Key Development in Vancouver, Washington, USA

Located in southern part of Washington State, just across the Columbia River from Portland Allied Works Architecture and Gustafson Guthrie Nichol team wins competition to design Vancouver Community Connector It was announced on Monday, October 22, 2009, that the Gustafson Guthrie Nichol + Allied Works Architecture team was selected as the winner of the Vancouver Community Connector Competition. GGN and AWA have previously collaborated together on the East River Walk Competition and the Hudson Park and Boulevard Competition. Other members of the winning team include Arup and public artist Beliz Brother. The Vancouver Community Connector will be a new lid park over I-5 which will reconnect historic Fort Vancouver with the downtown core. The jury issued the following statement about its selection: "As the most powerful and elegant resolution of the desires set forth in the Competition Manual, the design by Gustafson Guthrie Nichol/Allied Works Architecture Team best responds to the vision of the Community Connector. It appropriately respects and celebrates the cultural history of Vancouver, truly connecting the Fort Vancouver National Site to the City. It reinforces the historic entry to the Site and restores the potential of the parade ground as a regional amenity. The design concept shows an understanding of the cultural history and significance of this Site. An adaptable design, it enhances the amenities on both sides as they are currently and as they could evolve into the future. It reintegrates the Post Hospital, making it a focal point of the picturesque landscape and features other adjacent historical structures. The design concept provides a clarity and richness worthy of the vision of the project. It shows a spirit of place that is specific and appropriate for the Northwest. It honors the seasons and biology of the Pacific Northwest landscape and includes an elegant, yet practical, use of water. The design concept by the Gustafson Guthrie Nichol/Allied Works Architecture Team is a poetic and thoughtful treatment of the community's wish to reconnect the City of Vancouver to its historic area. It shows a knowledge and practice of universal design and integrates its principles elegantly and seamlessly. The design represents the result of a collaborative design process that the Jury hopes would continue throughout the project." The other teams who submitted designs were Danadjieva & Koenig Associates with HNTB, Hood Design Studio with Diller Scofidio + Renfro, and Mayer/Reed with OLIN Partnership. About the Community Connector: For more than a century, historic Fort Vancouver was connected to and had a strong interaction with downtown Vancouver. This bond was severed more than 50 years ago when Interstate 5 was constructed. The Community Connector Project will reconnect the Fort Vancouver National Site with downtown Vancouver. Because of construction impacts of the Columbia River Crossing (CRC) project to rebuild the I-5 Bridge between Vancouver and Portland, mitigation is required under federal law. In its comments to the draft environmental impact statement published by the CRC project, the National Park Service, Fort Vancouver National Trust and the City of Vancouver each noted that required mitigation must provide improved connections between downtown Vancouver and the historic site, including an expanded pedestrian overpass at Evergreen Boulevard. Vancouver Community Connector images / information from Allied Works Architecture