeable earthquake that made it apparent to us that the seawall was vulnerable." After two years of negotiations, plans moved forward in late 2003. The park will officially open late this summer.

Partnerships:

The museum worked with the Trust for Public Land to purchase the three parcels that make up the park's land, the area is considered to be owned by the city.

Community impact:

The park will serve the community as a place for cultural and recreational enjoyment. "Our fundamental aspiration was to create a sculpture park at the intersection of the city and sound, defining a new model for bringing art to the public and the public to the park," says Marion Weiss, principal of Weiss/Manfredi Architects.

Visit Olympic Sculpture Park during NRPA's National Congress and Exposition, October 10-14 in Seattle, Wash.