The City of Seattle expects to have 1 million residents by the year 2044. That’s about one-third more people than Seattle has right now. We’re having trouble housing the people here now. So where are we going to put all the new people? Some University of Washington architecture students are looking at new ways to add more housing to existing neighborhoods — without ticking off the neighbors. Their timing is perfect, as Seattle and other cities are currently updating their comprehensive plans, which lay out where and how they’ll grow over the next 20 years.
In the skylit atrium of Gould Hall, this year’s crop of architecture graduate students showed off their final projects. Some architecture students dream of designing fantastic buildings that will inspire visitors from around the world. But many of the students presenting their ideas during their last week of school had a more pragmatic goal: Just to find a way to live in this expensive city.