This year the City of Tacoma presented a challenge to local engineering firms and universities to redesign sections of Tacoma with environmentally friendly techniques. The redesign was a part of the 2015 Tacoma’s Green Infrastructure Challenge, a competition of the first of its kind in the Pacific Northwest. TGIC Brochure.
Osborn Consulting entered two separate proposals:
Team “Bioretention you can Walk on” tackled redesigning a section of South Tacoma Way in the “Green Roadway” challenge. The team consisted of:
- Robert Parish, PE – Osborn Consulting
- Ida Ottesen – Landscape Architect with Nakano Associates’
- Deborah Ladd – Geotechnical Engineer with Golder Associates’ , as well as
- Alison Sparks – EIT – Osborn Consulting
- Travis Franklin – Osborn Consulting
“Team Chinampa,” which utilized the innovative permaculture idea of Chinampa canal systems to redirect and reuse surface water on site for the “Urban Redevelopment” competition of the SERA Athletic Fields. The team consisted of:
- Ulysses Martin – Evergreen student and resident of Tacoma
- Robert Parish, PE – Osborn Consulting
- Deborah Ladd – Geotechnical Engineer with Golder Associates’
Both OCI teams were selected to present at the final awards ceremony last Thursday (March 5th) at the University of Washington’s Tacoma campus among 7 other top teams for the three different redesign challenges. All the presentations offered uniquely innovative ways to redesign the park, roadway, and industrial site, making for a very exciting and competitive night. The teams, having already put together boards outlining their ideas (as shown below), described their ideas in detail during a 6 minute presentation to jury members who would ultimately select the winners.
The OCI teams were honored to have been chosen to present and be a part of such a unique and significant competition for the City of Tacoma. The teams, presenters, and jury members alike all hope to see more Green Infrastructure techniques used throughout the city and see the competition as a way to make that a reality, so be sure to keep an eye out for Chinampas canal systems, or adaptive bioretention you can walk on, as well as many other innovative techniques; they are all in the City of Tacoma’s future.
