Matthews Beach provides an opportunity to extend Seattle’s Seafair celebration north of the SR-520 Bridge by hosting additional activities that enhances their mission of promoting Seattle as a boating community and encouraging ecological stewardship.
With Thornton Creek being a valuable asset to Matthews Beach and the community, it makes the ecology and salmon habitat that it supports a showcase of this community’s culture and history. Our intervention supports Seafair’s mission while giving visitors a dynamic experience of the social and ecological processes that are essential to the Northwest.
Our designed journey, starting from the Burke Gilman trail, presents visitors with four different ecologies that are critical for maintaining the regions natural beauty; forest, shoreline, riparian buffer, and wetland. This experience is partnered with “new,” active programming that expands upon the narrative by hosting a Native American salmon bake that is enclosed by an art installation of salmon bones with fish netting draped between each, allowing for historic artifacts and ecological lessons to be presented. The journey is extended by creating a log-bottom boardwalk that expands the shoreline and allows visitors to engage with Lake Washington and Matthews Beach through a new lense.
The space created by the log-boom will be occupied by four slides in the shape of salmon fins, made from fabric, that moves with the wind and is adorned with the markings of the historic local fish species; Chinook, Coho, Sockeye, and Cutthroat. As an additional feature to the site, we propose lining the major walkways with Japanese buoys that speak to the region’s cultural diversity and the importance of boating. These buoys will also support evening events by illuminating paths and large open gathering spaces creating a visual experience that will also be visible from areas directly across Lake Washington from Matthews Beach.
Our goal is to transform Matthew’s Beach into an integral part of the Seafair celebration that exposes tourists and locals to the history of the region, the local ecology, and the unique Puget Sound experience.
Rhino + Photoshop credit - Christian van Waasen + Patrick Pirtle
