Friends of Mount Baker Town Center is excited to host two citywide programs as part of the 2015 Seattle Design Festival! Focusing on this year’s theme — Design for Equity — we examine how equitable design can play a role in the Town Center’s evolution. For both events, contact Friends of Mount Baker Town Center for volunteer opportunities or participation, and a full listing of details will appear soon.
Mount Baker Town Center Street Festival 2015
Sunday, September 20 | 11:30am – 6:00pm | Mount Baker Station and Artspace Mt. Baker Lofts (2915 Rainier Ave S, Seattle)
First up, we’ll be hosting a street festival centered around the Mount Baker Link light rail station. This free family-friendly event will include music, entertainment, food trucks, and art exhibits on the Sound Transit Plaza and inside the Artspace Mt. Baker Lofts Community Room. Come down to hang out with neighbors, talk about plans for the station area, and celebrate the area’s rich history.
For this festival day only, Seattle’s Bicycle Sunday route will be extended from Lake Washington Boulevard all the way to Cheasty Boulevard, bringing the community to the heart of the Town Center. Ride your bike and follow the signs to this fun-filled afternoon! LEARN MORE
This event is organized by Friends of Mount Baker Town Center with partial funding by the Seattle Department of Transportation. Sponsors include Artspace Mt. Baker Lofts, Seattle Parks Foundation, and Sound Transit.
Mind the Gap: Building a Bridge Between Historic Neighborhoods and Modern Urban Development
Monday, September 21 | 6:30pm – 8:00pm | Artspace Mt. Baker Lofts (2915 Rainier Ave S, Seattle)
Our second program explores a challenge facing many neighborhoods in Seattle: that transit-oriented urban villages dropped in and around historic neighborhoods can create an equity gap with accessibility, infrastructure, cultural, and generational ramifications. During the Seattle Design Festival local designers will be activating the existing pedestrian bridge that crosses Rainier Avenue and Martin Luther King Jr. Way. Enhanced wayfinding and experiential graphics will showcase the area’s history and seek to create a memorable and inspiring connection between the communities on either side.
The special bridge installation — funded by grants from SDOT and the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture — will be on display for several weeks. Designers will lead a free, behind-the-scenes tour and discussion in the Artspace Mt. Baker Lofts Community Room on Monday, September 21st. Join us to learn about the physical and cultural challenges, and share ideas on how the bridge (and other pedestrian improvements) can better connect the surrounding historic neighborhoods of Mount Baker and Beacon Hill to the dense urban development taking place in the Town Center. RSVP AND LEARN MORE
This event is organized by Friends of Mount Baker Town Center, Penniless Projects, and JeppsonEGD with partial funding by the Seattle Office of Arts & Culture and Seattle Department of Transportation. Sponsors include Artspace Mt Baker Lofts, Seattle Parks Foundation, and Beacon Hill Merchants Association.
About the Seattle Design Festival
The Seattle Design Festival features tours, exhibits, outdoor installations, activities, films, presentations, and more from September 12-25. Our 2015 theme, Design for Equity, creates pause and reflection. What is equity? What is equitable design? How do we know that a design is equitable? Is it process or product or both? It stretches across sectors – social justice, urban planning, ecology, and finance to name a few – and brings up ideas of dialogue, form, transparency, access, inclusion and investment. Design for Equity challenges us to question our biases and assumptions and inspire us to work toward ensuring that everyone in our society – from every background, ability, race, age, gender, location or economic status – can access the same opportunities and outcomes, both now and in the future. LEARN MORE
Friends of Mt. Baker Town Center 