The Tram: First Look

Today AIA/Portland held a tour of the aerial tram, including its upper and lower stations as well as the connecting tower. Architect Sarah Graham of Angelil/Graham/Pfenninger/Scholl led the way. In her opening remarks, spoken through a cool little portable electric "Mr. Microphone"-type device, Graham said, "Our intention was to build as minimal an intervention as possible." [Architects seem to love using the word 'intervention', by the way.] "It was not our intention to build an icon, as the previous mayor, Vera Katz, had called for. We believe Mt. Hood is your icon. We wanted something as subtle as possible." But then again, a good modernist might argue that only by designing something functional and sincere can the architecture/engineering achieve the kind of sincere beauty that has the capacity to become iconic. At any rate, it was a refreshing attitude for those who aren't fans of Michael Graves's Portland Building, a building that very much did aspire to be iconic.

At first I was really bummed out, because I mistakenly had thought we'd be able to actually take a ride on the tram. I mean, if you sign up for a 'tram tour', wouldn't you think it'd include a ride? But the cars are still being tested, and one certainly doesn't want to be hasty about taking a ride hundreds of feet in the air without it being safe. Luckily the accompanying infrastructure itself was fascinating to see.

We started at the lower terminal next to OHSU's new Center For Health & Healing building by GBD Architects. This was also the first time I'd been in this building since it was under construction last year, and it seemed very nice. I only made into the lobby, so I'll plan to write a separate post once I've taken a longer look. But the lobby was a triple-height atrium with lots of glass, a very pleasant and quietly dramatic space. It was perfect for watching the tram cars land and the streetcar curve by. This is a mass transit geek's paradise. I felt like I was in Holland or Scandinavia, at least until I remembered a freeway was also a few feet away.

And as if the tram, trains and automobiles weren't enough, there is also the Zidel shipyard right next door. I watched two men standing at the back of a ship being repaired ("the bow?") and pointing up at the tram cars. Part of me thinks it's so cool to have that old shipyard right next to all these new buildings in South Waterfront, and part of me thinks, 'What are these guys still doing here?' The Zidel facility, by the way, gets very loud.

The lower station is enclosed on three sides, but a transparent metal skin that allows the drama of the incoming and outgoing tram cars to reveal themselves. It's not quite as cool as Angelil/Graham's original idea, to have the lower tram terminus underground and the cars appearing to disappear and reappear, but still interesting to see. And the cars themselves look cool, with a cuvy skin of teel-tinted glass and reflective aluminum.

Next we went downstairs into the underground engine room. A gentleman from the city's Department of Transportation showed us all kinds of big mechanical equipment including two diesel-powered backup power systems. I wish all the technical jargon I heard had stuck in my memory banks.

After that, we took a hike uphill to the tower beside I-5. I'd have thought it was solid concrete, but the tower is actually hollow, and we were able to go inside. Apparently the tower is mostly made of reinforced steel plates but also lots of concrete at the base. The tower leans east slightly, which has something to do with staying perpendicular with the upper station.

Then we all piled into a chartered bus (ironically, the very means of transportation tram opponents advocated for OHSU/South Waterfront transit) and wound up Sam Jackson Park Road to the upper station at OHSU.You can't see the station from where we entered it going through the Kohler Pavilion building's 9th Floor main entrance across from the Shriner's Hospital. But the tram's upper station has a very striking presence. It's a completely separate structure from Kohler Pavilion, with short a frosted glass bridge serving as connection.

In their design competition presentation, Sarah Graham and Marc Angelil spoke of the upper station using the metaphor of a dancer standing on one leg, and that actually seemed apt as I looked at the almost-finished product today. There is a tall, thin concrete shaft going up (the palette of which Graham said they were OK with being kind of rough-looking), and then a series of diagonal reinforced-steel structural elements going diagonally upward. Not everything about it is beautiful, but you get a sense of it being a pure kind of engineering. Everything you see has a roll in keeping that station together.

I don't want to make any sweeping judgments before the project is finished, or before I've had time to ponder it more. But my first impression was something along the lines of, "Cool!"

Comments

[Bob R.]

("the bow?")

The stern.

- Bob R.

[Dennis H. Coalwell]

I have a question: Do the Tram cars provide heat in the winter and air conditioning in the summer for those who ride?

[ben]

it's portland. put on a coat in the winter or wear a short sleeve shirt in the summer for the THREE MINUTE trip up the hill for chrissakes.

part of making systems sustainable includes challenging our very american expectations of comfort levels and eliminating unecessary infrastructure and energy use.

[Bart King]

I think what Ben means is "No."

[David]

The Tram is leading to the end of Portland as we know it. Crashes will happen on I-5, airplanes will cross the wires, people will die of infectious disease, the city will file bankruptcy. Oh, wait, wrong site. This isn't www.bojack.org

[Dennis H. Coalwell]

Geez, Ben...show some Portland civility. My question was asked by others from another forum. Learn to control your anger dude.

I grew up in La Grande so I know what coats and short sleeves provide.