Portland Architecture

A Pilgrimmage to the Central City? Depends On How You Look At It

Yesterday, seeking to better understand the demand for high-density housing in the central city after learning of record condo sales in South Waterfront at The John Ross, I had a conversation with professor Gerard Mildner of Portland State University's Toulan School of Urban Studies and Planning. Mildner, whose research is focused in part on growth management, housing markets and land use regulation, surprised me with his analysis of Portland’s population growth.

First, he dispelled what is a commonly held myth that I’ve long taken as gospel. “Despite all the discussion about revitalizing central cities,” Mildner said, “these areas are not growing faster than the suburbs. In America the central city’s percentage share of metropolitan area populations, is continuing to decline.” Mildner cited a Harvard University study of 96 metropolitan areas during the 1990s in which only three were found to be growing faster in the center of the city than in outlying areas—and Portland wasn’t one of those three.

Mildner is also skeptical of recent news that South Waterfront condo project The John Ross saw 80 percent of its units reserved in the first six days.

“It may be that they created something of an artificial hysteria by saying, ‘Only on this day can you reserve units.’ Otherwise it just doesn’t make any sense to me,” Mildner said. “If they really had this excess of buyers, why didn’t they price it higher? Maybe they made a pricing error, or maybe they were looking to push this story that it filled up so fast.” The professor cited South Waterfront developers’ need to create hype and momentum for future projects in the neighborhood as motivation for exaggerating the demand for these properties.

Although I think Mildner may be unfairly belittling the real demand there is for high-density condos in the central city, I do have to confess that I and many others have perhaps mistakenly assumed that there is an exodus of suburbanites to the city proper. On the contrary, there suburbs are growing more—or at least more people are moving there—than downtown and its immediate Portland environs.

At the same time, though, population figures are only part of the story. One could argue that the suburbs are growing faster simply because there’s so much more wasted space there to take advantage of.

Yet Mildner’s point is an important one, reminding us that what’s happening is not a population shift so much as a demographic shift. If the overall population isn’t increasing more near the central city, we are at least seeing a very significant infusion of middle class and affluent residents. Demand for property here is rising, and they’re the ones who can afford it. They are coming, I think, because of the increasing attractiveness of urban life. That has a downside, of course, in gentrification—communities of people forced to leave neighborhoods they’ve called home for generations. But the upward pricing of urban life is a sign that the product here, in the central city, is a good one.

Urban settings oriented towards pedestrians and mass transit rather than just cars and freeways are an increasingly attractive alternative to suburbs’ oppressive traffic seas of ugly surface parking lots. It’s not to say suburbs don’t have their good side too, with their greater affordability and far more space per person. But the dark days of the 1960s and 70s, when urban life was plagued by crime and decay, are long gone.

That, to me, is a big part of why units in The John Ross are going fast.

The Causes of Condo Mania

It was hard to miss The Oregonian’s front-page story this morning by Dylan Rivera about South Waterfront condo tower The John Ross. According to the article, 80 percent of the 286 units have been reserved in its first six days of availability.

I was particularly intrigued by Rivera’s concluding few paragraphs. “Wherever the buyers come from,” he wrote, “surging condo sales are prompting developers to bring more buildings to the market.”

Wherever? I think we ought to have a deeper understanding of the source of these buyers. One can easily speculate they’re coming from the suburbs or California, for example. But is that really the case? I’d like to hear from some people who really understand the demographic shift that’s happening here in Portland and, to some extent, the entire nation.

This afternoon I spoke with Rivera, who made a key additional point: "Because of the relatively low price point--nearly half of the units were under about $325,000--that enabled a lot of relatively young buyers under 40 to get into the building. Whereas a lot of the units in The Pearl or elsewhere have been Baby Boomer-oriented."

The last paragraph in Rivera’s piece quoted real estate consultant Eric Hovee saying, “The notion of building more complete communities is starting to filter its way to the rest of the region.”

So is that it? Is the popularity of close-in condos due to the fact that buyers feel part of a community, that they feel less isolated from their neighbors than in single-family homes? Certainly many condo residents feel that way, but I’m not sure if that is the smoking gun, so to speak, the primary impetus behind this trend.

"Me and My Ozone"

With temperatures set to push 100 degrees today, it’s good timing for a press release I received from The Bear Deluxe, a local quarterly magazine devoted to exploring environmental issues through the creative arts and published by Orlo.

The magazine is seeking contributions for a special feature called “Me and My Ozone”, featuring readers’ personal experiences with global warming.

Although there’s no doubt global warming exists and that its effects can be seen in melting polar ice caps and ominous climate-change data, it’s difficult to quantify an actual personal experience resulting from the warming itself. Catastrophic as it may be for the planet, we’re talking about maybe a one-degree change.

On the other hand, Portland has certainly responded to global warming better than any other city. As reported earlier this summer, ours is the first city to lower its combined emissions to 1990 levels.

I’m curious: How many of you out there have actually changed your behavior significantly in response to global warming? Are you riding the bus or MAX more, for example, or would you be doing it anyway? Or has global warming actually affected you personally? And how so?

Citizen Involvement:Critical, But No Panacea

An article by Jim Redden in today’s Portland Tribune reports that between them, the mayor’s office and the Portland Development Commission will soon hire five different persons whose charge is promoting citizen involvement.

The Tribune article focused largely on what these positions will cost the city in terms of salary. The implicit question is whether spending the hundreds of thousands to pay these people is worth the investment. It's the right climate for the hires, though, because these positions also have a symbolic value in light of Tom Potter’s campaign promises to make local government more transparent and accountable, and also in light of PDC’s recent difficulties.

But I’d like to play devil’s advocate for a moment when it comes to citizen involvement.

Of course we want people’s voices to be heard regarding policy decisions. Portland has a long track record of neighborhood organizations and other grassroots efforts. That’s something we should be proud of.

At the same time, however, I think it doesn’t hurt to remind ourselves that to truly be successful, a city needs to not only listen to its citizenry, but also have leaders willing to make difficult decisions that may or may not be popular at the time. And we must be careful that Portland doesn’t become too mired in endless meetings and forums when certain projects ought to move forward.

It’s not to say these citizen involvement hires aren’t necessarily a good thing. But citizen involvement also is not a panacea for the city.

Redemption for the Family of Funds?

The Portland Family of Funds, the quasi-private organization (private company with some public money) charged by the Portland Development Commission in 2002 with investing in and spearheading building projects in lower-income areas, has taken a beating this year. The City Club issued a terse critique of the PFF a few months ago, and the original goal of finishing seven deals in 2004 was, well, zero for seven.

But with construction in progress on a medical office and Gateway and securing of a new investment by US Bank in the planned Union Gospel Mission drug treatment center and temporary residence in Old Town, the Family of Funds has a chance to atone for past disappointments and redeem itself by getting some buildings built.

In particular, it is heartening to hear that the Mission may finally be able to build its new Life Change Center at West Burnside and Northwest Third. It’s been more than a year since I first saw renderings for SERA Architects’ building. Unsurprisingly considering the client’s nonprofit mission, the budget is modest—just $7 million. But SERA’s design, based solely on the renderings of course, seems like a classy, glassy one.

The firm showed a flair with its last building for a nonpfrofit, the 8NW8 affordable housing project, with an undulating glass wall at the ground floor and a cream-puffy wave on the roof. Maybe some will worry the contemporary form of the Life Change Center doesn't fit well enough into the context of Old Town, as if it needs some elusive sort of grittiness. But I’m sure some of the materials, however inexpensive, will endeavor to tie in with the brick and mortar of its older architectural neighbors. And I think it’s important both symbolically and for practical, tangible purposes as well that a place for drug recovery be filled with as much natural light as possible—not to say it should be over-glazed (pardon my use of archispeak), but rather that ample amounts of diffuse natural light can help heal or at least comfort patients during their struggles. If the glass makes the building look contemporary, so be it. I mean, form follows function, right? Besides, the building will also be a green one.

Of course it’s too early to tell if the Portland Family of Funds’ comeback will become a reality. But delivering projects like the Union Gospel Mission and Vanport Square, another potential future beneficiary, both of which would be a boon to their respective communities, sure would be a nice way to prove all the doubters wrong.

In Memoriam: Robert Murase

Last month I met Robert Murase for the first time. His firm, Murase and Associates, had designed the landscape for a leading bio-technology company in Seattle and we met to take a look at some photos of the project. He couldn’t have been nicer or more unassuming.

In fact, I must confess that while I knew Bob was perhaps the most acclaimed and accomplished landscape architect in Portland, until reading Randy Gragg’s obituary in today’s Oregonian, I didn’t realize the extent of his accomplishments. These include local projects we know such as the beautiful Japanese American Historic Plaza at Waterfront Park and Esther Short Park in Vancouver. But Murase, a third-generation Japanese American who was interned during World War II, also designed signature projects around the world, such as the garden at Myodo Kyo Kai Buddhist Temple in Japan, the landscapes at Grand Canyon transit center in Arizona, and the St. Croix National Scenic Riverway in Wisconsin.

Because Bob was exceptionally nice and a gentle, thoughtful soul, it’s the man that will be missed even more than his work. Still, the landscapes he designed will serve as a lasting memory. Bob was particularly adept at working with stone, and perhaps that enduringly solid but poetically malleable material should represent the strength of his lasting presence. And as Portland increasingly grows into an important Pacific Rim city, trading and exchanging ideas with China and Japan as much as Europe or the East Coast, the pioneering ideas, artistry and humanity of people like Bob Murase will, both figuratively and literally, pave the way.

Perusing the rest of this morning's Oregonian with a kind of shock and numbness after reading about Bob's unexpected passing, I came upon an article about the latest Pearl District park, Tanner Springs, designed by acclaimed German landscape architect Herbert Dreiseitl. I think it's a worthy tribute to Bob Murase to not only pause in consideration of his memory, but to remind ourselves that more than architecture, Portland is really a city known for its great landscape design. Our city attracts talents from all over the world, and yet some of our greatest talent has come from the city -- people like Bob.

Welcome Sponsor:Sauvie Architectural Illustration

Portland Architecture is happy to welcome Sauvie Architectural Illustration as its second sponsor, following the American Institute of Architects/Portland Chapter. Sauvie Illustration specializes in creating illustrations that combine the precision of digital renderings with the lifelike, emotive quality of hand-drawn and painted imagery. Like good architecture, their work lies at the intersection of art, technology, form and function.  Past clients have included Hoyt Street Properties, GBD Architects, Ziba Design, Wieden + Kennedy, Shiels Obletz Johnsen, YGH Architecture, and many more. Welcome aboard, fellas!

Killingsworth Station: Big Changes on Interstate Avenue

Today a drive along Interstate Avenue brings you past a lot of surface parking lots, abandoned buildings and cheap motels. But the arrival of Interstate MAX, while a veritable nightmare for drivers with its single-lane traffic (why couldn't light rail share the road like it does downtown?), it's slowly starting to transform the area.

Case in point: Killingsworth Station, the housing and mixed-use project that is planned for the intersection of Killingsworth and Interstate. The project is designed by Vallaster & Corl Architects of Portland, who previously gained notoriety for The Hawthorne, the modern mixed-use building that replaced a controversial McDonald's originally set for the site.

With a budget of $16 million, Killingsworth Station will include 45 loft-style condos, 56 apartments, seven town homes, 12,800 square feet of retail and two levels of parking. The Portland Development Commisssion held a public meeting last week to get feedback on the design. According to a report in yesterday's Portland Tribune, major concerns included adequate parking and the need for high-quality property managers. But development manager Lois Cortell told the paper that feedback on the design was positive.

Obviously the most striking aspect of Vallaster & Corl's design is its "Go By MAX" sign, which obviously echoes the Pearl District's "Go By Streetcar" sign and is a fun icon in the making, if a little redundant. In my opinion, the rest of the building looks promising as well. The firm did a good job with The Hawthorne of breaking up the mass of the building with an inspired blend of metal, glass and brick. (The only thing I don't like about that building is the roof, which resembles a series of dumpster lids.) Killingsworth Station appears to achieve a sense of lightness by having the building slightly cantilevered on the Interstate side. There's also a strong emphasis on the corner with large balconies.

This looks like very solid, well proportioned, high-density infill housing in a neighborhood that desperately needs it. While there remain questions about gentrification and affordability in North and Northeast Portland, major streets and avenues, especially along MAX lines, need these clusters of high-density housing. While this project is more about fitting into the urban fabric than architectural pizazz, it looks like a potentially successful project to me.

What are your thoughts?

Powell's: The Weak Link?

I wrote about the Powell’s Books building back in February on the first day of the Portland Architecture blog. But the other day while browsing at Powell’s I was reminded what a shabby exterior this wonderful bookstore has. It’s a point worth making again.

I’d hate to see very much change about the interior of Powell’s, mind you. I love the fact that the store is a little bit rough around the edges with cement floors and plenty of dog-eared books mixed in with the new hardbound ones. But take a look at Powell’s on the outside, particularly near Burnside, and you realize it’s an eyesore and an untapped resource.

Standing at Burnside and 11th Avenue, for example, you see World Cup coffee on the corner, but there are no entrances there. You have to enter Powell’s on the other end of the block and walk all the way through. What is this, a casino?

Worse yet is the ancient parking garage the store has occupying the upper floors of the building’s western edge. Not only does the garage create a lot of traffic tie-ups on 11th, but the open upper windows make the building look as if it’s not even occupied. Compare this with the spanking new Brewery Block 2 building directly across the street, and you’d think the garage portion of Powell’s was transplanted here from 1970s Detroit.

Why not get rid of the upper-floor garage and instead have customers use the massive underground garage built for Whole Foods and the other Brewery Blocks retail and housing tenants and customers? You could transform the garage into additional space for the bookstore or, if Powell’s isn’t interested, it could be rebuilt into housing or office space.

It’s not popular to knock this Portland institution because virtually everyone loves what is the nation’s largest book store, and a proudly independent one at that. And hey, I feel the same way. But stand on Burnside or 11th and forget the bookstore for a second, and you’ll see the transformation of this neighborhood and this crucial streetscape on the border of downtown and the Pearl is being held back by a very shabby building.

Pine Street Studios and the Emergence of Lower Burnside

The old Pine Street Theater near Southeast Ninth and Sandy (also known as La Luna for some of its run) saw many acclaimed bands play there over the years: Nirvana, Everclear, Sleater-Kinney. (I saw great performances by Fugazi and Tricky.) But in more recent times the old theater and the building it was part of fell into disrepair.

Now, however, the building has been rechristened as the Pine Street Studios. Currently under construction, the building was purchased by developer/designer Kenton Wiens and will soon be home to a variety of creative-industry professionals. An advertising firm has already moved in, with a chocolatier perhaps next.

Visiting recently, it was a little sad to see the old Pine Street/La Luna stage divided up into a handful of units. But Wiens definitely has a sense of the history that happened there, and hopes to preserve what he can. Outside, for example, a telephone pole covered in inches of old rock poster shreds, will be sealed in a transparent material. Inside, the rough material palette of concrete and steel will largely remain.

The Pine Street Studios is also further proof of the blossoming of Lower Burnside. Nearby Holst Architecture has its office, and the excellent New American Art Union gallery is just a block away as well. The Jupiter Hotel and Doug Fir restaurant/bar have already become a landmark, and a little closer to MLK Boulevard there is a cluster of small shops and eateries in those unique buildings that actually stretch over the sidewalk with a colonnade. (Why isn't this kind of pedestrian/architectural relationship considered in other parts of town?)

It may sound funny, but I actually wonder if the Burnside Bridgehead will almost spoil the grassroots appeal of this emerging arts district. Or will it just enhance what's happening? For better or worse, it seems the pace of development in Lower Burnside will soon increase exponentially. I just hope there remains room for littler projects like the Pine Street Studios. Big condo towers and spendy retail outlets have their place, but I hope there will also remain places more akin to used record stores and vintage clothiers, places like this.

The Civic

If you’ve driven down west Burnside lately, you may have noticed the wrecking ball has started on the old Civic apartments at 19th Avenue. Soon this corner will be home to The Civic, a new complex that will consist of market-rate condos, affordable housing and retail in a public-private partnership between the Housing Authority of Portland and Gerding-Edlen Development.

According to the press release, “On the eastern half will be The Civic tower, 16 stories of 261 condominiums commanding panoramic views of downtown and the West Hills. On the western side will be six stories of 140 apartments. Binding the two buildings together will be a large pedestrian promenade connecting Burnside and Southwest Morrison avenues.”

The project is designed by SERA Architects, who after the 8NW8 affordable housing project on the North Park Blocks at Burnside have apparently cemented their piece of the pie when it comes to getting multifamily housing jobs.

To be honest, I’m still deciding what I think of the architecture based on the rendering. With Gerding-Edlen and SERA’s collective track records, I know the project will be admirably green and will re-activate the streetscape in a positive way. If I hesitate at all, I’m not sure yet this is a particularly beautiful building from a strictly visual, sculptural point of view. But regardless, this seems like a very positive project from an urbanistic standpoint.

Any initial thoughts from y’all about the look of The Civic?

Yolo Colorhouse and Market Transformation

Yesterday I dropped by the East Bank Commerce Center to meet Janie Lowe and Virginia Young, two artists who have started a business manufacturing eco- and health-friendly interior paint under the business name Yolo Colorhouse. ("Yolo" is the first two letters of each of their last name.)

All of Yolo's paints are zero-VOC (volatile organic compounds). I emphasize that because a lot of people in green building talk proudly of low-VOC. But Janie and Virginia insist on eliminating these nasty chemicals entirely. They tell me that a lot of professional painters are reluctant to use even low-VOC paints because the perception is they don't perform as well or look as good. But Yolo's paints look fabulous.

The fact that Janie and Virginia are artists as well as painters means they have a particular talent when it comes to blending paints. They have an eye for color that some of the larger commercial paint manufacturers can't replicate. Each of their 40 current colors are grouped according to families of color based on earth tones: "air" (white colors), "water" (blues), "clay" (grays), and so on. They also have made the very clever move of vastly improving on those tiny paint swatches you get at the paint store. Yolo makes big poster-sized swatches of each color with post-it-note-style repositional tape on the back.

I mention Yolo Colorhouse because they are an excellent representation of a phrase that gets tossed around frequently in green building circles: "market transformation". Many architects, builders and developers actively want to use environmentally-benign materials, but find that manufacturers are sometimes slow to fill the need. But because there is a growing demand for these products, people like Janie and Virginia rise to fill the gap. Yolo Colorhouse has formed a partnership with Rodda Paint, and their products are now available at Rodda stores in Portland and Seattle, with expansion down the West Coast coming soon.

One thing I find fascinating about architecture how it's both an art and a major economic endeavor. Talking with the women of Yolo one gets excited about their passion for color and light and paint, but it's also encouraging to see small businesses like this taking off because there's a growing customer appreciation for building and design products that tread more lightly on the planet. So I give a big "Yo" of approval to Yolo.

Putting The "Urban" in Suburban

An article in this morning's Oregonian by David Anderson reported that DeCal Custom Homes of St. Helens (who?) hopes to build six condominium towers in Beaverton across from the Nike campus.

In what is now called the Tek woods, nearly 10 acres along Murray Boulevard, the glass-festooned towers would be designed by Myhre Group Architects of Portland. The firm is probably best known for the Mosaic Condominiums downtown, behind Museum Place on 10th Avenue. But it's my understanding that Myhre was really more the architect of record on that project, with the Canadian developer also relying on another architect for much of the aesthetics. But Myhre Group does have an array of multifamily and mixed-use projects in their portfolio (including a new housing project on Southeast Belmont called The Andria set to open soon), as well as lots of hospitality and resort projects. It seems to me this project, particularly in light of how thin and glassy the architecture seems to be, would represent a real step forward for this firm.

Although the Beaverton project is not yet a done deal, it seems to me that it would be an ideal transit-oriented development that might keep some of the thousands of tech industry workers off Highway 26 by creating a livable community on the doorstep of their jobs. It's true that some tall trees would have to be felled to make this project happen, and that is always a shame. But if that's the price of progress, so be it.

For all the talk of centralized Portland districts like the Pearl and South Waterfront, or even outer-suburban projects like Orenco Station or Villebois, the future of high-density development is arguably in established suburbs like Beaverton, Tigard and Gresham. Density is so low out there, and yet traffic is terrible. We can't pat ourselves on the back about MAX and other mass transit projects until they generate higher-density housing projects along certain key clusters of the light rail line. It's not to say there is no room for single-family housing in the suburbs any more. Far from it -- that will always be the norm. But as the Metro 2040 Plan stipulates, the only way to handle the region's ever-increasing population without sprawl is to build up, not out, in certain important clusters.

There is still a lot to be determined about this project, such as its sustainable features, a more detailed sense of materials and how they're put together, and so on. But I think at first glance this project looks pretty nice, especially for Beaverton, where cookie cutter faux-historicism dominates single family home design. What do the rest of you think of this project based on the look of the rendering and the background logistics of getting it done?

Skylab's Great Experiments

Recently Architectural Record magazine profiled Portland's Skylab Design Group and its head principal, Jeff Kovel. Skylab is best known locally for designing the stunning Doug Fir restaurant/bar on East Burnside, but the firm has also designed numerous houses, retail, and other kinds of architecture.

Besides his exceptional design talent, another thing that impresses me about Kovel is his willingness to spearhead his own projects. I am convinced that this is a frontier that more architects ought to explore.

Educated at Cornell University's prestigious architecture school, Kovel spent a short stint at Architropolis before setting out on his own at only 26 years of age and no prospective clients. But he created his own business by spec-developing a house on a steep site thought to be unbuildable. And the risk paid off. The 1680 House, as it's called, is stunning, and it acted as a calling card for Skylab that has led to work for such marquee clients as Nike and ESPN. Kovel even designed a full-scale version of the Barbie Dream House that toy maker Mattel uses at trade show exhibitions.

Skylab has also been at work on a 100-year-old Alder Street mixed-use building that Kovel bought and rehabbed. It will serve as home for the firm as well as a couple other businesses. And while the firm so far has more residential and retail to its resume than housing, some forward-thinking developer could reap big rewards by letting Skylab take a shot at their next mixed-used condo. Kovel is one of a handful of architects in town whose talent is not being fully taken advantage of.

Portland needs these kinds of architects to be designing not just its cool restaurants and exclusive single-family homes, but our larger scale institutional, office and residential buildings.

More Listmania: Tribune Now Seeking Best Portland Buidlings

The recent discussion topic on this site about the Portland Tribune’s upcoming list of the city’s ugliest buildings was one of the most popular Portland Architecture has ever introduced.

Cynics might call this a lowest common denominator discussion, but I prefer to just think of it as collective fun. While we wouldn’t want the site to abandon more nuanced discussions about the architecture of Portland, it just so happens that the Tribune is working on a follow-up to its ugliest buildings list.

You guessed it: This time around the paper is after just the opposite: our picks for the best, most beautiful buildings in town.

Talking with reporter Kristina Brenneman recently, I rattled off a string of candidates but found it difficult to come up with one definitive architectural treasure.

Naturally I thought of late architect Pietro Belluschi, particularly his Equitable Building on Southwest 6th and Stark (now called the Commonwealth). It was the first building in the world (beating out the United Nations building in New York by a few months) to be sheathed in one continuous curtain of metal and glass. And even if you don’t know the history, it’s timeless midcentury modernism.

Another candidate of course is Belluschi’s Portland Art Museum. Legend has it that when they first saw the design, PAM benefactors thought its crisp modernity was too much. But Belluschi received support for his design from none other than Frank Lloyd Wright, who wrote the museum in praise of the architectural plans.

There is also the Jackson Tower, the glazed white terra-cotta building and clock tower on the southwest corner of Pioneer Courthouse Square. It was built in 1912 and designed by Merrit and James William Reed, who also designed San Francisco’s landmark Fairmont Hotel (home to one of the world’s greatest tiki bars, incidentally). Gotta love that little gem.

In terms of more modern buildings, I’d pick the 2281 Glisan Buidling, designed by Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works and home to the Doscha salon on the ground floor. Or perhaps one of two beautifully detailed libraries by Thomas Hacker Architects, either the Woodstock or the Hillsdale branch.

And speaking of libraries, you’ve got to consider Central Library downtown on Southwest 10th. The late architect Richard Ritz actually wrote an entire book about the building called Portland’s Crown Jewel. This Georgian beauty was of course designed by another legendary local architect, A.E. Doyle, in 1912—same year as the Jackson Tower.

Of course Portland also is not limited to downtown. Considering architecture further out in the city, I think of the Moyer Meditation Chapel at The Grotto by Thompson Vaivoda (now officially known as TVA after Ned Vaivoda’s unfortunate departure) and its beautiful and wholly appropriate manner of simple, spiritual modern design. And I love the Water Pollution Control Laboratory (designed by Miller/Hull of Seattle) at the east end of the St. John’s bridge. The Adidas headquarters by BOORA is very nice too.

Other random buildings that come to mind as some of Portland’s best, or at least some of my favorites: the Governor Hotel, the Benson Hotel, the Portland Plaza condominiums, the Gilbert Building at Southwest Third and Taylor, the US Bancorp tower (a.k.a. Big Pink), the art deco Coca Cola Syrup Factory at Southeast 28th and Davis, and the Portland International Airport canopy.

What are your choices?

The Design Exchange

On Wednesday of this week a new group called the Design Exchange met for the first time. Born of the Portland Design Festival and the cross-pollination it inspired, the idea of the Exchange is to bring together people in Portland who design buildings, apparel, graphics, software, squeegees, or anything else.

Although right now it’s just a series of get-togethers, there is hope that the Design Exchange can someday become much more.

Part of the mission is to connect designers with people in the community so that the importance of design itself in fostering a sound economy and vibrant culture is kept on the front burner in both the public and private sector. The Design Exchange isn’t just about preaching to the choir, but sharing its ideas and successes with the greater public. Portland has an opportunity to be known for its range of designers, from major athletic companies headquartered here like Nike and Adidas to advertising giant Weiden + Kennedy, from award-winning industrial designer Ziba to internationally-renowned architecture firm Allied Works. If we can regularly get these people talking with one another and the community, who knows what might come of it?

There is also talk of someday creating an actual brick-and-mortar home for the Design Exchange. It could provide meeting/exhibition space, perhaps a museum of great Portland-originating design (I’m imagining a pair of Air Jordans next to a model of the 2281 Glisan building), maybe food and drink and tables to congregate at. It could be a resource for higher education professionals and students to bring their ideas to the world, or for business and government people to interface with creative services providers. And perhaps even a destination for tourists.

The next Design Exchange meeting, with education the primary focus, is scheduled for 4:30pm on Tuesday, July 12 at Mississippi Pizza. If the ideas being bandied about aren’t enough to get you there, I’m told free pizza will be served. An additional meeting is scheduled for Thursday, July 14 at 3:30pm (location unknown but I plan to update this post with that info soon).

Some of the people involved so far are Stuart Emmons of Emmons Architects, Don Rood of The Felt Hat, Thom Walters of Coraggio Group, Randy Higgins of the Environmental Design Office (“edo”), and writer Jake Murray. The Portland Development Commission is also a supporter.

It’s all just talk at this point—or really talk about having a talk. But the Design Exchange is a very encouraging endeavor.

Thinking About London

This spring and last autumn I made two trips to London. Both times I stayed with a friend in an outer neighborhood called Walthamstow and took a train each morning to Liverpool Street station, one of the targets of this morning's terrorist attack. My Londoner friend thankfully was working from home today, but most mornings he would have been at that station or another one hit today, and likely right at that tragic moment.

The terrorists clearly wanted to strike out against ordinary Londoners, not the protected leaders who make difficult decisions about going to war in the Middle East. After swallowing the shock and horror and sadness of today's terrorist attack, I began to think about their target, and how mass transit is the lifeblood of any major city.

Here in Portland, it may sound trite but it's true: You can get a truer feel for the city by riding MAX or the bus than by going to any series of tourist attractions. I'll be the first to admit that while I'm riding my local #14 bus from Hawthorne into downtown, certain sounds and smells and delays can be an annoyance. But I also enjoy being part of an unfiltered mix. Where else are you ever going to have people in suits sitting next to the homeless?

Of course the fatalities and injuries are the tragedy in London today. But I hope that this and other possible future attacks will not erode people's faith in mass transit. I don't mean to suggest that Portland's leaders will second-guess light rail to South Waterfront because of something that happened on the other side of the globe. Rather, it's that when an attack like this comes, for all the fear it understandably inspires, hopefully it also reaffirms our resolve to building cities where people travel every day together and not in isolation.

New Life for the Galleria?

A generation ago, before the days of Pioneer Place, the Galleria was part of a small constellation of downtown shops along with Nordstrom and Meier & Frank. It was pioneering retail in the urban core. But for the last several years, this prime real estate has remained largely vacant. Now, however, the Galleria may finally be resurrected.

The Western Culinary Institute has already made a successful move to the property and makes an ideal anchor tenant. But as much as 40,000 square feet of rentable space remains, despite the fact that the Galleria is right on the MAX line, across the street from a Smart Park garage, and only two blocks from Pioneer Courthouse Square.

Of course part of this architectural black hole can be attributed to nearly a decade of squabbles between members of the Naito family, who own the building. As the Portland Tribune reported in late June, the Bill Naito Company took over the Galleria three months ago and has hired real estate broker HSM Pacific Realty to fill the long-vacant space. HSM was involved in leasing the Brewery Blocks, and the Galleria is viewed as a similar opportunity.

Although it’s still too early to tell if this latest effort to make the Galleria live up to the potential of its location will succeed, it does give us license to consider what this building could be. The Tribune article mentioned the possibility of tenants like Crate & Barrell, which sought space in the Galleria years ago and was turned away. But is retail enough?

Traditionally the building has been inwardly focused, like a mall. It seems as if one of the primary steps toward making this a viable building is to re-engage its connections with the street. That already has happened with the Made In Oregon shop there, and hopefully that will continue.

I don't think prime real estate should go empty this long without a really long hard look at the building. Finding tenants is of course the top priority, but I hope Bill Naito won't stop there.

Hopefully the ultimate future of the Galleria is to become less like an early-generation mall and more of a flexible, light-filled urban space. And after all this time vacant, perhaps a more comprehensive re-thinking of the building--its program, its layout, its desired occupants and the experience of being inside--is what the Galleria really needs. This building needs imagination as much as it needs people to sign leases.

The Blogosphere Grows

On June 28, Chris Smith switched on the latest blog devoted to civic issues: Portland Transport. Among the items discussed so far are bikes, the Milwaukie Wal-Mart site, Columbia Crossing, and increased parking fees. Obviously transportation and architecture go hand in hand, so best of luck to Chris with the site.

And at least two publications have given Portland Architecture some flattering press. Thanks to the Portland Tribune and Daily Journal of Commerce for the recent words of encouragement.

New York Times Columnist Says Portland “Crucial” to Greenhouse Debate

In case you missed it, on Sunday New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof anticipated the upcoming G8 summit meeting this week with an eye on Portland. Specifically, Kristof argued that Portland’s experience lowering greenhouse gases to 1990 levels without hurting our economy shows that President Bush’s warnings of economic catastrophe had the US signed the Kyoto treaty may have been unfounded. Kristof writes:

“In the past, economic models tended to discourage aggressive action on greenhouse gases, because they indicated that the cost of curbing emissions could be extraordinarily high, amounting to perhaps 3 percent of GNP.”

“That’s where Portland’s experience is so crucial. It confirms the suggestions of some economists that we can take initial steps against global warming without economic disruptions.”

“So as he heads to the summit meeting, Mr. Bush should get a briefing on Portland’s experience and accept that we don’t need to surrender to global warming. Perhaps eventually we will face hard trade-offs. But for now Portland shows that we can help our planet without ‘wrecking’ our economy – indeed, at no significant cost at all. At the Group of 8, that should be a no-brainer.”

I wrote about Portland’s 1990 emission-level announcement a couple weeks ago, but the significance of that achievement has only grown in my mind. It’s not just that Portland has done something good for the environment or even the economy. This city really has a chance to forge an all-new identity and to lead the country in a field of tantamount importance.

You know, we already have plenty of civic celebrations each summer clogging Waterfront Park and Pioneer Courthouse Square. But what if Portland were to have some kind of big party to celebrate something more than a date on the calendar or some worn-out music genre (no offense to patriots or Buddy Guy enthusiasts). How about a party to celebrate Portland’s being the green capital of America? I’m sure there’s a way to make organic funnel cakes.

I’ve also found myself thinking anew about Portland’s heretofore corny slogan, “The City That Works”. The slogan takes on renewed meaning when you think about the fact that we are now the only American city for which the urban existence—the summation of cars and people and buildings and the energy we consume—isn’t driving the planet to ecological ruin. (Or at least not as fast.)

I hope all those in the business community and elsewhere who have decried the expense of MAX trains and the urban growth boundary and green buildings are eating more crow these days than I put away hamburgers this weekend.

Driving Through Hell to ReachHeaven; or, Widen That Road!

Making headlines yesterday was a new list of worst places in the nation for July 4 vacation bottlenecks from AAA and American High Users Alliance. A series of federal and state highways between Portland and the Oregon coast ranked number one.

It’s not to say there will be more Oregonians on the road than, say, people in California or Florida or New York. But I’ll bet very few of their most traveled highways ever have just one lane going in each direction. That is, however, what you’ll find on major portions of Highways 99 and 18 heading from Portland towards Lincoln City. Or on Highway 26 towards Astoria, Seaside and Canon Beach.

Normally I’m not one who favors lots of new blacktop. Here in Portland I, like a lot of people, take both pride and solace in there being numerous transit options. Sure, you can drive here, but you can also bike or walk. You can take the bus, streetcar or MAX. And when you do drive, there is an entire street grid onto which traffic from major arterials can diffuse.

When you’re driving to the coast and traffic backs up, there are no other options. No rail and virtually no buses go there from Portland. And believe me: most of those country roads aren’t going to get you to your destination any faster.

So if driving a car to the coast is the only option, then the plain reality is that the ever-increasing number of cars necessitates wider roads and more of them.

For starters, there desperately needs to be a bypass of Dundee and Newberg heading southwest on Highway 99. More passing lanes are needed between McMinnville and Lincoln City. And Highway 101 needs to bypass Lincoln City and Newport. Sometimes smaller towns fret when talk of a bypass comes. They worry it’ll hurt the economy. But with wine country in the valley and beautiful beaches on the coast, there will still be plenty of people willing to detour into these towns. And as an added bonus you’ll be able to cross the street in less than a half-hour.

I grew up in McMinnville, one of the only cities along these paths that the highway bypasses. Both urbanistically and economically, my hometown is in better shape than nearby towns like Newberg because it’s not severed by merciless, endless through traffic.

Of course you can’t talk about building highways without approaching the topic of funding. And I’ll be the first one to confess that I don’t know how we’d pay for these measures. But while I can’t speak for others, I personally would be happy to pay higher taxes if it meant I never had to see Dundee again at 20 miles per hour, pinot noir notwithstanding.