As a member of a collaborative team examining Seattle's waterfront during a significant 2005 Allied Arts design charrette, VIA developed visioning concepts for the southernmost portion of Alaska Way and the entrance to the underground tunnel then-proposed to replace the current viaduct.

The built environment in VIA's plan is based on a mix of adaptive reuse of existing historic buildings, significant urban infill, and creating usable place over the tunnel gulch which would otherwise be a blighting influence. This results in people and resources that are not consuming greenspace in the suburbs and not placing strain on the public infrastructure that suburbs require.

We looked into the past and present of the site, and projected into the future concepts for infrastructure and organization of built form that would endure, and adapt to changing needs over time. The poetry of creating a new habitat for the 'turning fish' to live work and play has been developed in conjunction with the mathematics of feasible development buildout. Complementary land uses add to the attractive day and night synergy of this district while contributing fundamental building block of livable city building.

Emphasis is placed on a walkable streetscape of through streets and local mews. This hill rises gently to the west above the ebb and flow of First Avenue and the stadia creating the southern culmination of the new downtown waterfront and a neighborhood of cafes, stores, meeting places and quiet corners. Integrated infrastructure such as district energy and stormwater management and the extension of the streetcar further create a sustainable community.

Land use, circulation and built form are configured to enhance the social and economic vitality and diversity of Pioneer Square and the, International District and create a buffer to SODO industrial district. The sum of the parts is an integrated partnership with the Downtown, Port, and the Stadia that enhances the City's commitment to sustainable urban ecology. This then is the environment to attract Seattle's 'turning fish' back to the habitat of the urban waterfront.