The Snøhetta exhibit "People Process Projects" (Snøhetta)
BY BRIAN LIBBY
It's not your average two-week stretch of events when Design Week Portland arrives. With a host of lectures, exhibits and open houses, the festival includes far more events than are listed here (some of which, of course, are not necessarily architecture-related). A complete listing is available on the Design Week Portland site.
Design Week Portland: Opening Party
Design Week Portland is a week-long, city-wide series of programs exploring the process, craft, and practice of design across all disciplines. The festival's opening party occurs inside Washington High's historic hallways, where over a dozen participating spaces will open their doors for unique activations. Revolution Hall, 1300 SE Start Street. 7PM Saturday, April 16. $10.
Snøhetta: People Process Projects
Over the past decade-plus, the Norwegian-American firm Snøhetta has established itself as one of the world's most acclaimed, with renowned landmarks like the Alexandria Library, the Oslo Opera, the National September 11 Museum, and an expansion of the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art. "People Process Projects," the first American retrospective of the firm's work (held in conjunction with Design Week Portland) and running through June at the Center For Architecture, originated from an exhibit in Denmark and seeks to evoke the firm's studio and process, through its connection landscape, art and culture, and a love for craftsmanship traditions as well as the new material possibilities brought about by modern technology. AIA/Portland Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 10AM Sunday, April 17. Free.
Design Workshop: Reimagining the Turbine Hall at OMSI
Join OMSI in a creative workshop to reimagine one of its most striking spaces, the Turbine Hall, as part of Design Week Portland. The event begins with a tour of the Turbine Hall (formerly operated by Portland General Electric) and then participants will engage in breakout sessions led by OMSI designers and members of architecture firm Dangermond Keane and branding/design firm The Felt Hat. OMSI, 1945 SE Water Avenue. 10AM Sunday, April 17. $15.
Restorative Design: The Confluence Bird Blind by Maya Lin
This 2.4-mile, ADA-accessible round-trip hike, held in conjunction with Design Week Portland explores the Maya Lin-designed Bird Blind that is part of the broader Confluence Project, composed of six landscape installations and ecological restorations along the Columbia River. The Blind asks us to consider evolving land ethic and one’s role in a sustainable future. Sandy River Delta, Interstate 84 Exit 18, Troutdale. 10AM Sunday, April 17. $10.
Loop PDX Design Competition: the Finalists Present
Finalists will make presentations in this design competition to bring to life Portland’s proposed Green Loop, a six-mile pedestrian/bike urban promenade linking the city’s east and west sides. Developed by the University of Oregon's John Yeon Center in collaboration with Design Week Portland and the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, the Loop PDX competition drew 38 entries from top-notch local architects, urban designers, landscape architects, branding companies, and students, as well as competitors from abroad. The finalists are selected by a National Design Jury comprised of Paula Scher of Pentagram, Gina Ford of Sasaki, Andrew Howard of Team Better Block, Michelle Delk of Snohetta, and Mike Lydon ofStreet Plans Collective. Jimmy Mak's, 221 NW 10th Avenue. 5:30PM Monday, April 18. $10.
Discover Design Thinking
At Stanford University's d.school (the lack of capitalization and punctuation misuse is intentional), design is taught not to designers but people of other disciplines, as a mechanism for creative problem-solving from a diverse array of stakeholders. In this Design Week Portland event, members of the school's Hasso Plattner Institute of Design will conduct this three-hour, real world design challenge, intended to support newcomers to the process as well as design thinking experts. Says the website: "We will develop empathy for the people we are designing for and identify opportunities for design. We will then ideate to develop an unexpected range of possible solutions and create rough prototypes to test with real people. We will debrief our experience and work together to apply our learning to the challenges we face in our own lives. The design challenge will be revealed at the session. No previous design thinking required. You can come alone or in a group. You will be working as part of a team. Please come comfortably dressed as you won’t be sitting for long." The Loft above UNION/PINE, 525 SE Pine Street. 2PM Tuesday, April 19. Free.
The myth of Portland
If you go to one Design Week Portland event, consider making it this panel discussion "about architecture, materiality and Portland," which gathers some of the city's very best and most award-winning architects of their respective generations. Moderated by writer, critic and UO John Yeon Center director Randy Gragg, the conversation includes panelists Carrie Strickland and Bill Neburka of Works Partnership Architecture, Thomas Hacker of Hacker Architects and Brad Cloepfil of Allied Works, all happening inside Works Partnership's beautiful new Central Eastside gem, the Framework building. Framework, 160 NE Sixth Avenue. 5:30PM Tuesday, April 19. $8.
Central Eastside: Beyond Taking Sides
Nowhere is Portland's rapid growth more visible than the Inner Eastside, where new business, housing, and mixed use developments are rapidly transforming the district from a quiet zone of manufacturing and industry to a thriving hub of commerce, ringed by increasingly dense residential growth. How can we intentionally shape it into a district that supports quality of life with outdoor space, public amenities and river access? This Design Week Portland panel discussion, moderated by Portland State University urban studies and planning professor Ethan Seltzer, includes Carol Mayer-Reed of landscape architecture firm Mayer/Reed, developer Brad Malsin, Bora Architects principal Michael Tingley, and Willie Levenson of the non-profit Human Access Project. Bora Architects, 720 SW Washington Street, Eighth Floor. 6PM Tuesday, April 19. Free.
Ziba Talks: Designing for the Next Generation (Gen Z)
Gen Z, as described for this Design Week Portland discussion, "is young. Like really young. They have yet to define their adult selves. Even their generation title is still up for debate. And yet they’re destined to have a greater impact on our economy and society than any other previous generation...They’re resilient, resourceful and anxious. And they have the shortest attention span of all living humans. As they age and become an even greater force of consumer spending, it will be critical for brands to find ways to connect with them meaningfully." The discussion features Emma McIlroy, CEO of Wildfang, and Jaclyn Suzuki, Ziba's creative director, exploring "how to design for a still-developing generation, and what it will take for brands to be relevant to the emerging Gen Z." All proceeds will be donated to the League of Women Designers. Ziba Auditorium, 810 NW Marshall Street. 6:30PM Tuesday, April 19. $10.
UNITE: Sustainable Design Practices
Join Design Museum Portland for a discussion featuring panelists from SERA Architects, Looptworks and The Joinery talking about sustainability as a design principle. Topics will include the challenges with sustainable design, sourcing materials, upcycling, and reusing materials. The Joinery, 922 SE Yamhill Street. 6:30PM Tuesday, April 19. $10.
Rowland Ricketts
Speaking as part of the Applied Craft in Design program from the Pacific Northwest College of Art and the Oregon College of Art & Craft, Rowland Ricketts utilizes natural dyes and historical processes to create contemporary textiles that span art and design. Trained in indigo farming and dyeing in Japan, Rowland received his MFA from Cranbrook Academy of Art in 2005 and is currently an Assistant Professor in Textiles at Indiana University’s Henry Radford Hope School of Fine Art. His work has been exhibited at the Textile Museum in Washington, DC and New York's Cavin-Morris Gallery. AC+D Studios, 421 NE 10th Avenue. 6:30PM Wednesday, April 20. Free.
Open House: UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts
In conjunction with Design Week Portland, the University of Oregon's School of Architecture & Allied Arts in Portland offers a tour of its studios and the White Box Gallery, with student work from the Department of Architecture, Digital Arts, and Product Design Program on exhibit. University of Oregon, White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street. 4PM Thursday, April 21. Free (RSVP requested).
Risk: Kevin Cavenaugh
Developer and designer Kevin Cavenaugh has been creating and building innovative infill and adaptive reuse projects in Portland for the last 15 years, from the Box and One lofts to the LEED Platinum-rated Burnside Rocket mixed use building. Most recently, this former Loeb Fellow at Harvard University's Graduate School of Design transformed a former Dodge dealership into the foodie paradise The Ocean and an empty Sandy Boulevard triangle into The Zipper. In this Creative Mornings talk, Cavenaugh will speaks not only to the design aspects of his current projects, but also to the sociopolitical, socioeconomic, and myriad lasting effects of his work and of the larger developmental trends. Gerding Theater at The Armory, 128 NW 11th Avenue. 8:30AM Friday, April 22. Free.
A History of Architectural Styles (Part One)
This Architectural Heritage Center lecture by Thomas Hubka is the first in a three-part course introducing attendees to the great historical buildings, monuments, and aesthetic movements that are reflected in Portland's architectural heritage. The illustrated lectures follow the historical development of the world's great architectural monuments and aesthetic movements from the Egyptians to the present. The lectures are organized historically into three eras that summarize the development of modern architecture. This first lecture deals with the classical architecture of Greece and Rome, while subsequent lectures will look at Gothic, Renaissance and Baroque Architecture and then 19th and 20th Century Industrialism and Modernism. Hubka has taught history courses at professional schools of architecture for over thirty years, including recent courses at Portland State University, the University of Oregon and Portland Community College. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 10AM Saturday, April 23. $60 for three-lecture series ($40 for AHC members).
A Webster Wilson-designed home on the AIA Homes Tour (AIA Portland)
AIA Portland Homes Tour
A self-guided tour benefitting the Center for Architecture will showcase residences designed by some of our city’s top architecture firms, including Giulietti Schouten Architects, Hacker, Holst Architecture, PATH Architecture, Webster Wilson, Works Partnership Architecture, and Fieldwork Design & Architecture. From micro-houses and ADU's to mega apartment blocks, the 2016 tour will showcase an innovative cross section of housing types. To meet the residential needs of our growing city, architects have to continually reimagined our built environment with an all options on the table approach. Through design excellence at all scales, these projects represent exciting and creative trends in housing. 10AM Saturday, April 23. $40.
Charrette: King GreenSpace Collaborative
Bring your favorite pen and join the Oregon chapter of Architects Without Borders for a design charrette with its client, the King GreenSpace Collaborative. AWB volunteers will be working on improvements for the King School Park and King Neighborhood Facility in Northeast Portland, using input gathered during a long process of KGC-led community events. KGC's goals include increased green space, reduced water run-off, and improved lighting and safety in the King School Park area. The proposed project includes a nature playground, a running track, and a futsal field. This is a long-term, community-driven project led by neighbors passionate about creating a model for environmental design and outdoor education and engagement. Members of the KGC and the surrounding community will be at the charrette, presenting information on the site and the desired design outcomes. St. Andre Bessette Catholic Church, 601 W Burnside, Second Floor. 6PM Wednesday, April 27. Free.
Designer Spotlight: Justin Riordan
As part of the bi-monthly Designer Spotlight interview series with Portland's top architects and interior designers (moderated by yours truly), Justin Riordan of Spade and Archer Design Agency will discuss his business staging homes and apartments for sale. Trained as an architect, Riordan's company (named for the detective agency in The Maltese Falcon - Riordan once lived in the San Francisco building where author Dashiel Hammett wrote the book) stages hundreds of homes each week, which has taught the designer a number of lessons about what is timeless versus trendy, and how a light, uncluttered touch can often do more than a maximalist approach. Ceilume, 1225 SE Grand Avenue. 6PM Thursday, April 28. Free.
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