Long Beach T.E.T.

Precast Tsunami Evacuation Tower located in Long Beach. Washington 1st Place Entry for PCI Precast Competition 2020

Tower during Tsunami

Tower at night

Daycare Interior

Event Space Interior

The tower is situated in the Long Beach peninsula on the Washington state coastline. The city is 100% in the tsunami inundation zone, is composed of a demographic of retirees, and has a flat building context with most structures not surpassing 2 stories. This makes Long Beach a very at-risk city of collapse even with a less severe wave. To further ensure the safety of those most vulnerable, the tower is situated right next to the city’s elementary school and main neighborhood park. Because of this proximity with educational facilties and to further engage the community, programs such as a daycare, a cafe, and a lecture space/workshop are included. This activates the tower and ensures its use in a non-emergency capacity. Other programs include an emergency medical center and 2 free-use floors for tsunami considerations. An ephemeral and transparent building language was employed to remove the imposing connotation of a tsunami shelter. In order to combat the force of a tsunami, strategies were utilized to break waves/debris in addition to keeping the lower levels as porous as possible. Circulation between the more private and public areas is separated to ensure a distance between these programs and to provide as many avenues up the tower as possible.

Tsunami Considerations Diagram

Perspective Section

Plans