News
AIA Scholarship Winner to Study Seawalls Abroad
03.10.2009 Noteworthy
Cristina Bump, Associate AIA at Mithun, won AIA Seattle's first ever Emerging Professionals Travel Scholarship. Cristina proposed a study of innovative seawall designs in Australia and Canada that are beneficial to marine life. Her interest was prompted by Seattle's plans to replace the viaduct with a tunnel, which will require a seawall. Cristina sees this moment as a significant opportunity for Seattle really to build a more sustainable future. She will follow up with partners at the University of Washington, City of Seattle and US Army Corps of Engineers to develop a series of recommendations for the City. Her research will also be presented through an exhibition and large-scale model at AIA Seattle's gallery in late 2009.
Over at WordChanging Seattle author Julia Levitt reminds us:
[T]he importance of building the seawall correctly cannot be overstated, as Alex Steffen wrote in his December letter to King County Executive Ron Sims:
A 1.5 meter sea level rise [predicted by the European Geosciences Union] would result in storm surges much, much higher than anything we're used to seeing now. If we're going to defend Seattle against rising waters, we need to make sure that our investments in the seawall now will support the kind of waterfront defenses we'll need in the coming decades.
Congratulations Cristina!
This seawall on Yarra River in Birrarung Marr Park, Melbourne, Australia is among the sites Cristina will investigate. Image src: aila.org.au © John Golling.