Nexus 24

empowering and enriching the community to lead a thriving everyday life

Competition: ULI Hines Urban Design Competition 2024
Georgia Institute of Technology: Spring 2024
Team: Anushka, Atharva, Christian, Mrunmayee, Raj
Guide: Ingeborg Rocker, Chirag Date, Geoff Koski

Contributions:
Presentation Maestro and storytelling,
illustrative diagramming, production and
post production

At an intersection of Seattle’s history and global diversity is the Nexus24. It is a new vision for the development of Seattle, developed for the people. Set on the highest standards of sustainability, the mixed-use, mixedincome neighborhood is designed on the guidelines of LEED and WELL. It connects and transforms, facilitating a thriving community. Nexus24, a 24-hour neighborhood, is an ecosystem of residential, retail, health, art, and innovation developed as an amalgamation of holistic new development and historically preserved and repurposed architecture. The new development responds to the deficit in the community and attempts to enable a more prosperous civic life. It is designed to be a transformative beacon in downtown Seattle. This project proposal was awarded the Honorable mention prize out of the US wide entries. My role in this project proposal was of a presentation maestro and a storyteller, along with creating illustrative diagrams, producing and post producing all the graphics used in this competition entry.

Opportunity Analysis

Studying the city for deficits and opportunities - an analysis to determine the needs of the city, to provide; and the strengths of the city, to bring in a study of a 10 min walk from the site.

Empower

The site is located in an area with a bad health index exceeding the 90th percentile - largely due to no exercise. The pluses show the network homeless shelters and free food banks.

Enrich

To the north of the site are abundant cultural centers (plus-circles), markets (green circles), parks, and technology companies (ochre). There is a noticable gap from the south of the site.

Everyday

Along the north-south spine of Seattle, the site is connected with public transit very well. The site is surrounded by community centers and daily markets although, lacks these facilities in the heart of the site.

Urban Design Framework

Framework of streets as spines of development - Punctuated with cultural nodes - Overlayed with green public infrastructure as sustainability management strategies.

The urban design framework is a network of streets as the spines of development - offering the programs of empower, enrich and everyday.

The intersections of these spines become nodes - art at the renovated Courthouse museum; justice at the plaza across City Hall, and Art+Tech at the intersection at Yesler way.

The next overlay is the network of green spaces that act as stormwater management features - slow filtration courtyards. These help the stormwater streets that flow down toward the water to reduce run-off.

Upon this, is a neighborhood for the public - walkable, vibrant and homely. Topped with apartments catering to a diverse demographic.

Master Plan

The project development and phasing strategy has been developed to prioritize the holistic development of the neighborhood and a potential increase in revenue over the years as the phases progress.

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

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Courthouse Museum
Justice Plaza
NGO & Transitional Housing Program
Rental Luxury along with Daily activites
City Hall Park
Mobility Hub Plaza
Hotel
Condo, Affordable and
Market-rate housing apartments
Market street
Affordable and Marketrate housing
Yesler Local business hub
Condo apartments
Condo apartments
Affordable housing apartments
Prefontaine Food & Retail Hub
Art, Tech, Food & Retail Hub
Yesler Bridge Pedestrian extension
Harborview Park connection
The loop
Underpass Activity Hub

Developmental Spines

Empower

Justice Street - In the context of the city hall, the justice street invites people living in a deficit. It offers a resource center for homeless and low-income people. It houses a transitional housing program, and extends into training centers for basic skills in order to train these people to get jobs. The street also has the justice plaza - a place for conversation and awareness.

Enrich

Community Street - The cultural spine of Nexus24 - offers retail, restaurants, bars and public plazas for the community to enjoy. This street, within the project is blocked off after 7 PM, made completely pedestrian for the activity to spill out onto the street. The cultural nodes also stand here, bringing life, art and technology together.

Everyday

Everyday Street - Here, the community lives together - they go to the grocery, the gym, drop kids off at the daycare, elder people meet at the senior care, children enjoy the youth recreational center. This street also has the Early Learning Facility for children from low-income families. This program is associated with daycare to teach the children values of a better society.

Project Zoning

Combination of program to meet the goals of the project - Empower, Enrich and Everyday

Phase 1

The first phase focuses on developing the central core - a public ‘plus’ along Enrichment Street that brings in revenue from rentals and activates the neighborhood’s vibrancy. This phase also includes redeveloping critical historic nodes, the Courthouse, and the Yesler building.

Phase 2

The second phase extends with added housing units, a combination of affordable, market-rate, and luxury apartments. The historic Morrison building has been restored as an entirely reasonable housing building. The Prefontaine building is purchased to connect across the Yesler Way, tying the project to the international district and symbolizing future development. This phase also extends into the development of public infrastructure under the I-5 to enrich the neighborhood further and generate mor

Complete Project Zoning

Combination of program to meet the goals of the project - Empower, Enrich and Everyday

Phase 1

Community of the Nexus 24

How Nexus 24 plans to benefit the community

How the community is benefitted by Nexus 24

How Nexus 24 plans to benefit the community

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24 hours at Nexus 24

The spirit of Nexus24 is its 24-hour vibrancy - different people, early risers and night owls; kids and adults, on their preferred schedule can find things to do at all hours. This increases safety and strengthens the sense of being.