The City of Auburn’s Planning and Community Development Committee will hear presentations by 16 students from the Washington State University School of Architecture and Construction Management at its Monday meeting.
The committee will gather at 5 p.m. at the City Hall Chamber, located at 25 W. Main St.
The students, under the leadership of WSU Professor Gregory Kessler, will discuss design concepts that can serve as a model for future development in the Green Zone in Auburn’s Environmental Park.
They will present ideas and strategies for building development in the Auburn Environmental Park District, also known as the Green Zone. The 244-acre district is zoned with development code incentives for green oriented innovative businesses. It includes the adjacent Auburn Environmental Park, a unique 114-acre urban open space. Following the students’ presentations, their models will be on display through April 30 at Auburn City Hall, and at the City Hall Annex, One Main Street, across Division Street from City Hall.
As part of this project, each student has built a three-dimensional model with an emphasis on “green aesthetics,” a term that is defined, by Professor Kessler for this project, as “the ability of architecture to express a language of design that transforms ordinary experiences of business and manufacturing into extraordinary places that have a sensitivity and respect for the natural environment.”
ABOUT AUBURN’S ENVIRONMENTAL PARK DISTRICT
The Auburn City Council established the Auburn Environmental Park District (AEPD) in 2006. The District and the Auburn Environmental Park (AEP) provide unique opportunities for environmental, economic and social benefits to the region. Directly west of Auburn’s downtown area, the district is bounded by 15th Street Northwest to the north, the Interurban Trail to the east, Highway 18 to the south and State Route 167 to the west.
The District promotes the incorporation of green building practices as the underlying basis for all future development in the District. Construction of “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design” (LEED©) and Built Green© certified buildings is encouraged.
For more information about the City of Auburn’s Environmental Park District and the Auburn Environmental Park, call 253-931-3091.
