The Architect's Questionnaire: Steve Ewoldt

Architect Steve Ewoldt of artifekt (photo courtesy Steven Ewoldt)

BY LUKE AREHART

Editor's note: After a nearly three year absence, the Architect’s Questionnaire is back, written by contributor Luke Arehardt. The intent is for this to become a regular series again, in which architects around Portland answer a template of questions. We lead off with Portland architect Steve Ewoldt, owner of Artifekt architecture + interiors. Steve has been a Portland resident for nearly 19 years and after receiving his master’s of architecture degree from the University of Oregon, has been the owner of a collection of firms, such as Spytype Architecture and Thircle. Ewoldt has produced projects of all scales ranging from small retail shops to veterinary clinics to historic renovations of iconic architecture, notably John Yeon-designed Rose Festival Foundation headquarters at Waterfront Park.

Portland Architecture: When did you first become interested in architecture as a possible career?

Steve Ewoldt: In high school I drew a lot, and was always pushed to go into architecture, but I didn’t want to. I was more of a computers guy, so I started out in aerospace engineering at the University of Kansas and found it instantly pretty dull, and definitely with less drawing than architects get to do, or the creative drawing that I wanted to do. So I switched majors and switched schools and went to the University of Nebraska, where I am from, and went into architecture and loved it. I knew that I had made the right decision. It has always given me new things to be curious about.

Where did you study architecture and how would you rate the experience?

University of Nebraska, bachelor's degree in architectural studies with an English minor and University of Oregon, for a master's in architecture, both were perfect. After getting out of aerospace engineering and almost by default thinking everyone has been talking about this architecture thing, that I should just do it.  I knew about architecture, but I hadn’t really explored it as a career because I thought my interests were to be found down another avenue.  It was a great undergraduate degree. Then I worked for a few years and tuned what I wanted, and where I wanted to be, and what I wanted to explore and U of O was the right solution for that.

I also have always been trying to be creative drawing and writing, and when you get into architecture school, you start getting pounded into submission with the all nighters and drawing and ideas and models…making, that some of the prose gets left by the wayside.  So I would take a lot of English classes to keep writing, and some film classes to keep creative.  I still do a lot of creative writing, and I have a children’s book that I’m trying to sell.

What is your favorite building project that you’ve worked on?

The Rose Festival Foundation was a really fun project. Huge opportunity, the overall experience was interesting because the client was the water bureau; they were the general contractor as well, keeping a lot of the work in house.  There were other interest groups like the Friends of John Yeon, the building is now on the National Register of Historic Places.  The tenant was the Rose Festival Foundation, so there were all of these competing interests wrapped into a potential powder keg and we were trying to manage everybody’s expectations and realities and the gravity of having this building that everybody knows and cares about and nobody wants to ruin it, so to speak.  It was stressful and challenging, but I think it ended up being a very successful project.

Rose Festival Foundation headquarters (image courtesy Wikipedia Commons)

Who has been an important mentor among your colleagues?

Gary Larson (Mulvanny G2), Mark Engberg (Colab), and Richard Brown (Richard Brown Architects).  As a sole practitioner I felt that was something I was missing, having somebody in the office that was older and wiser than me, that could ground me when I felt like I was floating, at least help me know where the ground is. I still get a lot of comfort touching base with these guys, knowing that architects at all levels have some of the same challenges I have.

What part of the job do you like best, and as an architect what do you think you most excel at?

The part that I enjoy the most is the drawing, by hand, getting the pens and pencils back out and really exploring the tactile arena. It seems to happen less and less for me every year when expectations are more productivity and efficiency and getting things done on ridiculously restrictive budgets. The drawing and the exploration and the real process seems to be left by the wayside, and that’s the part I enjoy the most, making sure that you are confident that the right solution has been achieved, and for me, process is the only thing that can make sure that it has happened correctly. I have found that I am becoming better and better at finding solutions for projects that have unique situations whether they are code, zoning or planning issues. I find myself being hired more and more to manage the process of land reviews. Neighborhood associations are powerful in Portland, and have a lot of sway in the process; I’ve discovered that I can be very successful in making sure that everybody’s expectations are met, especially when the expectations seem to be moving in different directions. I’ve been in Portland long enough that I know a lot of the players in land use review, historic districts, and neighborhood associations. At this point I have been before just about every neighborhood, whether I’m on the board, which I was in Overlook when I lived there, or on the other side of the table as an architect presenting a project and fielding questions and anger and angst and suspicion. Since I have seen both sides of the coin, I‘ve become pretty good at that.  I do enjoy working with people and clients to guide them through the perilous straits of design review. Also, I would enjoy it most if I could just draw all the time…and be paid to do it.

What are some Portland buildings (either new or historic) that you most admire?

Bank of California building. The little bits and pieces and surprises that it holds, I’ve always liked that building. Whether the architecture is good or not, I am drawn to buildings in this climate that have some color to them because we gray out so often. There is a building by the art museum at 1140 SW 11th that has big yellow-orange cross bracing that are exposed, I don’t think it’s a great building in particular, but it always makes me happy because it’s so bright and colorful and playful and it stays luminous in this weather.  The house that I like most is the Maegley House in Arlington Heights; I ride my bike by on the way to work every day and it’s amazing.

What is your favorite building outside of Portland and besides any you’ve worked on?

Sagrada Familia in Barcelona by Gaudi, because it’s awesome and because it’s not done yet; and has such great history and mythology wrapped up in it. It’s a magical building.

Sagrada Familia, Barcelona (image courtesy gaudidesigner.com)

What would you like to see change about Portland’s built environment in the long term?

Navigating through neighborhood associations and design reviews, my vibe is that even though it is empowering for the neighborhoods to have so much say and it’s important because it is their neighborhood and their fabric that they want to contribute to, some of it waters down some of the things that we get, and we end up getting design by committee a lot.  I remember on the south waterfront, when they wanted to do the Vancouver style needle towers that were tall and skinny, there was a lot of resistance to tall, and it was a huge missed opportunity for Portland and what we got was mediocre, shorter, fatter buildings which probably had to do with economics.  Style and a unique Portland signature personality I don’t think is really here, it’s all pretty middle of the road, vanilla stuff.  I’d love to see some big names get hired to do signature architecture. The three types of architects: the service architects, the product architects and the idea architects, I’d love to see more idea architects actually get hired and get to do projects that may not be that great of building per se, but great architecture for a city.

How would you rate the performance of local government like the Portland Development Commission, or the development and planning bureaus?

I believe they could do a lot more to gear toward the architect who has to deal with the code, and make it a little more user friendly as opposed to sitting in line for more limited hours. You can’t work on a permit on Monday or after noon on Tuesday through Friday so from 7:30 or 8 to 12:00pm is the only time that you can work on a building permit down there as an architect. You could submit it to the process, but the last couple years have done some pretty heavy damage down there with bodies being lost, time being whittled down and cost going up on a lot of things from revisions to private meetings with them to ask design advice. All that stuff is now costing money and we get pinched because we have to translate that to our clients: ‘we don’t know which way this is going to fall, but it’s going to cost you 400 dollars to find out.’ Then we have to explain why we don’t know. The process is changing on us, where before we could rely on the city/governmental entities for advice and for support, now we have to pay for that and it’s something that we can’t really absorb every time.  It used to feel like more of a team, and now it feels like more of a service.

Would you rather live in a South Waterfront condo, a craftsman bungalow in Laurelhurst, a warehouse loft in the North Mississippi district or a mid-century ranch in the West Hills?

I live in a ranch in the West Hills and I like it.  It’s quiet when I need it.

Who is a famous architect you’d like to see design a building in Portland?

Whether you like what he does or don’t like what he does, it would be a pretty big coup for Portland to get a Frank Gehry building, some of the big Euros would be fun to have, it would be great for Portland to have a Norman Foster or a Rem Koolhaas.  Something big, a Zaha Hadid would be a nice building to have, with a lot of color, no gray concrete.

Which would you rather be responsible for: an ugly LEED platinum building or a beautiful modernist energy hog?

Beautiful modernist energy hog, a thousand times over.  Any publicity is good publicity, those LEED buildings tend to be a little boring.

Furniture design by Ewoldt (images courtesy Artifect)

Name something besides architecture (sneakers, furniture, umbrellas) you love the design of.

Furniture and good objects that are designed well, whether that’s a good metal mini scale or a nice hand tool that is crafted really well.  I design and build furniture as well, so good furniture is something I can get behind. I also design board games of all things, I have one I’m trying to get produced now called “What the Flock”…it’s a bird game.

What are three of your all-time favorite movies?

"The Empire Strikes Back", "Baraka", and "His Girl Friday"

 

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