A vision that centers on green

Editor's note: A design team assembled by Allied Arts, a civic organization that advocates for the cultural livability of Seattle, brainstormed ideas with Seattle Center officials in January. Some of these concepts have been merged into the city's preliminary designs. Here is the team's vision:

The 1962 Seattle World's Fair gave visitors a vision of the future and left a lasting legacy. Can Seattle Center, the historic landscape born out of the fair, continue to envision the future?

You bet it can. We envision a Seattle Center that showcases sustainability and eco-urbanism, promotes ideas to mitigate climate change and is optimistic about the future, capturing the legacy of the fair.

Our vision features a "Space Needle in the forest." Firs, cedars and other conifers would be planted around the base of the tower, growing 150 feet to 200 feet high. From the Needle, visitors could look down upon the forest and observe treetop habitat.

The vision also includes breaking free from the existing grid-like walkways of Seattle Center in favor of curved paths that weave through open-space venues and sports fields.

Crossing these passageways would be sinewy brooks nourished by stormwater runoff, harvested from green roof gardens of various Center buildings, leading to playful water features.

Submitted by the Allied Arts Charrette Design Team: Paul Byron Crane, landscape architect and team leader; David Guthrie; Yousif Farjo; Sandy Fisher, of EDAW; Maricee Stander, of EDAW; Dennis Ryan; Peg Staeheli, of SVR Design; Thaisa Way; and Randolph Sleight.