Portland Architecture

Let it Snøhetta: can the new public market transform Portland's waterfront?

Morrison Bridge and ramps (image via Google Maps)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

Although the James Beard Public Market has been simmering as an idea and a dream for over a decade, and its intended location at the west end of the Morrison Bridge has been known since 2011, the recent announcement that acclaimed Norwegian architecture firm Snøhetta will be its designer (first reported by Randy Gragg in Portland Monthly) has given the project an injection of excitement and possibility.

With its bounty of food options, the market already seemed poised to become a major destination and public draw in downtown Portland. Think of what the Pike Place Market in Seattle does for that city: it almost feels like the epicenter of the urban core there. But the Beard Public Market will occupy a difficult, bifurcated site occupying the donut holes of two circular Morrison Bridge on and off-ramps.

For that reason and more, the fact that Snøhetta is designing the project is exciting.

Internationally renowned firms don't seem to come to Portland very often. This isn't a city that collects buildings by starchitects, especially in comparison to neighboring metropolises like Seattle and San Francisco. But Snøhetta, with its collaborative and multidisciplinary approach as well as its inclusive and research-oriented process (the firm will lead a design forum on December 10 to gather ideas, for example) is probably a better fit for the city.

Snøhetta first came together as a collective of Norwegian and American architects and landscape designers in 1989 to enter a design competition for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Library of Alexandria) in Egypt. The untested firm won the job and, after a lengthy gestation, saw the library completed of in 2001. It featured a bold circular form and tilting roof that became instantly recognizable, a seeming fusion of ancient and modern influences.

The firm may be even better known for its Norwegian National Opera in Oslo. Also won via competition in 2000 before being completed in 2008, the design features a distinctive roof that slopes dramatically downward, not unlike the Bibliotheca Alexandria, only this time to form an adjacent waterside pedestrian walkway. It's striking, but in a way rooted in function, creating "a link within the city rather than a divisive sculptural expression," as the firm's website explains.

Norwegian Nat'l Opera (top) & National 9/11 Memorial Museum Pavilian (images via Snøhetta)

This year saw the opening of perhaps the firm's biggest-profile project yet, the National September 11 Memorial Museum Pavilion in New York City. The only building on the memorial plaza formed by the original World Trade Center twin-tower footprints, the largely underground museum features an angular, almost crystalline glass pavilion stretching upward and outward to offer a soaring volume of multi-story architectural space holding a pair of structural steel columns from the original World Trade Center. Since then, the firm has developed a stronger presence in the United States with offices in New York and San Francisco and a host of domestic projects, the most prominent probably being an expansion of the Matio Botta-designed SFMOMA.

Rather than simply being creators of bold architectural forms (although they certainly do that well), however, Snøhetta seem to act as problem-solvers, turning the constraints of site into opportunities for drama. That could come in handy given the challenging constraits of the three-block Beard Public Market site, formerly surplus land occupied and shaped by the bridge, which Multnomah County sold to developer Melvin Mark in 2011. Melvin Mark plans to build a 17-story office tower on the more open triangular-shaped western portion the land, with the other two blocks (comprised of the bridge's circular on and off-ramps to and from Naito Parkway) providing the two halves of the market.

If Snøhetta can solve the constrained nature of the market's two-halved site, as they’ve solved similar problems at other complex parcels on which they build, perhaps the project can also be a benefit to the waterfront itself. 

A generation ago Portland removed Harbor Drive in order to build Tom McCall Waterfront Park, which was a transformational moment for the city (along with the rejection of the Mt. Hood Freeway and the construction of Pioneer Courthouse Square, MAX and the bus mall) as it journeyed to become the pedestrian, mass transit and bike-friendly place we know today. Yet the four-lane road that remained alongside Waterfront Park, Naito Parkway (which also acts as US Highway 99W), seems to have difficulty attracting retail or other types of development. Surface parking lots remain year after a year. 

Lillehammer Art Museum (top) and SFMOMA expansion (images courtesy Snøhetta)

It's not to say that the market itself will stretch across Naito Parkway and solve that sense of the park being hemmed in, but perhaps its construction can act as a catalyst for further waterfront development, which has already seen recent projects a few blocks north such as the University of Oregon's White Stag Block and the Mercy Corps headquarters bookending the western edge of the Burnside Bridge, or the relocated Saturday Market with its glass canopy in Waterfront Park, also near the Burnside. And the Morrison bridgehead has heretofore had very little relationship with the surrounding Yamhill Historic District as well as Waterfront Park. If the new market can change that, one wonders how the whole area might benefit. Could the surface parking lots along Naito finally begin to disappear? Could Naito start to feel a little less dominated by automobiles?

And while the market will be more horizontal than vertical, stretching across the two halves of the Morrison ramps before giving way to the office tower, one wonders how it might alter the skyline, acting as a new front door for downtown Portland. It also makes one wonder about the design of the office tower Melvin Mark is building. It will be a challenge to maintain the same level of architectural quality in the office as Snøhetta brings to the tower.

Even so, perhaps what excites me the most—that is, after the experience of visiting the market itself when it’s completed in 2018—is how the project makes use of some of the dead space created by the massive bridge ramps. In some of the greatest cities I’ve been to, particularly those in Japan, the space around and underneath infrastructure such as bridges and elevated train tracks is often utilized creatively. We’re never going to completely get rid of the mid-20th century infrastructure here, but we can make it better stitched into the fabric of the city. In a region known for its bounty of agriculture, seafood and wine, what better way to do that than with a public market?

 

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Grocery games at Grant Park Village

Grant Park Village (photo by Fred Leeson)

BY FRED LEESON

If the new Grant Park Village proves to be a smash hit on Broadway, we can call it “Car Wars.” Should it prove to be a little less slam/bang, then a title like “Food Fight” will do.

The food fight and the accompanying car wars began November 12, when the New Seasons grocery chain opened a 34,500-square foot store in first floor of the four-story, 600-foot long “village” nearing completion at the busy intersection of Northeast 33rd Avenue and Broadway.

The $60 million project, built by Capstone Partners LLC, fills a sloping, long-vacant site that housed the Albina Fuel Company and a couple smaller businesses that formerly nestled between Broadway, Interstate 84 and Northeast 32nd Avenue. Now, the first phase of the long, narrow “village” will comprise 211 apartments and about 47,000 square feet of retail space, sitting on a concrete pedestal covering 269 parking spaces.

Finding a new use for the Albina Fuel site took more than a decade. An earlier proposal calling for condominiums died in the recession. The elaborate planning process for the village eventually won grudging approval from the nearby Grant Park and Sullivan’s Gulch neighborhoods, though the neighbors continued to express concerns about traffic problems.

Indeed, automobile flow may be daunting. Most motorists hoping to park under the New Seasons will have to turn from Broadway to one block on 32nd, and then turn briefly on to Northeast Weidler to enter the covered parking. Some drivers may be tempted, instead, to walk a couple hundred feet from the nearby Fred Meyer Hollywood parking lot, but we’ll get to that issue in a moment.

To accommodate vehicular turns on and off Broadway, the city has installed a new signal at 32nd.  It will be the fourth signalized intersection between 28th and 33rd, with lights now at 33rd, 32nd, 30th and 28th. City traffic engineers originally were reluctant to add the new signal, but Capstone evidently provided evidence to change their minds. It remains to be seen how reality of the traffic flow fits with the gauntlet of lights.

Grant Park village was designed by LRS Architects of Portland, with assistance from Seattle’s Runberg Architecture Group. The designers took cues from nearby industrial-style buildings – notably the Gordon’s Fireplace building just across 33rd Avenue, and a former large factory that is now houses storage units near I-84 and Northeast 28th Avenue.

Grant Park Village (photo by Fred Leeson)

The first phase of the village consists of three buildings of similar size and appearance sitting on the concrete pedestal. One might hope that someday the three could be more differentiated visually with a more vibrant color scheme. But not to worry; paint is comparatively cheap. Long-range plans could see the addition of more housing units in two buildings at the rear of the five-acre site. The first phase includes a pleasant gathering space for residents on the backside of the three buildings and a walking path that someday could become part of a longer pedestrian/bicycle route in the freeway gulch.

The agreement by New Seasons to take the primary retail space puts three major food stores within a few hundred feet of one another. Fred Meyer Hollywood is almost check-to-jowl to the southwest, and QFC (also part of the Kroger/Fred Meyer empire) is just a couple short blocks to the north. It must be frustrating for Portland neighborhoods that cannot land a major food retailer to see three so close; no doubt demographics – closely studied by the big food chains – are to blame.

Fred Meyer Inc. is not taking the new competition lightly. Top officials have been meeting with Hollywood employees, and some of the employees tried – unsuccessfully, in some cases – to scout out the new competitor before it opened. No doubt concerned by potential abuse of its own parking, Fred Meyer Inc. has contracted with a parking patrol company to monitor Meyer’s eastern lot closest to New Seasons. Signs have been posted telling customers that they may park for no more than two hours, during which time they are not supposed to leave the Fred Meyer premises. The penalty is a $39 fine.

If Fred Meyer himself were still alive, it is probable that he would fight New Seasons with all the competitive aggression he could muster. And that likely would be in the form of price wars. Meyer, who cut his retailing teeth in the old public markets along Southwest Yamhill Street in the 1920s and 30s, once told an associate, “If I walk down Yamhill Street and my competitors aren’t saying, ‘There goes Fred Meyer, that son of a bitch,’ my prices aren’t hot enough.”

In a much bigger, fancier way, perhaps Grant Park Village is the start of a new Yamhill Street.

Fred Leeson is a Portland journalist and author of “My-Te-Fine Merchant: Fred Meyer’s Retail Revolution.”

 

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Design calendar: November 17-30

A rendering of Memorial Coliseum (image courtesy City of Portland archives)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

Saving the Gold Old Houses
The current uproar over increased demolitions of historic homes has a distinct precedent from a generation past. 25 years ago, in 1989, 23 citizen activists were arrested when they formed a human chain to prevent a local developer from bulldozing a historic home on NW Overton Street designed by the renowned firm Whidden & Lewis. This resistance eventually led to the creation of the Alphabet District in NW Portland, zoned for preservation of historic homes and properties. A panel discussion will include five veterans of that struggle: Nancy Nesewich, Ruth Roth, Joleen Jensen-Classen, Frank Dixon and Rick Michaelson. The discussion will also be simulcast on KBOO radio (90.7 FM). Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 7PM Tuesday, November 18. Free.

AIA Historic Resources Committee: a conversation about Memorial Coliseum
The Historic Resources Committee of the American Institute of Architects' Portland chapter will be joined by Susan Hartnett from the City of Portland's Office of Management and Finance, who will discuss the study on Veterans Memorial Coliseum recently commissioned by the city. The study, ordered by Mayor Charlie Hales and adopted by City Council last month, will explore not only renovation options but also mothballing and demolition. AIA Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 12PM Wednesday, November 19. Free.

Fred G. Meyer, the Claussen Brothers, and the Architecture of “One-Stop Shopping”
Perhaps no other entrepreneur had such an impact on 20th century Portland as Fred G. Meyer. In the 1920s, Meyer began building his eponymous “One-Stop Shopping” stores around the Portland area. This program, hosted by Architectural Heritage Center president (and Portland Architecture contributor) Fred leeson, takes a close look at the life and work of Meyer as well as the work of the architectural firm of Claussen & Claussen, with whom Meyer frequently worked, all drawing from Leeson's book about Meyer, "A My-Te-Fine Merchant." Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 10AM Saturday, November 22. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

 

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Making their way: a conversation with Fieldwork Design & Architecture

Elk Valley Tractor Shed (image courtesy Fieldwork Design)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

In recent years as the economy has boomed and busted, a lot of architects have had to reconsider their careers, with many leaving the profession for a variety of other jobs. Some designers, though, have retooled how they approach design to incorporate a greater array of skills, everything from the broad concept planning that prefigures architecture to the small details that can make a project sing.

It's in this latter category that we find Fieldwork Design & Architecture, a Portland firm that has gained notoriety for its combination of architectural design and craftsmanship. For example, the firm won three awards at last week's IIDA (International Interior Design Association) Design Excellence Awards for projects like their West Hills Residence, a branding wall for Nike, and in a consulting role on Hennebery Eddy's nod for a corporate client project.

Fieldwork Design's three leaders—architects Cornell Anderson and Tim Fouch and interior designer Tonia Hein—don't act as general contractors, like some combination design/build firms do. Instead, their architecture studio is attached to a workshop where an array of wood, steel and aluminum pieces are made. Some become furniture, while other pieces comprise architectural details from doors to accent walls. Besides the final pieces themselves that make it into Fieldwork's projects, the shop is also a place to explore prototypes and test ideas, as well as to always keep fresh the relationship between design and making.

A nine-person firm with five designers and four fabricators, Fieldwork reminds me a little bit of boat makers. I've never spent a lot of time on the water, but it seems to me when I look at the insides of sailboats and other craft that every inch of the interior has been thought about carefully, both in terms of its materials and especially in its maximization of space. With Fieldwork's portfolio there seems the possibility to really unify architecture and interiors in a compelling way.

The Fieldworks studio and fabrication shop (image courtesy Fieldwork Design)

Recently I sat down with Fieldwork's triumvirate to discuss their process and product.

Portland Architecture: How did the idea of combining architecture and fabrication come to you?

Hein: Our first big project that we started collaborating on was a project for [footwear company] Keen, because there was a lot of different interior design work and custom furniture and fabrication. Then the three of us had this vision to really offer this as a service.

Fouch: It made sense as a business particularly as architecture was starting to crumble [during the recession]. It seemed like another leg in the stool of the architecture profession that had gone missing. Number one, we love it and it’s informative to the design. Number two, there’s this other side to the business, where if architecture is a little lean we can focus on making things, and if we’re not making a lot of things we can focus on our architecture practice.

Your work often goes beyond custom furniture with details such as an accent wall Fieldwork did for Nike and your new Tender Loving Empire store on Hawthorne Boulevard. Could you talk about that genesis?

Hein: The idea with Nike was to come up with this kind of branded identity at different scales and levels, like a lobby staircase wall. We collaborated with Workplace Brand Design on the design and then did all the prototyping.  

Nike branding walls (images courtesy Fieldwork Design)

Fouch: Literally last night we were working on the drawings for some built-in furniture and displays at Tender Loving Empire, and you can see the piece is being worked on in the shop right now. The dialogue is immediate. We can say, ‘This looks like an interesting direction.' Let’s try it.’

Hein: Whereas in the traditional setting you’d send that shop drawing out and four weeks would go by. Now it’s within a day or within minutes we can mock it up.

Fouch: And the client gets excited because people are interested now in process and how things get done. They can actually see it happening and give feedback as well. They often have really good ideas. Everything is totally baked in all the way through.

Is it mostly wood that you work with, or a lot of other materials too?

Fouch: We have welding capability; there are steel fabrication saws back there too. We’ve been using a lot of wood, but it really depends on the project.

It’s refreshing to see you embracing traditional fabrication, but do you utilize things like 3D printing as well?

Fouch: I’d say we’re a little more low tech. We like using our hands. That’s not to say we couldn’t incorporate 3D printing. But we actually enjoy the physical making of things. The clients appreciate that as well.

West Hills Residence (images courtesy Fieldwork Design)

Where did that interest come from? Were you building things in the garage as kids with your dads, or as teenagers in shop class?

Fouch: I grew up in Colorado across the street from this truck driver who also had a cabinetry shop. He’d go out trucking and then would be home for five days or something. My parents pushed me out the door and said, ‘You’re going to go to Steve’s house and work.’ So I kind of picked that up early on. I was always comfortable in a shop environment. But I also think all of us have had that experience too where we’re designing furniture and there has been that kind of missing link between designing and making has been a little frustrating.

How do your fabrication and design work influence each other? Could you talk about process a little bit?

Anderson: Most of our projects there’s an overlap between the design and fabrication. Some are very heavily fabrication and some are heavily architecture and interiors, but there’s always some sort of overlap. I think people come to us for that reason. In terms of process, we can work on details really until the last minute, versus being in a studio and handing it off somebody. There’s a direct connection between designing and making and figuring the details out.

Are there certain types of projects conducive to this? I’d imagine it would tend to be smaller-scale projects like residential or retail, but I’d suppose a large project could benefit from that too, right?

Fouch: So far it has lent itself to smaller projects, because they’re lower risk for clients. But I think we would like to be doing larger projects, and we have some in process now. I think the formula still applies on a bigger scale because we may be doing multiples [of furniture or other architectural details], but those multiples make it even more crucial that you go through prototyping, and have a super-disciplined approach to how things are built and how they look. It’s really a studio approach: it’s not like the architecture is developed, then the interiors happen and then the furniture. I think we can take whatever design vocabulary is developed in the architecture if that’s where it starts, and take it all the way through down to a little side table, or something on a table-top. That can all be thought about in approach, so all those design moments have value. I think what happens on a lot of larger projects is you have an architect that designs it, and maybe they do some of the interiors and someone else does some, and furnishings are ordered from somewhere else. We’re thinking about it a little differently, where it’s all part of the design process.

How does that apply itself in a project like the West Hills Residence, which you won an IIDA award for?

Anderson: It was kind of an in-between. We were the architect and interior designer and took on a typical role. But for instance, we did a custom wine cellar. One of our interns actually went back in the shop and built a mockup so we could test things out. You’ve got cabernet bottles and pinot bottles, which are different sizes.

Fouch: First-world problems.

Elk Valley Tractor Shed (images courtesy Fieldwork Design)

With the tractor shed, besides the materiality I enjoyed the simplicity of form. It recalls the agricultural vocabulary but feels crisp. And I loved just the fact that somebody wanted architects to design a tractor shed. What was the story?

Fouch: The client was definitely someone interested in architecture. He’s educated in urban planning. He asked that his name be withheld, but it’s definitely an audience for architects. He’s savvy. But again, that’s not to say that your average farmer or agricultural landowner couldn’t be just as savvy. It’s the right client. And we have a great staff here. It’s taken a little time but I think we’ve attracted a great mix of people here who are interested in doing really good work but also in taking it all the way through.

Does the focus on crafting and making the details in any way lead you to a simple architectural language? Or is it more about adapting to the needs of each project? Are there any identifiable characteristics to Fieldwork’s work?

Anderson: We’re very interested in editing our work, so it becomes about the materials, and it becomes about the details that you interact with, the tactility of it, and engaging those senses.

Fouch: I guess if we don’t see a reason for something being in there we take it out. But then it’s putting money into having a beautiful cedar ceiling and wall versus a more complicated form.

Little T Baker - Union Way (photo courtesy Fieldwork Design)

Fouch: Being a small firm, we’ve been up against it big-time with budgets and timelines. So I think those force you to be very shrewd. If you have a move, you’d better make it worthwhile, and that’s going to be it.

Let's talk about some of your upcoming projects, like an ADU you're working on.

Fouch: Its' an ADU in Northeast Portland, super tiny. It’s on the property lines. They can’t increase the footprint of the two-car garage that was there. It will literally be a mother-in-law unit. There’s a murphy bed that stores in the wall. We’re thinking about how the furniture nests together. A bay window becomes a table. The Murphy bed goes up.

It reminds me of the inside of a sailboat.

Fouch: A lot of people have made that comparison to a boat. And we want it to feel special, because it’s very small. We don’t just want to throw some cabinets in there and say, ‘Good luck.’ We want it to feel very special.

Tender Loving Empire store design (rendering courtesy Fieldwork Design)

And you're also doing a new store for record label and retailer Tender Loving Empire. Can you discuss that a little?

Fouch: It's in the old Noah’s Bagel space. It’s architecture, interior design, furniture. They had this very DIY, very Portland ethic. But I think it’s becoming more sophisticated. You can’t just salvage something, screw legs on it and it’s cool. You actually have to do something with it. So there’s a little recording studio, and a machine that will be embedded in the wall where you can cut your own record. And they want it fast. Which is why having the shop here is great. We can collapse schedules a little bit. When you’re fighting for days, it’s huge.

 

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Design calendar: November 3-15

Steve Badanes (image courtesy iCONTEXT.TV)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

Oregon History 101: The Donation Land Act
This continuing series of Oregon Encyclopedia presentations at McMenamins Kennedy School returns with "How the Donation Land Act Created the State of Oregon and Influenced its History," a presentation by Portland State University professor David A. Johnson. McMenamins Kennedy School Theater, 5736 NE 33rd Avenue. 7PM Monday, November 3. Free.

Using Weather to Bring Buildings and Sustainability to Life
Kevin Nute, a professor of architecture at the University of Oregon, will lead this lecture on how the natural movements of the sun, wind and rain can be used to improve the well-being of building occupants and raise awareness of sustainable living practices. In demonstrating how buildings can be designed to reconcile their traditional role as protection from the elements with the active inclusion of their movement, it shows how, at the same time as separating us from the natural world, architecture can also be a means of reconnecting us with nature. University of Oregon, White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street. 5:30PM Wednesday, November 5. Free.

Steve Badanes
The Graduate Visiting Arist Lecture Series from Pacific Northwest College of Art and Oregon College of Art and Craft's joint MFA program in Applied Craft In Design welcomes Badanes, a co-founder of Jersey Devil, a group of architects, artists, and inventors, committed to the interdependence of design and construction. Jersey Devil builds all its own work, demonstratinga heightened concern for craft and detail, innovative use of materials, and a strong environmental consciousness. The work has been the subject of two monographs: The Jersey Devil Design/Build Book and Devil’s Workshop–25 Years of Jersey Devil Architecture. Badanes also heads the University of Washington's Neighborhood Design/Build Studio. Bison Building, 421 NE 10th Avenue. 6:30PM Wednesday, November 5. Free. 

Bruce Forster and Michael Mathers: Built By Hand
For over 30 years photographers Bruce Forster  and Michael Mathers have been documenting the built environment of Portland and beyond. "Built By Hand" features Forster's photographs documenting the construction of the Tilikum Crossing bridge, and Maters' pictures of the Astoria Marine Construction Company, built as a small boatyard in 1922 producing fishing vessels and yachts and expanded during WWII to build wooden minesweepers; today it uses much of the same machinery. A "First Thursday" reception will mark the opening of the exhibit. AIA/Portland Center For Architecture, 403 NW Flanders Street. 5:30PM Thursday, November 6. Free.

AIA/Portland Design Awards Celebration
Each year the American Institute of Architects/Portland chapter celebrates the best in local architecture. This year's jury includes Jonathon Dreyfous of CDR Studio in New York, Gladys Ly-Au Young of SKL Architects, and writer Christopher Hawthorne of the Los Angeles Times. Gerding Theater at The Armory, 128 NW 11th Avenue. 7PM Friday, November 7. $50.

Radon Gas: Hazards and Solutions for Homeowners
A naturally occurring substance, radon gas is hazardous and frequently found in homes of any age throughout the Portland area. Since many residential real estate transactions these days involve radon testing, we’re bringing in two experts on radon to discuss why this gas is such a problem and what can be done about it. Retired Portland State University geology professor Scott Burns and Steve Tucker of Cascade Radon will lead the discussion. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 10AM Saturday, November 8. $12 ($8 for AHC members).

Community Builders: Fraternal Lodges in America and Portland
In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, fraternal lodges played an important societal role across America as community builders and as a virtual financial “safety net”. While since that time, private and public organizations have largely taken over these roles, many of the lodge buildings and temples, including those in Portland, are still standing, all too often hidden in plain sight and suffering from a mostly forgotten past. architectural historian and AHC education committee member Eric Wheeler will take a broad look at the fraternal lodge movement in America and the architecture it inspired, both nationwide and right here in Portland. Included in the story are well-known examples of Portland’s fraternal lodge buildings, such as the downtown Elks Temple (now part of the Sentinel Hotel) or the Hibernian Hall (Wonder Ballroom) in the Eliot neighborhood. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 7PM Tuesday, November 11. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

COTE Green Champion Summit
With a topic of resilience and designing for the future, the Portland chapter of the American Institute of Architects' Committee on the Environment hosts a discussion including Kathie Dello of Oregon Climate Change Research Center, Ralph DiNola of the New Buildings Institute, Jen Sohm of Portland Public Schools, and Eric Corey Freed of International Living Future Institute. The event will also feature a charrette (or "design slam") focused on what Northeast Portland's Grant High School will look like in 100 years' time when the impacts of climate change will be an everyday reality.  Slammers will come up with ideas for how the building may be able to adapt to rising temperatures, dwindling natural resources, power shortages, and life in 2114. A $500 prize will be awarded to the winning team. AIA/Portland Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 5:30PM Wednesday, November 12. Free.

PSU School of Architecture Open House
Faculty and graduate students from the Portland State University School of Architecture will be on hand to show you around the school's home in Shattuck Hall, an elegant circa-1915 brick former elementary school building that now features open-plan, multilevel studio spaces, extensive material workshops for wood, metal and digital fabrication, gallery spaces, dedicated seminar and classroom spaces. Architectural models, drawings and other student work will also be on display. Portland State University, Shattuck Hall, corner of Broadway and Hall Streets. 3PM Friday, November 14. Free.

Living Building Challenge Energy Petal Workshop
Brad Liljequist, technical director of the Living Building Challenge, will lead a
four-hour review of the Energy Petal handbook, which focuses on the goal of Net Zero Energy for new construction and major renovations. Participants will gain an understanding of how to meet the Net Zero Energy Imperative of the Living Building Challenge. This interactive session will present detailed case studies of several net zero energy projects, identifying the design and operational challenges these projects had to overcome to meet their net zero energy goals. Appropriate for anyone working in the building industry, this workshop is particularly suited for participants interested in net zero energy and the strategies and behavior change needed to achieve NZEB certification. AIA/Portland Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 1PM Thursday, November 13. $248.92. 

Emerging Professionals Happy Hour
The AIA/Portland Emerging Professionals Committee is committed to furthering the professional development of students, interns and architects licensed under 10 years, through fellowship, education and supportive networking. This final happy hour event of 2014 will offer a chance to connect while touring Scott Edwards Architecture's East Portland headquarters. Scott|Edwards Architecture, 2525 East Burnside. 5:30PM Thursday, November 13. Free.

UO Department of Architecture Graduate Open House
Students interested in Department of Architecture urban architecture graduate programs at the University of Oregon in Portland are invited to learn about the school's offerings, with remarks from professors Howard Davis and Don Genasci. University of Oregon, White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street. 8:30AM Friday, November 14. Free.

Portland’s Architectural One-Hit Wonders
Singular works of individual architects and firms from around the country light up our skyline, parade down our avenues and help define our architectural heritage. From Pioneer Courthouse to the new Apple Store, out-of-town architects have come and gone, never to return. Yet, what do we know of the professional lives and works of Cass Gilbert, Charles Luckman, or Alfred Mullett, to name just a few? Ellen Shapley will lead a discussion of these lesser-known contributors to Portland's built environment. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 10AM Saturday, November 15. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

 

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