Portland Architecture

New AIA Headquarters Set to Begin Construction

The new headquarters for the American Institute of Architects/Portland chapter, the Center for Architecture, is just breaking ground under general contractor Howard S. Wright with completion set for mid to late August at the former SK Josefsberg art gallery. Holst Architecture is the official architect for the project, although Architecture W was also involved in earlier stages leading up to this point.

  Several weeks ago I exchanged a few emails with Brian White of Architecture W about the project. Brian sent me a few computer-model images of a unique and visually striking wall planned. The idea was to shade the building’s south wall, since it absorbs a lot of light and heat, by adding a kind of second skin that still allowed the majority of the natural light to penetrate the windows.

As part of an overall design that is posed to earn a ‘Platinum’ LEED rating, the concept of the new wall was to let plants of some kind grow up and down the long thin strips spread almost like a spider web over the façade. It was made of folded steel plating Brian White designed with a New York firm called Aranda/Lasch. It would provide shading in the summer and act as draining system to a series bioswale-like planters in the surface of the sidewalk—only the second building in Portland to do so after the Gerding Theater. In the original rendering I saw, the AIA wall looked almost like a spider web attached to the building. It had a very functional purpose but also seemed to make me go, ‘Whoa, cool!’

After talking with Dave Otte of Holst earlier this week, it appears the original concept has been scaled down—although not necessarily for the worse. Still, we had a laugh when I asked him half-facetiously, “You mean architects are designing for architects and there’s value engineering?”

Much of project will draw from re-used and donated materials. Instead of the custom web shaped folded steel plating, the wall will now be made hanging strips of rebar going from the gutter down from into the sidewalk planters. That will allow vines to go up and water to go down. During rain, it will provide evaporative cooling from garden wall. Irrigation for plants in summertime also will work with natural ventilation to cool the interior.

There’s less of a “wow” factor, but we’re talking about a nonprofit that depends on member dues and donations. Also, Otte told me the neighborhood organization had some reservations about the steel web. The rebar is more in the spirit of Portland, I think, embodying the aesthetic of places like The Rebuilding Center.

Personally, I would have loved the original design, especially for its intersection of an historic building with an unabashedly modern and very visible addition to its façade—and all for functional, sustainably oriented reasons. But I think people will like and maybe even prefer its more humble successor, particularly because the concept even in a scaled-down version will still stand out as something special. It’s natural for the AIA (where I worked from 1999-2000) Center For Architecture to act as a demonstration project for both technologies and, most importantly, ideas.

And this garden wall I think represents the way much of architecture is going: making buildings into more organic spaces that harness natural resources and foster healthier, more stimulating environments.

PDX For Africa: Architects Without Borders Chapter Designing Ethiopian School

At 7PM on Monday night at AIA/Portland, the local chapter of Architects Without Borders will be presenting its design for a master plan and expansion of the Wollega Adventist Academy in Dongoro, Ethiopia.

Each architect, designer, and engineer is providing pro bono labor to design for a master plan of the school's 40-acre site, as well as design and documentation for several new school buildings. To be implemented in several phases, the expansion will include two new classroom buildings, two new lab buildings, a new library building, two new student dorm buildings, a dining facility, a new gymnasium, and an apartment building and single-family residences for faculty. Site infrastructure improvements are also included in the master plan.

Renovations of the existing buildings and construction of new facilities will be led by Mike Philips, a retired construction executive from Sladen Construction. Philips is coordinating American contractors to provide building expertise, supplies, and heavy machinery to local Ethiopian contractors and craftsmen, who will complete the work. Dongoro is a small rural community near the town of Gimbie that is approximately 285 miles west of the capital Addis Ababa. The Wollega Adventist Academy, originally built in the 1960s, is one of a handful of schools in region that supplements government-sponsored K-8 schools with secondary education. Administered by the Seventh Day Adventist Church, the school currently provides education for grades 9, 10 and 11. With this expansion, the school will provide twelfth grade and college-level classes and grow from approximately 150 students to 300 students.

AWB Oregon chapter's first project was the design and construction of a grade school in Bata Atha, Sri Lanka. Subsequent pro bono initiatives include providing hurricane damage assessment training for volunteers traveling to Mississippi, performing damage assessments for homeowners in the Biloxi/Gulfport region affected by Hurricane Katrina, and submitting a Global Green Design Competition Entry. AWB-Oregon also collaborates with the University of Oregon and Portland State University architecture programs to encourage participation in humanitarian-based work through the academic design studio process and in the field, as well as with local and international non governmental organizations and related professional organizations. AWB-Oregon is led by a 5-person board of directors: Angelo Radich, President; Rod Merrick, Vice-President; John Blumthal, Secretary and Treasurer; Abby Dacey; and Shuki Einstein.

After the catastrophic weather events in Indonesia and the American Gulf Coast over the last couple of years, there’s been a lot of talk about architects doing more for under-privileged communities. Now, much of that initial fanfare to help out has died down. But here is our AWB chapter, going stronger than ever to devote design talent and sweat equity towards those who desperately need it. Bravo, people!

Coming to a Coffee Table Near You: BOORA TBA Projects Featured In Taschen Architecture Series

One of my favorite publishers in any genre, but especially among architecture and design books, is Taschen. They bring design, art and nostalgia to the masses in smart, elegant packaging and with eclectic taste ranging from surf photography to ancient architectural theory to Japanese advertising posters. And recently, the publisher has been pressing a series of titles focusing on architecture in individual countries. Previous editions focused on design Meccas like Holland. Now, the US edition is out, and it features one Portland representative: BOORA Architects' designs for the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art's Time-Based Art Festival in 2004 and 2005.

In 2004, it was a temporary 200-seat theater, cabaret stage, bar and cafe, using recycled and other simple materials: scaffolding, pegboard, plastic buckets. In 2005, BOORA produced an event complex (pictured in these official shots supplied by the architect - no amatueur photos here) by creatively using scaffolding and orange plastic temporary fencing and a few lights and plants.That one was particularly impressive visually, comparable to the Maryhill Double project near Maryhill Museum in Washington by Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo of Lead Pencil Studio.

The book is called simply Architecture in the United States, and it features "15 to 20 architects--from the firmly established to the up and coming--with the focus on how they have contributed to the very recent architecture in the chosen nation." About the TBA project, author Philip Jodidio writes, "The involvement of BOORA, including hundreds of hours of free design and execution work, represents an explicit acceptance of the fact that architects cannot content themselves with building 'timeless' structures for wealthy patrons. The temporary and effervescent nature of this initiative might in a sense be closer to performance art than to architecture in the usual sense, but it underlines the ways in which contemporary architecture has evolved."

So how come we get a kind of mini-landmark, a local structure that transcends the usual constraints of budget and formula to become something far more impressive than the sum of its parts, and it's only around for about ten days? I'm mostly joking. I mean, our neighbors in Seattle have more so-called architectural gems or landmarks, but I'd certainly wish for the facade of the Experience Music Project to disappear eventually (although I love Hendrix and the museum).

I would love to see someone take the BOORA/TBA projects and turn them into some kind of recurring presence. Maybe the sight of those orange buckets, scaffolding and plastic mesh fencing could become the physical identity of some art or theater group that stages performances in all kinds of unexpected places by bringing the architecture along as a kit of parts.

One other funny thing about the recent publication of Architecture in the United States is that, as I understand it from reading a recent newspaper report, PICA has decided to go with an existing brick-and-mortar space for its after-hours eat/drink/entertainment venue: the Wonder Ballroom and adjacent Cafe Wonder in Northeast Portland. It's great to see TBA heading to Northeast, and perhaps it's asking too much of BOORA to design these kinds of spaces every year. But it's also a little sad to think of these temporary spaces missing from this year's TBA, because their design and construction was itself the embodiment of time-based art.

Incidentally, one of the other Taschen titles I own is called Modernism Rediscovered and consists of architectural photographs by midcentury legend Julius Schulman. The one photo in that book of a Portland building is of Memorial Colisseum. I must say, though, that it does look good. And some of its bones, in an odd way, remind me a little of the scaffolding of BOORA's 2005 event complex.

Taking MLK Boulevard's Pulse

Tuesday's Portland Tribune features a look at Martin Luther King boulevard, assessing the progress and challenges it faces economically, culturally and socially.

MLK is the city's principal north-south artery. Known prior to 1991 as Union Avenue and running roughly from the Ross Island Bridge terminus in Southeast Portland to the nearly the Columbia river in the north. But when we're talking about MLK, that usually means the stretch of it north of Broadway, where it goes from a one-way couplet paired with Grand Avenue to a both-direction street again. (Notice that the couplet portion is a less pleasant environment, especially for the pedestrian?)

As such, MLK symbolically has long been associated with the African-American community rooted in North and Northeast since the end of WWII and the Vanport flood (as well as other minorities and communities of course). But that's changing with gentrification, an unfortunate Catch-22 casualty of the good work people did in achieving lower crime and more home ownership in the neighborhood.

Incidentally, the Tribune article by Anna Johns spotlights Paul Knowles, owner of Geneva's Shear Perfection salon on MLK and often called the unofficial "mayor" of Northeast Portland. I first met Knowles about 10 years ago while working at the Urban League, where he often visited, and later wound up profiling him in the Business Journal . He's a vibrant, likable, colorful personality with good stories and is known for his trademark ship captain's hat. (It reminds me of a documentary about Count Basie I once watched, in which Basie sauntered into a reunion with old band mates in a similar hat and was teasingly asked by one of them, "You leave the ship outside?")

Knowles is a symbol of the pride and diversity that do today and hopefully will continue to characterize MLK. But there are other issues besides gentrification to consider. Namely, what is the architectural character of the street? It seems like such a mishmash to me, with industrial buildings, the occasional decrepit old shack, markets with suburban-style surface parking lots, and increasingly an array of appealing shops and restaurants and housing. What is the answer for MLK, or is there one, in terms of going forward with things like condos, retail and office space?

Also, MLK is also a highway, with a high volume of traffic. The Tribune article looked at the medians installed in the 1980s as a street scape improvement, "but business owners say they prevent drivers from taking a left turn at most intersections or pedestrians from crossing the street," Johns reports. Isn't a median supposed to be pro-pedestrian? Who's right here? What are some of the long-term desires we should seek transportation-wise? A streetcar has long been discussed for the street, for example, but my understanding was that it would mostly cover the lower split portion of MLK with Grand.

I'd like to encourage an open forum here on anything architectural or transit related on MLK. Part of me thinks the gentrification debate has already been done to death: it's a mix of bad and good, okay? But still, I think there's a lot to talk about in terms of MLK Jr. Boulevard's present and future.

Centennial Mills and the Mounted Police: They Move Horses, Don't They?

I just spent some time on the Centennial Mills website reading the Framework Plan put together by the Portland Development Commission.

Looking at the maps, reading about the building site and imagining the landmark that the Mills site has the potential to become, one uncertainty seems to stand out: the police department's Mounted Patrol Unit (MPU) Paddock. You know, the horse stables.

(By the way, no disrespect meant to the Police department, but regarding cops on horseback - what century is this? Is there a parade going on? And is there a member of Portland's finest cleaning up after these creatures? Perhaps next the fire department could try stagecoaches.)

The Mounted Patrol stables and adjoining offices sit right between where a new renovated Centennial Mills would go and where the under-construction Waterfront Pearl condos. More importantly, the police facility sits right at the intersection of Naito Parkway and Ninth Avenue, the only entrance point to the Pearl District for several blocks. In ther words, the stables are occupying the natural gateway to the future Centennial Mills.

To be successful, it seems like the Mills site will need to have somewhat of an iconic presence, a fusion of the industrial architectural heritage there and the modern, sustainable future. It certainly wouldn't hurt if it were beautiful and striking. But the repairs to existing mills (or what's left of them) could get pretty expensive. Oh, and there also needs to be a nice pedestrian bridge over Naito, preferably connected with the boardwalk begun with Peter Walker's master plan and Jamison Square park.

In order to pay for the architecture at Centennial Mills, a prospective developer would be able to make a profit a lot easier if the police MPU facility were moved and new buildings replaced them. Condos are the obvious possibility here, but commercial office space or apartments are conceivable as well.

In the Framework Plan under 'Redevelopment Issues to Consider', the issue of the stables is addressed:

"The MPU is expected to be accommodated on the Centennial Mills site unless a viable alternative site can be secured...that is proximate to downtown. If the MPU is kept in its existing configuration...the redevelopable area will be greatly reduced and the current access restrictions will be maintained."

One other possibility, a compromise of sorts, also exists:

"If the MPU is reconfigured elsewhere on the site, there is greater opportunity for consolidating its program and accommodating new uses on the former location."

Personally, I'd like to see the horse facility go. It's certainly unfortunate that public dollars have been invested fairly recently in that location. The police indeed deserve a quality facility in a reasonably close-in location. But this is very valuable land, not just economically, but as a catalyst in a booming neighborhood's next step: a re-invigoration of the northen riverfront by way of celebrating the city's industrial heritage.

I made fun of the existence of mounted patrol units earlier, but that's not the point. The police deserve good facilities - just maybe not on this site anymore. Are we serious about making Centennial Mills a great place? If so, I say we need the horsey barn to move out of the way.

It's a little bit weird to me that in its Framework Plan, PDC basically seems to throw its hands up and say, "We'd like to move it but we probably can't - unless you want to give it a try. Maybe the police will move for you. They wouldn't when we asked." But give them credit for being honest about the situation.

Does anyone know whether Mayor Potter has expressed a position on the MPU? As a former police officer, it's understandable for his honor to be loyal to his old department. However, as mayor he may recognize the broader importance of a Centennial Mills site expanded to include the MPU site. That scale seems to have greater potential to attract the sizable development investment we're all hoping for. This would be a good opportunity for one of our city leaders to make some deals behind the scenes, perhaps in a Katz-esque kind of way, to get this done.

If I understand the Framework Plan correctly, the door remains open, if however unlikely, to an MPU move. To me, that means it will take money and political deal-making. Who in City Hall can make the wheels turn on this, or is it folly to imagine it happening?

A Green Design Conference Double Feature in Seattle

For local architects interested in making connections and learning more in the sustainable design world, two sustainable organizations - the Cascadia regional chapter of the US Green Building Council along with the American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment are co-hosting the the Living Future Green Building Conference next week in Seattle, April 25-27.

Opening the event on the evening of April 25 is a keynote address given by Ed Mazria, author of the 2030 Challenge, a call-to-action for the building, design and construction industry to stabilize carbon emissions and then lower them over the next 10 years in both existing buildings and new construction. Buildings are responsible for almost half (48%) of all energy consumption and green house gas emissions annually; globally the percentage is even greater.

On April 26 comes AIA's annual “What Makes it GREEN?” conference, which highlights projects by designers throughout the region. On April 27, Cascadia's program celebrates exemplary sustainable design leadership in the Pacific Northwest. Both days will be filled with technical training and interactive sessions, networking opportunities, sustainable building tours and eco-charettes, followed by a conference-ending dinner gala said to include live music. (Hopefully it'll be better than that atrocious in-house singer at the Salishan bar during the Oregon Design Conference.)

Living Future is targeted to engage those in the fields of construction, design, government and real estate. For a more information on this conference or to register, log on to www.cascadiagbc.org and look for the Living Future section of the website. 

Group Mackenzie's River East Opens At Hawthorne Bridgehead

A couple days ago I visited the River East center at the east end of the Hawthorne Bridge. It's a rehab of a warehouse that has long stood empty (although the Portland Boat House, its sole previous tenant before the renovation, will remain).

Like many, I've followed this building's progress for years while walking back and forth across the bridge. It's great to see new use for the building, which seismically was not long for this world before architecture firm Group Mackenzie (the head of which co-developed the project) took over.

The warehouse was constructed in 1951 as the Holman Transfer Building, which was part of a supply chain for Quaker Oats, C&H Sugar, and Coca-Cola. The Portland Development Commission bought the building in 2002 as part of the Central Eastside Urban Renewal Area.

Group Mackenzie added lots of windows and seismic support on the inside, but also endeavored whenever possible to preserve the original bones and their rough, industrial character. On a recent visit, I felt like the original spirit of the Holman warehouse came through nicely. At the same time, the added glass and other interiors, which will play home to Coaxis software company and Group Mackenzie itself, displayed a modern style that stands on its own - literally in some cases. As you enter GM's offices, you see two glass conference rooms that seem to stand alone in the double-height space.

  The building also incorporates numerous sustainable materials and methods, enough to earn an expected 'Gold' LEED rating. One of the most striking new aspects of River East is the new glass wall on the southern side, which acts as a massive solar heating system. Outside is a rainwater harvesting system that irrigates native plants, part of an extensive landscaping job by Greenworks to transform what was previously a sea of asphalt.

The only thing I don't like about the project - and this is a small quibble, purely aesthetic - is that many of the windows are broad single-pane jobs. With old warehouses like these, I'm much more fond of windows comprised of many small panes. There's probably plenty of practical reason for the change that I as a non-architect/non-contractor don't grasp. But from a purely visible perspective, I think the multiple-pane windows give a much more pleasing facade.

Meanwhile, kudos to Group Mackenzie on a very nice job making this building come to life - not like it was in 1951, but actually much better.

Street of Eames Recap

On Saturday I was one of the lucky 700 attending the Street of Eames tour of modern homes. (Many weren’t able to get tickets after they sold out in 48 hours a few weeks ago.)

After a ticket snafu caused a brief delay, we began at the Boles house, a lovely West Hills enclave with a great view. I liked this house a lot, and my three traveling companions also listed it very high among the six. The strongest aspect of the house was the wood-festooned interior walls and floors. It felt like a modernist ski lodge or beach house. Come to think of it, the wood interior was very similar to a beach house at Neskowin designed by BOORA Architects, to which Boles house owner Stan Boles belongs. (I believe he’s the ‘B’.) (Note: it turns out this is actually not the case; my mistake.)

One of my other favorite parts of the house was outside, where the owners have constructed a small array of metal arms to help hold up a beautiful old tree.

Incidentally, I seem to recall when the tour was first announced, this place was called the ‘Ritz House’ in honor of its original owner and architect, Richard Ritz, who passed away last year. The BOORA/Boles imprint is clear here, and an impressive one, but I’d have favored calling it something like the Ritz-Boles house.

Next we visited a house owned by architect Brian White of Architecture W (and his wife). This was a small, unextraordinary old ranch house that was imaginatively transformed into a two-story home with a nice combination of simplicity and eye-catching good looks. I wrote about this home a couple years ago in Western Interiors before Dwell later picked up the scent as well.

Perhaps my favorite house on the tour was owned by architect Joachim Grube of Yost Grube Hall. (The two dominant themes in this years Street of Eames were architect-owned homes and the West Hills.) This house, designed and built in 1965, was the epitome of Northwest Modernism that took root in the mid-20th Century. Nestled into a hillside, the house rests on a series of six concrete piers, with wood beams stretching the space into a seamless combination of indoor and outdoor space. The house felt very cozy but with plenty of room for lots of built-in shelves, holding the German-born Grube’s series of history books on Hitler and novels by Günter Grass.

The home on NW Raleigh Street owned by Ben Watson (a brand-strategy expert and design consultant who heads Watson + Partners) and painter Claudio Tschopp I wrote about for Dwell a couple years ago. It was originally designed by Portland architect Edgar Waehrer. For the renovation, Watson had the wood floors and wall paneling bleached white, for a pristine look that celebrates the color of light penetrating through from the forest outside. Great furniture here, too (Watson used to work for Swiss furniture manufacturer Vitra.)

Just off NW 23rd Avenue was the Vaivoda house, designed by architect Ned Vaivoda, a co-founding principal of TVA Architects (he’s the ‘V’) now at Yost Grube Hall. With an angular glass and metal façade, this house stands strikingly on its gentle hillside sight, providing a nice contrast to the surrounding homes. It’s a bit 1980s to me, faintly recalling the Miami Vice TV show, but impressive. The house was also sleek on the inside, with white marble floors and a collection of vases in a display case.

The last house on the tour was also a particular favorite, and the only one in a mixed-use location, downtown at SW 12th and Alder. Designed by Skylab Design head principal Jeff Kovel, the residence is on the upper floor of a 100-year-old quarter-block building that Skylab remodeled and completely re-imagined, to the tune of a top AIA design award last year. The residence was eye-popping cool inside, with sloping bamboo countertops and a glass-enclosed outdoor stairway in the middle of the space that formed a small atrium leading up to the roof. Skylab also designed (and originated) the Doug Fir restaurant, and there was similar blend of natural materials and bubbly imagination here.

By tour’s end it was nice to be able to keep my shoes on (or not put on shoe-cover booties), and it was helpful to be able to relieve a full bladder (bathroom use in tour houses verboten). But it was an excellent event for a good cause, homeless students in Portland schools. Congratulations and thanks co-organizers Sherri Nee, Caroline Fenn, and all the Street of Eames volunteers for a great tour. (By the way, I've always wondered: exactly what is a docent?)

Is Timber Industry Dragging Its Knuckles At Green Design?

It's not often that people take issue with green buildings, where occupants are healthier, less energy is used and the environment is less negatively impacted. But this week as the AIA has lobbied the state legislature to pass a bill requiring all state buildings to achieve a 'Gold' LEED rating from the US Green Building Council, the timber industry has taken issue because it could mean less wood used in Oregon buildings.

"It's like a slap in the face," Bill Kluting of the Carpenters Industrial Council told The Oregonian's Dylan Rivera in an article from this morning's Business section. I'd suggest that it's a self-slap.

LEED buildings get credit for using wood products certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, the requirements of which are more stringent than mainstream timber industry practices. You know, less clear-cutting and more habitat/forest preservation.

Rather than looking in the mirror and seeing both the changing public values and financial opportunity from better protecting the forests it harvests, the timber industry instead favors the state scrap LEED requirements in favor of another green building rating system, Green Globes, which recognizes several forestry standards, including the Sustainable Forestry Initiative, which more or less simply defers to state laws.

It's easy for me to criticize the timber industry for not being progressive enough. I don't live in a small town with heavy dependence on logging to support my family. But ever since the spotted owl incident of the early 90s, when the timber industry fought to cut down old grown temperate rainforests (some of the world's last remaining), including the habitat of this endangered species, I've been skeptical of any timber company looking out for the environment or anything other than business and jobs. Their fight against LEED and Senate Bill 576 confirms that suspicion in my mind. Oh, and I also wretch at clear-cutting that scars the landscape, seen every time I drive to the coast.

City Council’s Burnside Blitzkrieg Continues

Yesterday the City Council voted unanimously yesterday to begin initial work to convert West Burnside and Northwest Couch into two one-way couplet streets between 2nd and I-405.

Leading the charge on this $80 million endeavor is commissioner Sam Adams and the Department of Transportation. But as Anna Griffin reports in today's Oregonian, city planners and members of the Planning Commission, an advisory group, are against the plan. However, there is also tied to the plan an extension to the streetcar, which most everyone supports.

Steve Duin’s column from today's paper also quotes commissioner Erik Sten saying, “Let’s be blunt. We have a Planning Bureau that’s trying to undermine this project.”

I don’t quite understand. If it’s a major planning decision for the city and it doesn’t originate from the Planning Bureau, isn’t the undermining happening the other way around? If this is best for Portland and the central city in particular, I’d have expected the plan to originate in the Planning Bureau and then be carried out by the Transportation department.

This is just my opinion, of course, but I don’t even find it “blunt” to say that we have a couplet effort that’s undermining the architecture of the city’s planning process.

But where the couplet plan starts is less important than whether it goes through or not. As someone staunchly against the couplet, I can give you some reasons why it shouldn’t happen. And somebody favoring the couplet can give reasons why it’s for the best. But do we want to move forward with a plan that at least half of those weighing in seem to oppose? Is the couplet a plan that those in power should railroad through?

Burnside isn’t a great place for pedestrians. There need to be much better crossings in certain places. However, as the only street in Portland that touches Northwest, Southwest, Northeast and Southeast, I believe it has extra importance as a unifier of the city—a grand boulevard in the tradition of the Champs Elysee.

If Burnside is divided into a couplet with Couch, the dichotomy may allow more room for wide sidewalks and other pedestrian amenities. But one will also be crossing two busy streets instead of one. I think of the places this format exists in Portland—Northeast Broadway and Weidler, Martin Luther King Boulevard and Grand—and I think of islands surrounded by traffic.

If the city council members advocating for the Burnside couplet are so confident about the plan’s viability, why not come to us with a couplet plan not attached to a streetcar extension? I wonder if some supporters are in it for the streetcar and turning the other cheek with the couplet.

The ironic thing about the couplet to me is that, despite whatever claims its supporters make about pedestrian health, this is a plan for automobiles. When you think about all that Portland is known for, does it really fit to radically change the most significant major thoroughfare in the city in a way that's about moving cars? That's why marrying the streetcar plan to the couplet plan is so clever--and (however unwittingly) devious.

Also, I’m continually flummoxed at the notion that there are property owners in Old Town or otherwise along Burnside who are waiting to invest until the couplet is approved. It’s true that the streetcar has been used in the past as a development tool, but I believe the promised value of a couplet to property owners is a purely psychological one. The couplet is news that they can use to spin for condo buyers, but not something that will transform their area—only they will do that, but renovating the buildings they’ve been sitting on.

How about this: we go forward with what everyone agrees on and then take up the couplet if necessary. That means we put a streetcar down Burnside. We take out the trees in the middle of the intersection, put them on the sidewalks and widen them, adding those wide curb extensions at key intersections. We also put traffic lights on Couch to make it more viable as a through street. Those combined things would in my and a lot of people’s minds solve what needs solving. If it doesn’t, we can still make Burnside and Couch one-way at a later date. But for now, why not move forward with solely the measures people agree on?

Saving the Morris Marks House

Recently the Portland Architecture mailbag included a note from the Portland State University Historic Preservation Club. (I love that there's a college club devoted to historic preservation. It's certainly a more productive use of spare time than I made while matriculating.)

The club has rallied around the cause of the Morris Marks House, which Fred Leeson of The Oregonian has also written about. It's designed by a noteworthy Portland architect named Warren Williams, who died at age 43 but only after, as Leeson reported, a prolific 15-year period. The house is located downtown at 1134 SW 12th Avenue, between Jefferson and Market. It's a two-story, single-family residence in the somewhat flamboyant Italianate style, only it remains modest as a little wood structure - especially in this land of larger buildings, which are not threatening its future.

PSU's Historic Preservation club is hosting an informal lecture on the house and its need for some new digs. "The property owners don't want to see it demolished and have enlisted Clem Ogilby (a local building mover) to come up with a place to move it to and a use for it," club representative Robin Pipkin told me in a recent email. "In turn, he's enlisted us for help in raising awareness because finding property to move it to is a pretty tall order. So we're sponsoring a discussion on the Morris Marks house. We will hear about its history from local historians, discuss its current at-risk situation, and brainstorm solutions."

The gathering will be held in the second floor gallery of the PSU Urban Center at 1PM on Friday, April 13th (bad omens unintended).

"Why you should come?" the invitation asks. "The Morris Marks house is worth saving! It is one of the few examples of Portland's historic built environment that remains in the area. YOU might have an idea that could save this Italianate house built in 1880!  The structure currently at 1134 SW 12th Ave is just north of the PSU Campus.  The current owners want the structure relocated by this summer. This is an opportunity for you to learn more about Portland's history and get involved in a grassroots effort to save this architectural gem from the wrecking ball!  Speakers include Clem Ogilby and William J. Hawkins. ALL are welcome to attend."

And encouraged.

AIA Sponsors LEED Bill In Legislature

AIA Oregon is proposing a new piece of legislation in the Oregon senate that would require most state-funded building projects to be LEED Gold certified. To garner support, next Thursday in Salem the chapter is hosting a free half-day event called 'Leadership By Design'. The Bill will be introduced to the legislature at a public hearing that day. To make it easier for supporters to join the effort, AIA Oregon is organizing bus transportation from Portland and Eugene, lunch, and even coaching and talking points for meeting with legislators. As the email that went out to AIA members went, "We need architects, engineers, contractors and developers to meet with senators and representatives (briefly and in small groups) to support our case, and pack the public hearing with supporters." 

In addition to the hearing and brief meetings with legislators, Leadership By Design will include exhibits of LEED certified projects in Oregon and industry-leading speakers to round out the day. "If you're holding back because you're unfamiliar with the legislative process, don't worry: logistics and training will be covered... all that's missing is you.Your expertise and involvement are vital.  Get involved and make a difference!"

This effort comes on the heels of a major honor for Portland developer Gerding/Edlen, which has been honored by the US Green Building Council for a host of sustainable multi-building urban projects such as the Brewery Blocks and South Waterfront - the news of which also inspired a rousing pro-green building editorial in this morning's Oregonian. The timing is right for the design community to get active politically, especially since green building is resonating with the mainstream in a big way.

Architects are like everybody else: busy, and understandably not always able to devote a whole business day to lobbying in the state capitol. But if you care about design and can make it to Salem, please consider doing so.

PDC Issues Centennial Mills RFQ

The Portland Development Commission has issued a long-anticipated request for qualifications (RFQ) from developer-led teams for the historic Centennial Mills property along the Northwest Portland riverfront, just across Naito Parkway from the burgeoning northern Pearl District.

The 4.5-acre site is much decayed, and chances are not all of the original structures will be able to be preserved. At the same time, it would be a major tragedy if the whole thing was demolished. It seems that PDC will strongly favor a development plan that preserves as much as possible - or at least one hopes and assumes that's the case. Preserving historic buildings seems especially important here, because the northern Pearl is going to be all new buildings - we need to keep a mix of old and new, each of which reinforces the aesthetic and appeal of the other.

On its website devoted to the Mills, PDC cites as a reference "a wide array of other industrial redevelopments" that have successfully re-developed old industrial properties. (SERA Architects has been actively involved in defining the set of goals. The images you see here I stole from their website.) "These included private redevelopments, public-private partnerships and public open space projects. Specifically, PDC researched the success of projects such as the Mill City Museum in Minneapolis, Minnesota; The Can Company in Baltimore, Maryland; and Flour Mill Lofts in Denver, Colorado, amongst others, to help inform this redevelopment solicitation." And of course here in Portland, the Brewery Blocks are another fine example - at least the block that preserved the old brew house.

I'd like to start a conversation about what Centennial Mills might become: what mix of uses would we like to see: shopping, housing, something else?

There is also its relation to new developments in the northern Pearl. For example, how might we extend the boardwalk from Jamison Square over Naito to the redeveloped mills? One idea I saw in BOORA Architects' master planning for Hoyt Street Properties had a cool pedestrian bridge that rose from the boardwalk.

And I'm also curious how the architecture itself will move forward. Even though this is at heart a case of historic preservation, I also hope that the plan won't be so beholden to preservation that there can't be a mix of modern and historic architecture. While in London and Copenhagen recently, I particularly loved seeing historic architecture fused with glassy new additions, be it Norman Foster's glass canopy at the British Museum or the late-1990s addition to Statens Museum for Kunst in Denmark. How about some kind of winter garden making the exterior of some of these old mill buildings into indoor spaces?

One other question: is the RFQ the best process here? Is a developer-led team the right way to go? I'm a little bit suspicious of this format, although I'd be the first to admit I'm not an expert on the ins and outs of such processes. But I really want the architecture itself to be the overriding factor. I don't want to see a handful of big developers working with solid but rote firms that do all these jobs. Let's not let this become another Burnside Bridgehead.

Meanwhile, anyone with any ideas about the project's future - specifically what Centennial Mills could and should become, is strongly urged to weigh in.

Great Second-Tier Cities

The Portland Architecture road show continues as my vacation has moved into its second stage from London to Copenhagen. (Hello, credit card debt!) As much as I love returning to the land of Python, shepherd's pie and the Fab Four, I'm also always ready to leave London by the time departure arrives, simply because I get that big-big-city fatigue that has also shown itself in New York (my college town), Paris, Los Angeles or Tokyo. Copenhagen is a world capitol, but it's clearly much smaller than London. In fact, it feels much more comparable in size and even temperament to Portland than it does London or Paris. A couple years ago on vacation, I had a similar feeling when we went from Paris to Amsterdam, which also was a clear step down in size. Same goes for Kyoto versus Tokyo.

As a result, I've come to a realize that even though I've always considered myself a lover of big urban areas, it's really the second-tier world cities that I love. So far in my travels, my favorite cities have been those three: Amsterdam, Kyoto and Copenhagen. And of course Portland itself is one of these cities: not as massive in size or given the attention of American cities like New York, Los Angeles, Chicago or even (God forbid) Houston. But in my book, visiting and absorbing our city is a much more pleasurable experience. Other than our art museum being sub-par, most things you want out of a big-big city you can find and do in Portland. But there's just a little less of the big city problems of grime and crime and so on. And you can walk from one end of the central city to the other in a single afternoon.

I thought I'd open this up to my beloved Portland Architecture peanut gallery: What are some of your favorite second-tier world cities, and what else is it about the personalities of these places they share?