Portland Architecture

Design calendar: May 1-15

Baghdad Theater interior, 1927 (Oregon Encyclopedia)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

Living Future unConference
The International Living Future Institute is an environmental NGO committed to catalyzing the transformation toward communities that are socially just, culturally rich and ecologically restorative. Composed of leading green building experts and thought-leaders, the Institute is premised on the belief that providing a compelling vision for the future is a fundamental requirement for reconciling humanity’s relationship with the natural world. The organization's three-day event will bring together speakers including conservationist Terry Tempest Williams, activist Raj Patel, and urban revitalization strategy consultant Majora Carter. Oregon Convention Center, 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. 8AM Tuesday, May 1-4. $1,000 full conference pass ($850 for International Living Future Institute members and government/nonprofit employees).

Oregon Solar Energy Conference
The Oregon Solar Energy Conference is one of the nation's largest regional solar energy conferences, with last year's conference including 430 attendees representing over 170 companies. Over 30 exhibitors and sessions range from technical and business training to solar policy. Portland Crowne Plaza hotel, 1441 NE Second Ave. 8:30AM Tuesday, May 1 through Thursday, May 3. $800 for full pass, $535 for one-day pass.

Hawthorne Boulevard Tour
Originally known as U Street and later as Asylum Avenue, today Southeast Hawthorne Boulevard (named for a doctor Hawthorne who headed an asylum on the now namesake street) borders several of Portland’s most popular neighborhoods. This Architectural Heritage Center tour will explore both commercial and residential neighborhoods near Hawthorne in what was once a premier streetcar suburb on the city’s east side. Tour meetup location revealed with ticket purchase. 10AM Tuesday, May 1. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Florian Idenburg - 10 Years and Counting
Florian Idenburg is an internationally renowned architect and founder of New York's SO–IL, founded in 2008 with Jing Liu. Idenburg’s practice is collaborative; he believes that innovation is only possible through working together. An associate professor at Harvard University who has previously taught at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Columbia University and Princeton University, Idenburg has a particularly strong background in cultural spaces, overseeing projects from a temporary installation in MoMA PS1’s courtyard called Pole Dance to the recently completed Manetti Shrem Museum of Art at UC Davis. University of Oregon, White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street. 5:30PM Tuesday, May 1. Free.

AFO Spring Member Event
The Architecture Foundation of Oregon supports Oregon’s quality of life and creates awareness of our designed environments through education, engagement, philanthropy & inspiration. Design can be nearly invisible yet it has considerable impact on our everyday lives. The AFO helps people connect to design and the ways in which it shapes their lives and their communities. This Spring Member Event is a tour of and reception at SRG Partnership's new offices in the renovated former Oregonian building, designed by legendary Portland architect Pietro Belluschi. SRG Partnership, 621 SW Columbia Street. 5:30PM Thursday, May 3. Free bit restricted to Architecture Foundation of Oregon members.

Old Town Tour
The commercial district near the Skidmore Fountain and the oldest standing buildings in downtown comprise this tour of Portland’s only National Landmark Historic District. Visitors on this Architectural Heritage Center tour will see the work of Portland’s earliest architects, learning how cast iron played a central role in their designs and how the city developed so close to the river. Along the way, visitors will also learn about some beautiful but long-lost buildings while also seeing great examples of historic preservation. Tour meetup location revealed with ticket purchase. 6PM Thursday, May 3. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

From Father to Son and Back: A Talk by Anthony Belluschi
PSU School of Architecture welcomes Anthony Belluschi, FAIA, who will offer a review of the life of his father, Pietro Belluschi, an Italian immigrant who came to Portland in 1925 and after a successful 25 years of practice was named the dean of architecture and planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The younger Belluschi became an architect after studying at the Rhode Island School of Design. Mentored by his father, he practiced in 25 states and in 15 countries overseas as head of Anthony Belluschi Architects in Chicago. Major completed projects include Park Meadows, a 1.8 million square foot retail resort in Colorado; the re-development of American Airlines Terminal at O’Hare Airport; and the 550 West Jackson office building in Chicago, as well as major projects in Melbourne, Paris, Istanbul, Riyadh and Beijing. After merging his firm with OWP/P Architects, Anthony Belluschi returned to Portland and restored the house his father designed and lived in, originally known as the Burkes House, is an iconic example of Pacific Northwest midcentury modernism. Today he is often asked to consult on the restoration of his father's churches, buildings and homes. Belluschi's talk is part of the Portland State University School of Architecture's Fridays@4 lecture series. Portland State University, Shattuck Hall, 1914 SW Park Avenue. 4PM Friday, May 4. Free.

Sixth Annual Solar Winery Tour
This daylong event, the 6th annual Solar Winery Tour, will include transportation, lunch and wine tasting at 4 of Oregon’s leading solar powered wineries with small group stops to 2 smaller wineries. Our Winery Hosts this year are Bjornson Vineyard, Left Coast Cellars, and Andante Vineyard, with possible side stops to Bethel Heights, Bois Joli Vineyard and CartSolar Winery Tour bus, wine tastings and lunch. Tour departs from Platt Electric, 322 SE Taylor Avenue, at 8:10AM and from Tualatin Park & Ride, 72nd Avenue and Bridgeport Road, at 8:40AM. Saturday, May 4. $100 plus service charge ($80 plus service charge for Solar Oregon members).

The Basics of Wood Window Repair
Contrary to the mass marketing that fills our mailboxes, original windows can be refreshed and repaired to meet today’s energy savings goals. At the same time, preserving original windows also preserves historic character and re-uses material that is inherently sustainable. This workshop covers the basics of identifying problems and repairing the wood windows in our older homes. The Architectural Heritage Center  welcomes Patty Spencer, owner of Fresh Air Sash Cord Repair, who will share her years of experience in preserving and restoring the function of original, double-hung, wood windows found in homes built in the 1940s and earlier. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 10AM Saturday, May 5. $12 ($8 for AHC members).

Classical Downtown Portland Tour
Downtown Portland contains an extensive collection of classically influenced buildings, many of which are clad with glazed terra cotta, a building material that was at its height of popularity in the early 20th century. You’ll see the city’s first “skyscraper”, a bank that could have been a Greek temple and you’ll learn about several architects from this period who left an indelible impression on Portland including A.E. Doyle, the firm of Whidden and Lewis, and the Reid Brothers from San Francisco. Tour meetup location revealed with ticket purchase. 10AM Saturday, May 5. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Northwest Examiner Community Awards
For a 24th year, this Northwest Portland newspaper edited, published and largely written by Allan Classen will honor "individuals who have made our community better," with honors this year going to 11 persons and entities including the Sauvie Island Fire Department, Jackie Peterson-Loomis of the the Portland Chinatown History and Museum Foundation, author and Goose Hollow Foothills League president Michael Mehaffy, Oregon Jewish Museum executive director Judith Margles, and Lincoln High School student Madeline Gochee. Pacific Northwest College of Art, 511 NW Broadway. 7PM Saturday, May 5. Free.

Pearl District Tour: Preservation In The Midst Of Change
Over the last 20 years, the Pearl has been transformed from an  industrial area into one of Portland’s premier residential and retail districts. A century ago, the area went through a similar transformation—from a working class housing area at the edge of a marsh, to the city’s premier industrial and warehousing area. As this Architectural Heritage Center walking tour will demonstrate, many of Portland’s best known architects of the period designed buildings for important local and national companies. Most of these buildings remain, with their exteriors intact and new uses inside. Tour meetup location revealed with ticket purchase. 10AM Tuesday, May 8. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Results from a Net-Zero Feasibility Study for Warm Springs Community Center
Net-zero buildings are gaining momentum in communities around the country together with the improvement of renewable energy technologies and costs. As this movement grows alongside the challenges of climate change, it is imperative that communities facing social, economic and environmental threats are not left behind. Using funding from Energy Trust’s Special Projects Grant, Hacker Architects worked with PAE Engineers to conduct an early net-zero feasibility study for a community center located on Warm Springs Reservation. Warm Springs plans to re-purpose an existing commissary building to become a self-reliant and sustainable community center and small business incubator space. The pilot study created by Hacker and PAE will set forth guidelines for future sustainable renovations in Warm Springs and provide a precedent for how other communities can work toward social and energy independence through the effective reuse of existing buildings. This presentation will demonstrate the public design process and the design strategies used to get to a net-zero vision for this project, as well as a brief cost comparison for code versus net-zero design. Presenters will include Karina Bonin and Ruwan Jayaweera of PAE Engineers as well as Caitlin Ranson and Vijayeta Davda of Hacker Architects. Ecotrust, 721 NW Ninth Avenue, Second Floor. 12PM Tuesday, May 8. Free.

BPA Headquarters Lecture and Tour
The 911 Federal Building, subject of this DoCoMoMo Oregon lecture and tour, was constructed in 1953 by the Lloyd Corporation and leased by the General Services Administration until it was purchased in 1959. Originally known as the Department of Interior Building, it housed the Bonneville Power Administration until 1987, when the BPA's new headquarters was completed on the adjacent site (and where the lecture portion of the event will take place). Bonneville Power Administration, 905 NE 11th Avenue, Room 122. 3:30PM Wednesday, May 9. $15 plus service charge ($10 plus service charge for DoCoMoMo members).

Metropolis Think Tank — Innovation + Disruption: Changing the Academy
Part of the Metropolis Think Tank series hosted by Metropolis magazine's Susan Szenasy, this panel discussion looks at how today’s entrepreneurs continue to demonstrate that tremendous financial and social impact is possible without a formal university education. Institutions, challenged to demonstrate their value in the post-graduation marketplace, are also pivoting to innovation in search of new propositions and modes of engagement. When it is possible to disrupt an entire industry from a garage, what is the role of the classroom? How do traditional pedagogies adapt and respond? This panel of educators and architectural designers will explore the ways higher education is addressing change, from incorporating digital tools and design thinking to redefining learning environments for the 21st Century. Panelists include Bora Architects principal Amy Donohue, Oregon State University faculty senate president Jon Dorbolo, Bora Architects principal Michael Tingley, and University of Washington Global Innovation Exchange director of academic programs Linda Wagner. Bora Architects, 720 SW Washington Street, Suite 800. 4PM Wednesday, May 9. Free.

Metropolis Think Tank — The Pace of Vibrant Communities
Part of the Metropolis Think Tank series hosted by Metropolis magazine's Susan Szenasy, this panel discussion looks at how the pace of social interaction and connection also shifts as we navigate the intersections between built, natural, and virtual spaces. With these spatial modalities increasingly overlaid, the architect is prompted to consider new methods of place making, with a focus on community building. By working with nature in a regenerative way, old patterns mix with the new, and by blurring the lines between building and landscape, new spaces for social and digital interactions emerge. With recent projects serving as case studies, this panel will explore how spatial and social relationships at different scales could set a new pace for vibrant communities. Panelists include 2.ink Studio principal Jonathan Beaver, Skylab Architecture principal and design director Jeff Kovel, Downstream president Tim Larson, Gerding Edlen partner Jill Sherman, and yours truly. SINBIN, 2360 NW Quimby Street. 9AM Wednesday, May 9. Free.

Belmont-Sunnyside Neighborhood Tour
Explore Southeast Portland's Sunnyside neighborhood along SE Belmont Street in this Architectural Heritage Center tour. The neighborhood, which has lately seen controversy as a building on Belmont's last contiguous block of historic commercial storefronts has been threatened with demolition, contains a wonderful mix of late 19th and early 20th century homes, along with numerous streetcar-era commercial buildings. Tour meetup location revealed with ticket purchase. 6PM Thursday May 10. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Lecture: The Architecture of John Storrs
In conjunction with Restore Oregon's 2018 Mid-Century Modern Tour, which this year features the design work of John Storrs, comes this lecture from local architect Paul McKean. A native of Connecticut, Storrs followed his hero Pietro Belluschi to Portland to work with him and others with a similar vision of modern Northwest style and ideology. His projects reflected the Oregon landscape with elegant simplicity and are considered seminal to the Northwest Regional Style. Oregon College of Art & Craft, 8245 SW Barnes Road. 7PM Friday, May 11. $10 (or free with purchase of a 2018 Mid-Century Modern Tour ticket).

Mid-Century Modern Tour 2018: The Work of John Storrs
The 2018 Mid-Century Modern Home Tour features five Portland-area residential designs by John Storrs. Designer of landmarks like the Oregon College of Art & Craft, the Portland Garden Club and Salishan Resort as well as many noteworthy houses, Storrs's work was seamlessly blended with the landscape and celebrated the Pacific Northwest's signature material: wood. A World War II veteran who commanded a small sub-chaser ship in the Pacific and later studied architecture at Dartmouth and Yale, Storrs initially practiced in his native Connecticut before relocating to Portland and becoming a part of the second generation of Portland architects, following John Yeon and Pietro Belluschi's example, designing homes in the emerging Northwest Modern style that remains timeless to this day. Locations for this self-guided tour revealed with ticket purchase. 10AM Saturday, May 12. $50 ($40 for Restore Oregon members).

Garthwick Neighborhood Tour
Located just south of Sellwood and north of the Waverly Country Club, this hidden residential neighborhood provided a great outdoor laboratory for architects and builders working in the most popular residential styles of the 20th century. This Architectural Heritage Center tour explores one of Southeast Portland's lesser-known historic neighborhoods. Tour meetup location revealed with ticket purchase. 10AM Saturday, May 12. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Historic Homes of the Alphabet District Tour (Part I)
Northwest Portland’s Alphabet District owes its existence to Captain John Couch, his family, and in-laws. Development in the area includes everything from fairly modest homes to mansions – not to mention vibrant commercial areas. This is the first of two Architectural Heritage Center tours in which attendees will look at the wonderful historic homes that define a large portion of this National Register Historic District. Tour begins at the SW corner of NW 23rd Avenue and Lovejoy Street. 10AM Tuesday, May 15. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Future Vision: Voices in the Workplace
The American Institute of Architects/Portland chapter's Committee on Equity, Diversity & Inclusion hosts the latest conversation in the Future Vision series exploring equity in design. This year’s title, Voices in the Workplace, acknowledges that a company’s culture is a reflection of its members. Everyone brings with them personal experiences, values and biases that intrinsically shapes a firm’s daily efforts. As companies work towards reflecting the realities of a changing world and a global client base, understanding the dynamics of a healthy workplace culture is paramount to success. This full-day symposium will feature individual speakers, panelists, educators & professionals sharing their expertise and actionable strategies around equity in the workplace. Sessions include a discussion highlighting the current state of the profession, individual perspectives around representation in the workplace, tools to address workplace harassment, a workshop on negotiation skills and a moderated panel focusing on the expectations & needs of the future workplace. Registration closes May 15. Union/Pine, 525 SE Pine Street. 8:30AM Friday, May 18. $100 plus service charge ($85 plus service charge for members of the AIA, the International Interior Design Association, the Construction Specifications Institute, the Architecture Foundation, the International Living Future Institute, the American Council of Engineering Companies, or the Structural Engineers Association of Oregon; $65 plus service charge for associate AIA members; $30 plus service charge for students).

 

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The Architect's Questionnaire: Risa Boyer Leritz

Risa Boyer (Risa Boyer Architecture)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

Our continuing series on local architects' influences and favorites continues with Risa Boyer Leritz, whose firm, Risa Boyer Architecture, celebrates a decade in Portland this year after being founded in Los Angeles in 2006. A 1998 graduate of the California College of the Arts, she began her career at Tanner Leddy Maytum Stacy (now Leddy Maytum Stacy) in San Francisco before spending four years with Los Angeles firm OJMR Architects and then opening her own firm. Recent projects include a midcentury-modern renovation in the Mt. Tabor area and the all-new Riverwood residence in Dunthorpe.

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

Risa Boyer Leritz: I was around the age of seven, or at least that’s how I remember it. It may have been more like 10 when I committed to becoming an architect. I was really into playing with Barbies and looking at my mother’s Metropolitan Home and Sunset magazines. While that may sound random, I spent a great deal of time sprawling all of my Barbie furniture out in the living room and creating dream homes based on the inspiration I found in the home design magazines. I recall asking my mom, while blissfully playing, what I could do to for the rest of my life that would be like this. She responded with architecture. My mother jumped at my new-found career interest and proceeded to fill my youth with architecture books, trips to Frank Lloyd Wright exhibits, and visits to interesting architecture sites. And thus, my career path was paved.

The firm's recent Mt. Tabor midcentury-modern renovation (Risa Boyer Architecture)

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

Because I knew that I wanted to study architecture at a young age I had already mapped out all of the programs across the country that offered a bachelor of architecture, which is a five-year professional degree. Having grown up around artists and my own personal interest in drawing, I found myself at the California College of Arts and Crafts (now California College of the Arts). I loved being in the Bay Area at a small college surrounded by creative people.

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

I recently completed a mixed-use project that I developed with my husband in Northeast Portland that may be my current favorite because it was such a huge accomplishment. So much of the project was challenging. The site was tricky. Navigating the commercial building code was tedious (I typically work on residential projects). Developing our first project, which included finding partners to invest and convincing a bank to give inexperienced developers $3.5 million, seemed impossible at times. After three and a half years of hard work I can finally look at the building and not be filled with anxiety.

Makers Row (Risa Boyer Architecture)

Who has been an important mentor among your colleagues?

I have been sharing my office space with three other sole-practitioner architects for the past four years, Webster Wilson, Zach Gillum and Eric McDaniel. While I don’t know if mentor is exactly the correct term, we provide a really nice support network that we can tap into daily.

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

For me these two things are mutually inclusive. I find great joy in the relationships I form with my clients and I think that the relationship formed with my clients is was I most excel at. Forming a strong, trusting relationship creates a platform for collaboration and fluid communication that results in well-designed functional projects and, most importantly, happy clients.

Japanese Garden Cultural Crossing (top) and One North (Brian Libby)

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

The new Cultural Crossing at the Portland Japanese Garden by Kengo Kuma is really beautiful, and it's a wonderful example of how architecture can be harmonious with nature. I was excited about the One North building at Northeast Fremont and Williams by Holst Architecture because it is such a unique design for Portland. For older buildings I really enjoy the façade of the Lovejoy Medical Building and the overall design and detailing at the Central Lutheran Church by Pietro Belluschi.

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

I don’t know if I have one favorite building. I am a huge fan of work by both Oscar Niemeyer and John Lautner.

Niemeyer's Brasilia (Yellowtrace) and Lautner's Arango (WikiArquitectura)

Is there a local architect or firm that you think is unheralded or deserves more attention?

Webster Wilson is an extremely talented architect and has remained somewhat under the radar.

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

I would really love to see more of the new homes and developments be designed and built with the long term in mind. So much of what’s going up in this city is being built by developers who are not thinking about context, design, sustainability or quality construction which is going to result in a lot of worn-out looking buildings in 10 years. I wish there was more consideration for design and building materials that are going to age well.

Boyer's Riverwood residence (Risa Boyer Architecture)

How would you rate the performance of the local government like the Portland Development Commission (now Prosper Portland) or the development and planning bureaus?

This is tricky. I think they have handled the outbreak of home demos and horribly out of scale developer homes really poorly. At the onset of this epidemic the planning department should have introduced new zoning ordinances that limited the size of these homes so that they kept in scale with the neighborhoods. Instead they focused on trying to slow down demolition which, in the end, did nothing to curb these homes from being built.

Is there a famous architect you would like to see do work here in Portland?

I would have loved to see Hadid do a project here.

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

A few of my favorite designs outside of architecture are the Womb Chair by Eero Saarinen, the 1962 Jaguar E-Type roadster, and Iittala’s Ultima Thule drinkware.

Ultima Thule drinkware (Iittala) and Womb Chair (Design Within Reach)

Name three of your all-time favorite movies.

"La Notte" by Michelangelo Antonioni, David Lynch's "Blue Velvet," and "Harold and Maude" by Hal Ashby.

 

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Design calendar: April 16-30

An event at Design Week Portland 2017 (Ian J. Whitmore)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

Note: With Design Week Portland in full swing, there are far more events happening than we can realistically offer in one post. For a full list of events, visit the Design Week Portland website.

Place as a Platform for Living: An Experimental Design Challenge
This Design Week Portland workshop will address the homelessness epidemic by exploring how the Platform Design Toolkit can be used to discover and create a platform for transforming the ecosystem and experiences of homelessness, street living, poverty, regulatory frameworks, environments, mental health, physical health, living spaces, architecture and building, community spaces, living tools, essential human necessities, and the quality of life for everyone in the city, and throughout the region. The Design Platform Toolkit was originally created as an open-source, evolutionary, tool for service design and business modelling. Our experiment will apply this same tool to the context of Place as a Platform for Living. Wacom Experience Center, 1455 NW Irving Street. 9AM Monday, April 16. $3.

One City/Many Futures: The Portland We Are Making (Part Three)
A rapid-fire evening of soon-to-be built buildings and landscapes, big and small, that will shape the urban landscape presented on-stage by their designers. From radical new work space to the first highrise school west of the Mississippi to an Oregon take on the doric column, this third and final installment of a series hosted by Randy Gragg features the latest work by a range of architects. Among the architects and other design minds sharing their latest projects will be Allied Works, Hacker, Holst Architecture, Path Architecture, Bora, Portland State University's School of Architecture, Skylab Architecture, and Guerrilla Development. Pacific Northwest College of Art, 511 NW Broadway. 6PM Monday, April 16. $15.

Classical Downtown Portland Tour
Downtown Portland contains an extensive collection of classically influenced buildings, many of which are clad with glazed terra cotta, a building material that was at its height of popularity in the early 20th century. On this Architectural Heritage Center tour, attendees will see the city’s first “skyscraper”, a bank that could have been a Greek temple, and learn about several architects from this period who left an indelible impression on Portland including A.E. Doyle, the firm of Whidden and Lewis, and the Reid Brothers from San Francisco. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Tuesday, April 17. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

From Cubicles to Campuses
Field Office, the latest from Portland developer Project^ and designed by Hacker, is an exciting urban campus opening in Portland's new Frontside district. At 300,000 square-feet spanning two buildings, Field Office will be one of the largest office projects in town. Join Tom Cody of Project^ for a 20-minute Design Week Portland presentation as he discusses the vision behind Field Office’s unique design and answer how architects and developers are purpose-building the next generation of office space. Get the inside scoop on the process and execution of an urban space through the lens of the first tenant, Adpearance, one of Oregon's fastest-growing companies who required an inspiring, efficient, and flexible workspace for their technology-focused marketing and sales company. Field Office, 2035 NW 17th Avenue. 3PM Tuesday, April 17. Free.

How Sustainability Powers High Performance
How does designing for sustainability make for a better world? This Design Week Portland panel, co-hosted by ZGF and Ziba, aggregates design leaders to explore how high performing, sustainable design enriches lives by promoting individual health and well-being, workforce productivity and economic resilience. Speakers include Bill Browning, co-founder of Terrapin Bright Green; Eric Park, design fellow at Ziba Design and a business designer at Cambia Health; and ZGF partners Gene Sandoval and Kathy Berg. Ziba Auditorium, 810 NW Marshall Street. 5PM Tuesday, April 17. Free.

Design is Destiny: Schools of the Future
Engage with those behind the new Faubion School, which serves not only prekindergarten through eight grade students but also, in a unique partnership, is also part of Concordia University. In this Design Week Portland event, the school's architect, principal, university faculty, and curriculum designers will lead a talk and tour to find out how design is destiny for 800-plus students and their families in Northeast Portland. TParticipants can experience a day in the life inside Portland's first newly constructed school in two decades, which opened in fall 2017, and includes Faubion PK-8, Concordia University's College of Education, an early childhood center, the 3 to PhD Kaiser Permanente Wellness Center, STEAM/maker spaces, and a food club. Faubion School + Concordia University, 2930 NE Dekum Street. 5PM Tuesday, April 17. Free.

The Story of NOW, The Story of HOW: Highlighting Women in Design
Six short talks led by six remarkable women in different fields of design — each a firm founder and active leader — will introduce their unique design perspective and share their professional journey. Creatives, future leaders in design, and design enthusiasts, join us to hear stories, get inspiration and encouragement, and connect with local designers. Presenters include Amanda Petretti, founder of Studio Petretti Architecture; Katherine Cunningham and Jenny Streb, founding partners of Samata Engineers; Allison Bryan, founder and creative director of Open Studio Collective; Ella Mills, founder of Biella Lighting; Kaarin Knudson, founder of Larco/Knudson Sustainable Urban Design; and Traci Sym, founding principal of Plus and Greater Than. Studio Petretti Architecture/Samata Engineers, 2335 SE 50th Avenue. 5:30PM Tuesday, April 17. Free.

State of Wonder - Buildings Full of Women
While working on a story for Oregon Public Broadcasting's radio show State of Wonder about why so few new buildings in Portland seem willing to spare a dime on designing outside the box, host April Baer interviewed an architect who mentioned that he’d never once been asked to design a building with women in mind. Almost exclusively, the developers he’s worked with cater to the needs of young, professional male residents. This got Baer and her OPB collaborators thinking: what would it look like to design buildings and spaces for women? This State of Wonder recording will take an intersectional approach, exploring how architecture could also be more inclusive to people of color, those with disabilities, gender non-conforming people, the elderly, and other marginalized groups. Professionals will be inspired to think in more elastic ways about the built environment, and integrate a sense of agency in their interactions with architectural design and planning. The Nightwood Society, 2218 NE Broadway. 6PM Tuesday, April 17. Free.

Changing the World with VR
This Design Week Portland event features the latest in virtual reality technology for the design and construction industry. VR completely changes the way people experience design and ideation. Attendees will be provided with their own avatars to explore and test out. Grit Building Solutions, 919 SW Taylor, Suite 800. 10:30AM Wednesday, April 18. Free.

Humanist and Regional Approaches to Healthy Housing and Places
This Design Week Portland interactive talk will include a presentation of vibrantly built and conceptual projects in the Portland metro area and beyond, as well as discussion of current and upcoming changes to the City of Portland planning and zoning codes. Constructive Form Architecture and Design, 1222 SW Broadway. 4PM Wednesday, April 18. Free.

Design Workshop: ADUs and Short-Term Rentals
During this Design Week Portland workshop, attendees can learn which design considerations to take into account when integrating an ADU into one's home footprint, how adding a short-term rental works financially, and about long-term planning needs. Hear from people who’ve been remodeling Portland homes on a daily basis for more than 20 years, and learn all the ins and outs about the city’s guidelines and requirements. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 5PM Wednesday, April 18. $10.

Disruptive Design Thinking: Pushing Boundaries in Design and Development
Shake up your design strategy with advice from a panel of experts in innovative design thinking. Hosted by design writer Brian Libby (who also composed this listing in third person), the panel includes bespoke couture designer Sonia Kasparian of Urchin (recently named Best Women's Wear designer at the Portland Fashion and Style Awards for the second year in a row); textile artist/designer and educator Trish Langman of Spoogi (who has worked with Ralph Lauren, Calvin Klein, Halston, Donna Karan, Banana Republic, Pendleton and Target); Nemo Design principal Mark Lewman (who previously was editor of The Beastie Boys' Grand Royal magazine and co-created MTV's Jackass as well as the ESPN 30 for 30 documentary Big Air), Bora Architects principal Chris Linn (who has designed several innovatively sustainable, LEED-rated schools); and creative director Matthew Rhoades of MatteLab (a former Nike global creative director and acclaimed Trek bicycle designer). Nemo Design, 1875 SE Belmont Street. 6PM Wednesday, April 18. $75.

Designing for Better Health, Energy and Flow
This Design Week Portland panel discussion explores the necessary evolution of beautiful workplaces into those that equally prioritize employee health and happiness. The panel will feature industry leaders dedicated to seeing this evolution happen, including Fully Founder and CEO David Kahl, Alan Gerencer from ZGF Architects, and Dr. Marc Braman from NW Lifestyle Medicine. The panel will be moderated by Anthony Effinger. The Joinery, 922 SW Yamhill Street. 6PM Wednesday, April 18. Free.

Homelessness is Not Normal
Our rapidly growing city is experiencing a housing and homelessness crisis. Leveraging the expertise of policy makers, community activists, social service providers, and affordable housing designers, this Design Week Portland panel explores how we got here, what is being done to address it, what more can be done, and how design can help. Join us for a deeper perspective on why homelessness is so pervasive in our society, and to better understand the necessary changes to improve conditions — with design helping to lead the way. Panelists include: Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, Kevin Cavanaugh of Guerrilla Development, Kaia Sand of Street Roots, Stacy Borke of Transition Projects, and Ashley Henry from Business for a Better Portland. All proceeds will be donated to Transition Projects. Bud Clark Commons, 650 NW Irving Street. 6PM Wednesday, April 18. $10.

Primary Sources: Salvaged, Found, and Antique Objects in Interior Design
This Design Week Portland panel will touch upon aspects of design that pertain to both contemporary and historical settings, and focus on the concept of sustainability within the scope of residential and commercial spaces. Panelists include Gary Gibson of Gibson in Los Angeles), PennyBlack Interiors' Stewart Horner (a former global design director at Nike), Max Humphrey of Max Humphrey Interior Design, and Shelly Prael of lé Nest Interiors (a former visual director at Pendleton Woolen Mills). Aurora Mills Architectural Salvage, 70 SE Salmon Street. 3PM Thursday, April 19. $6.

Comfortable? Fabric and the Threshold of Shelter
Americans have steadily moved away from architecture that actively engages with regional climate conditions. Instead, we have favored a built environment that largely isolates us from the weather - places where temperature, light, and humidity are held constant. Trends in fashion have followed a similar trajectory. Increasingly, the clothes we wear no longer need to “make sense” as articles of protection, since we are able to avoid prolonged exposure to the elements. This Deign Week Portland event invites visitors to question “comfort” by experiencing fabric as shelter that responds to the elements visibly and dynamically. Attendees are encouraged to engage with the fabric structure, wearables, and with each other to continue the conversation about where we live, how we dress, and what it means to have shelter in an urbanizing, globalizing world. Portland Institute for Contemporary Art, 15 NE Hancock Street. 4P Thursday, April 19. Free.

Extreme Making
Moving beyond trends and into possibilities allows progression. This Design Week Portland conversation between an array makers will explore how individual crafts merge into production. Come see inspiring case studies, gain insight to processes and learn how to break boundaries. With Randy Gragg as moderator and panelists to include architect Jeff Kovel of Skylab, furniture fabricator and artist Spencer Staley of The Good Mod, brand strategist, author and product designer Jordan Hayles of The Radical Brand Lab, and textile professional Carly Mick. The Cleaners, 403 SW 10th Avenue. 4PM Thursday, April 19. Free.

Cultural Crossing: Traditional and Contemporary Design at the Portland Japanese Garden
Attendees at this Design Week Portland will be allowed access to the Portland Japanese Garden for a self-guided tour before an intimate one-hour presentation and panel discussion about the PJG expansion design process, featuring garden curator Sadafumi Uchiyama; Balazs Bognar, architect with Kengo Kuma and Associates; and designers from Walker Macy landscape architects and Hacker Architects. Portland Japanese Garden, 611 SW Kingston Avenue. 5PM Thursday, April 19. $50.

Ontologically Oriented Objects with Parsons & Charlesworth
Can an existing, mass-produced object be transformed in a week into a mysterious new thing? Leading up to this lecture by artists and designers Tim Parsons and Jessica Charlesworth, the School of Architecture at Portland State University will hold a week-long design competition, where several teams of students will be given the same object and asked to transform it into something else entirely. These Mysterons, or mysterious things, will be displayed and critiqued by Parsons and Charlesworth, who create work that reflects upon the current and future state of our designed culture. Following this public critique of the Mysterons, Parsons and Charlesworth will give a public lecture. Portland State University, Shattuck Hall, 1914 SW Park Avenue. 3PM Friday, April 20. Free.

Placemaking in the Digital Age
The so-called Internet of Things is becoming pervasive in our physical environments. Everyday objects — thermostats, lights, locks, doors, appliances, and automobiles — promise a smarter and a more connected world. While it cannot be denied that these developments are making our lives exceedingly more convenient, these gadgets are far from building true experiences of place. As our physical and digital worlds converge, designers are carving paths into an unknown territory, and design relationships will need deeper scrutiny to create truly harmonious environments. Placemaking will evolve into an interdisciplinary practice that involves collaborations between experience designers, architects, technologists, and developers. This Design Week Portland event, moderated by Cat Rayburn of Amplified By Design, includes Amplified chief creative officer Gregg Sloan, CallisonRTKL senior vice president Matt Billerbeck and vice president Joan F. Insel, Digital Kitchen vice chairman Bill Fritch, and Intel design technologist Josh Ekandem. The Cleaners, 1022 SW Stark Street. 3PM Friday, April 20. Free.

Modernism Comes to Portland: Belluschi, Graves, and SOM Walking Tour
Long viewed as a provincial backwater of architectural innovation, Portland sprang to the forefront of American and international design in the second half of the 20th Century. As this Design Week Portland walking tour led by John Doyle will demonstrate, a streetscape of anachronistic cast iron and terra cotta transformed into a futuristic vision of stone, steel, glass, and concrete—home to North America’s first glass curtain wall and first major Post-Modern building anywhere in the world. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Saturday, April 21. $30.

2018 AIA Portland Homes Tour
This self-guided tour, organized by the American Institute of Architects' Portland chapter and affiliated with Design Week Portland, offers a first-hand experience of some of the most creative and thoughtfully conceived residences in the Pacific Northwest, as well as a look into unique living environments across architecturally distinct homes, and an excellent opportunity to see how great design impacts our quality of life through creativity, sustainability, and craft. The tour features homes designed by In Situ Architecture, PATH Architecture, Webster Wilson Architect, Works Progress Architecture, Risa Boyer Architecture and Waechter Architecture. 10AM Saturday, April 21. $45.

Old Town Tour
For those interested in history and architecture, no visit to a city is complete without seeing its Old Town – and Portland should be no exception. With a streetscape reminiscent of New York’s famed SoHo, Old Town contains one of the largest collections of cast-iron fronted buildings in the US, with most concentrated within the neighborhood near our famous Skidmore Fountain. On this fascinating tour, you’ll see the oldest standing buildings in downtown, while also learning about some of the city’s earliest architects and how cast-iron played a central role in their designs. You’ll see fine examples of historic preservation in action and also learn about some of the lost architectural gems that once lined the streets near the river. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Saturday, April 21. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Gentrification, Design, and Urban Development: Albina Walking Tour
Founded in 1873 as an independent east side city, Albina boomed with the arrival of the transcontinental railroad. As this Design Week Portland walking tour led by John Doyle will show, this predominantly European immigrant neighborhood became the hub of African American life in Portland, with urban renewal projects later radically transforming it. Today, it’s where the city wrestles with issues of gentrification, demolition, and what constitutes good contemporary design. Tour location to be announced. 2PM Saturday, April 21. $30.

Portland Vernacular - Buckman Neighborhood Walking Tour
Buckman is one of the city’s oldest Eastside neighborhoods with a variety of vernacular housing types beginning with late 19th century cottages through the building boom years of the early 20th century when the bungalow and four-square were popular citywide. You’ll even see some early duplex and triplex houses that give Buckman a unique character as well as post-World War II multi-unit housing. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Tuesday, April 24. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Can ADUs Provide Affordable, Equitable and Sustainable Housing?
The third of a four-part speaker series designed to provide insights about some of Portland’s most topical and successful industries: engineering, data analytics, sustainability, and athletic and outdoor retail. Hosted by Portland State University's Institute for Sustainable Solutions, this panel discussion will explore the accessory dwelling unit, sometimes also known as a granny flat. Last year 500 ADUs were authorized in Portland. Panelist include Cameron Herrington from Living Cully,  Michelle Labra, am ADU resident; Margarette Leite, an associate professor in the Center for Public Interest Design at the Portland State University School of Architecture; Marshall Runkel, chief of staff for Portland City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly; and Craft3 president Adam Zimmerman. The talk will be moderated by Robert Liberty, director of the Institute for Sustainable Solutions. Bridgeport Brewery, 1313 NW Marshall Street. 5:30PM Thursday, April 26. $15. 

NCARB: Designing Your Future: Creating Value in Your Career
The second in a two-part PSU School of Architecture kicks evemt concludes a week-long design challenge, featuring an exhibition, critique, and talk by object designers Tim Parsons and Jessica Charlesworth. On April 13, teams of students, alumni, and faculty will received an identical object and a set of design parameters, and they then began the work of transforming the object into a new form, of their own design. Now, along with the discussion, the transformed objects will be on display. Portland State University, Shattuck Hall, 1319 SW Park Avenue. 4PM Friday, April 27. Free.

Mt. Tabor Neighborhood Tour
This Architectural Heritage Center tour rambles through a stunning neighborhood on the west side of Mt. Tabor Park. From the former Baseline Road, now Stark Street, attendees will meander past numerous fine residences, as well as a school, church, and hospital. This area retains much of the freshness and beautiful views today that made it a popular place to build beginning in the 1880s and continuing well into the 20th century. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Saturday, April 28. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

 

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Tsilli Pines discusses this year's Design Week Portland

Design Week Portland director Tsilli Pines (Richard Darbonne)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

For one week each April, most members of Portland's design community probably don't get much rest. Design Week Portland, taking place from April 14-21 this year, is a city-wide series of programs exploring the process, craft, and practice of design across all disciplines. Sneaker design? They've got you covered. Architecture, interiors, landscape design? No problem. The festival is a kind of core sample, revealing the spectrum of designers calling Portland home and bringing them together, hopefully not just as a group of different tribes attending their own events but in a way that encourages cross-pollination. Other cities have more wealth and are considered truer cultural capitals, but Design Week Portland may be one of the best ways to get a sense that Portland has in some ways become a design Mecca, wherein a combination of our collaborative culture and idyllic natural environments just beyond the urban growth boundary creates a pull for designers even when the might be better off basing their operations in New York, London or Los Angeles.

Recently the festival's director, Tsilli Pines, agreed to answer a few questions about Design Week Portland as a primer for the festivities kicking off this weekend.

Portland Architecture: This year's Design Week Portland has 170 events. In your mind, is there a right size for the festival? Or is it that you add as many good events as you can with the thinking that people will pick and choose events and the more choice the better?

Tsilli Pines: When you add in the open houses, we have a total of 300-plus events going on including talks, gallery showcases, tours, unique experiences, workshops and open studios.

I spend a lot of time thinking about the number of events and formats as part of the festival. We need a large enough number and variety of formats to give people lots of different ways to feel included -- and to contribute. Events sell out every year, which tells me that we have some room to expand yet and that we haven’t hit the sweet spot.

A DWP 2017 event at Portland Garment Factory (Jeremy Pair)

But having said that, 300 events across numerous design disciplines can be overwhelming for participants. One of things that we’ve focused on this year is to help people filter through the large number of events and find ones that map to their interests and work. We’ve done this is by developing focused itineraries. For example, we have pulled together a Built Environment itinerary to help architects and everyone interested in architecture-related content. These represent a breadth of Design Week experiences available for those with an interest in architecture, urban design and the built environment.  And for fun, we’ve pulled together itineraries like Cheap Seats and Hungry/Thirsty. We like to promote participation in events across disciplines. So architects might also want to explore the events taking that have been organized for and by illustrators. There is truly something for everyone.

How might this year's Design Week Portland be different from last year or other years past? How do you see Design Week evolving?

Last year was the most built-out version of the festival ever. What is new this year is that we are getting back to our roots and focusing on the distributed track of independent events and open houses -- the roots of the festival. We wanted to strengthen this core element. We’re taking a break from building our headquarters and a fully curated set of talks via the Main Stage. Part of what is new with the festival, in lieu of the Main Stage, is our core programming track. It has brought a new form of collaboration for us. These events that will take place each day across six different venues curated by six different hosts. Discussions and activities range from the future of the city’s architecture, to the investigation of voice, to a talk show interviewing some of the most interesting design personalities in town.

The future of Design Week is to evolve into a year-round organization that can provide more of what we do during the festival all year round. We will evolve into Design Portland, for which Design Week Portland will always be a component. By taking a break from an HQ this year, we are able to do some needs assessment, listening and relationship building, which will allow us to expand our civic program. Our natural network has been the central city. This next year will be a lot about expanding our network and our lens.

Nike's Tinker Hatfield leading a workshop at DWP 2017 (Daniel Cole)

Do you see an increasing number of people coming from out of town to attend Design Week Portland, or is it overwhelmingly a local thing?

This year some of the more notable designers traveling in to present include: Jessica Hische, type and graphic designer; Mike Monteiro, digital designer and owner of Mule Design; Philip Van Allen, interaction designer, and Don Cooper, GREC Architects.

We do see designers coming into the market to attend the festival, however, overwhelmingly the attendance continues to be local designers. Of the 7,000 people participating in at least one event last year, 90 percent were local.

As it relates specifically to architecture, what are a few events that you see as the most exciting or intriguing for architects to attend?

On Saturday afternoon, you can hear from experts about the roles design and engineering play in upgrading costly city infrastructures during a time of climate change, as part of a panel and Q&A hosted by the University of Oregon. Then on Monday there is an opportunity to participate in an experimental design challenge to imagine new ways of seeing, thinking, being, and acting in relation to homelessness and homefulness. That evening we wrap up our One City: Many Futures event series, with a rapid-fire evening with architects presenting soon-to-be built buildings and landscapes, big and small, that will shape our city. This has been very well-attended series and the event has already sold out.

Many architecture firms, including Works Progress Architecture and Holst Architecture, as well as Open Studio Collective, are hosting open houses and panel discussions. Skylab Architecture is hosting a conversation between makers to discuss and explore how individual crafts merge into production and to learn how to break boundaries. ZGF Architects is hosting a panel exploring how high performing, sustainable design enriches lives by promoting individual health and well-being, workforce productivity and economic resilience.

The annual AIA Portland Homes Tour is taking place during Design Week Portland again this year, which is always a great opportunity to see a sampling of some very best residential architecture in the market.

A DWP 2017 panel discussion at Instrument (Elijah Hoffman)

You forgot the panel discussion I'm moderating: Disrupting Design Thinking, but that's okay! There's a whole lot going on. Meanwhile, how much blending do you see among the different design professions as it relates to DWP events? Are there sneaker designers interested in urban planning, or interior designers interested in graphic design? Or do designers tend to stick with their own tribes?

We’ve seen so many collaborations come out of the festival. Time and time again we hear from designers that the festival gets them out of their silo -- to really understand how different people are working in different disciplines and how it actually relates to the thing that they are doing every single day. This leads to more collaboration, which is something that we hear from designers that they particularly appreciate.

For example, this year Bora Architects is collaborating with fashion and apparel designers at Creative Capital Design, to experiment with fabric as a shelter. They are designing a nearly 400-square-foot structure, which will be on display at PICA. And speaking of sneaker designers, Steward Horner, previously at Nike, is giving a talk on how he changed fields completely and is now an interior designer.

Given the state of national affairs—both the conservative crackdown and the rise of the resistance—do you believe that DWP has become more politically oriented? Are designers out there more interested in becoming active than they were two or three years ago?

Yes. We especially saw a spike in interest following the election in 2016 and we continue to hear from designers looking for opportunities to apply their skills for impact on some of the bigger issues facing the city and our community. We are looking to fuel this and for additional ways that we can engage. And as we think about scaling to a year-round set of events, imagine what we could do if we had the capacity to map the entire creative community and maintain a public resource that would identify what was happening in the city. Our lofty goal is to be that platform for connecting all those dots and for any given time.

During the festival this year, The Albina Vision Project is going to have some discussion. There are events that focus on -- and talk about -- designing for social good. “We the Dreamers” are amplifying the voices of undocumented immigrants during an exploratory installation discussion around art and activism, immigrant stories, and how to build community in the current political climate.

We have created an activism itinerary for anyone looking to find these kinds of related events. This is a very important component of our mission and focus as an organization.

 

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A new era at Works Progress Architecture: talking with Carrie Strickland

Carrie Strickland (Works Progress Architecture)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

A couple weeks ago when I visited Works Progress Architecture founding principal Carrie Strickland at the firm's Southeast Portland offices, change seemed to be in the air.

It happened to be the first day of spring, with buds on the trees outside. I knew I was coming there to talk about the new era of the firm following the departure of co-founding principal William Neburka, arguably the strongest design voice at WPA in the past, as well as the string of new projects that Strickland and her team have in the works. Perhaps that was why as I looked at a directory near the elevator denoting the suite occupied by each client — WPA, Maybe and Uncorked Studios — it seemed as if it were spelling out the phrase "WPA may be uncorked."

Maybe it's a bit of a stretch, but I liked the idea that, while there's no doubt Neburka is exceptionally talented and the firm's succession of design awards speak to that, perhaps there will now be a chance to unleash a new generation of talents. I supposed I was there to see if WPA may indeed be uncorked.

Directory at 811 Stark (Brian Libby)

As Strickland entered the conference room and we exchanged pleasantries, I learned that she had recently been in a motorcycle crash. Though she could have been seriously injured, she walked away from the crash with no broken bones. Hopefully that's another good omen. Then there's the name change that happened a year or two ago: from Works Partnership Architecture to Works Progress Architecture.

There's no question that WPA has been one of Portland's best architecture firms over the past decade. Founded in 2005, the firm first gained notice for warehouse renovations in the Central Eastside for Beam Development such as 2007's Olympic Mills Commerce Center. Works began a new chapter of eye-popping new buildings such as 2009's bSIDE6 along lower Burnside just east of the bridge. More recently, the firm has won awards and critical acclaim for projects like Slate, a mixed-use apartment building at Burnside Bridgehead (winner of a 2016 Mayor's Design Award from the AIA); Framework, a jewel of a wood-framed and glass-ensconced office building on nearby Couch Street (winner of a 2016 Merit Award from the AIA), and the Doppelganger multifamily housing project (winner of a 2017 Citation Award from the AIA). I'm also a big fan of their Bowstring Truss House from 2013 (which I wrote about for Dwell), their Langano Apartments from 2015 on Southeast Hawthorne, and the building from which I interviewed Strickland and WPA calls home, 811 Stark.

Meanwhile, WPA has another significant local project about to open: an expansion of the Jupiter Hotel on East Burnside, with a distinctive form and bold use of materials. And the firm is increasingly branching out to other cities, with a new office in Los Angeles and a succession of projects upcoming in Denver.

Renderings of an upcoming performance venue in Denver (Works Progress Architecture)

Here is an edited transcript of the lunchtime conversation Strickland and I had over croissant sandwiches in the WPA conference room.

Portland Architecture: Coming into its 13th year, WPA has seen some major transitions. Despite not making a big formal announcement, I’m sure most people know that you are now the primary leadership of the office. I know you can’t talk about the specifics of Bill Neburka’s departure, but it’s a big departure. How has the firm evolved?

Carrie Strickland: It is interesting. I get a lot of questions about that. Obviously it’s a significant shift in how I’ve always talked about WPA and how we’ve presented ourselves. In reality that transition was gentler and not as disruptive as many outside of the office maybe thought it would have been. I have a pretty strict gag order of not talking about what happened and why, but [I’m] feeling it’s certainly for the best and for the health of the office and what we are and what we’re doing and how we’re moving forward.

One result of the transition is that this is an architecture firm with all-female leadership. How noteworthy is that? After all, there is gender balance in architecture schools but not in the profession itself.

I think that’s one thing that’s come out of this that I’m excited about. For a number of years we’ve been a majority women-staffed firm, which is fairly unique for a firm of our size. Then for three full years we’ve been a majority women-owned firm. But the way it was structured, Bill and I still had an equal voice, and Jen [Dzienis], who has been a partner for three years. Now that it’s just Jen and I as partners, we’re a 100 percent woman-owned firm. Looking out and knowing how design firms work, it’s something pretty unique and rare. And where we’re doing work, it’s fairly unusual.

Rendering of upcoming Jupiter Hotel expansion (Works Progress Architecture)

Could having a majority woman-owned and woman-staffed firm help create an environment that better helps female architects stay in profession, like with greater flexibility as it relates to matters like child care or part-time work?

There was a study put out a few years ago [by Equity by Design]: The Missing 32 Percent Project. Coming through school and even close to grad rates, they’re fairly 50/50. But by the time you get to your early thirties, 32 percent have disappeared. I do think you get to a point where you feel like as a woman you’re expected to make a choice between one thing or the other. I know I wanted to be a positive example of that, but maybe I’m a poor one. I had two kids, raised them, and I have one son who’s 20 down at San Diego State now, and I have a sophomore in high school. It’s never been something I’ve focused on in a way that said I needed to focus on one thing or another. I’ve had times where I’m probably not the picture of good balance. But I think I’ve talked to my kids about it. They saw me making tough choices and knew it was about personal drive and ambition, and not about compromising my investment in family and in their lives. In general I think there is still a bit of an assumption, and maybe it’s more of a regional thing too.

What’s funny to me is I think probably because where we are in the history of the practice and our general average staff age, we have a lot of people getting married, starting families. We have two out on maternity leave now. It’s kind of a new experience for us. I had my kids before starting the practice. Jen had her son a good five years into the practice. But we haven’t had a lot of active family rearing to be able to set an example. We do have that opportunity right now. I remember speaking out a women-in-design round-table discussion and getting into not an argument but a lively discussion with another woman about careers and making a choice. Her argument was you either choose to be this business person or this family person. It really bothered me. Even though we’re here in the modern age, it was alarming to me that people saw it as this choice you had to make.

bSIDE6 (Stephen A. Miller)

I did have my kids fairly young. That came with its own collection of hardships and challenges. But I do feel now because my kids are old enough to be away at college or fairly self-sufficient, I do have an opportunity now with the stage the practice is in to refocus and reinvest. I’m 93 percent owner of the firm. The level of hours and thought that I feel I can focus on the practice and architecture in general is maybe more than 10 years ago.

Could you talk about some of the talent you have at the firm now, and how perhaps they are enabled to do meaningful work more now than ever before?

One thing I want to make sure and note is that as we’ve grown and certainly started working in other markets, building a strong studio full of people who are project designers or project managers and other kinds of leaders building and maintaining client relationships, that had been happening for the last several years. Bill and I both had stepped into roles of more…I was maintaining the face of the office and that brand management, and Bill was stepping into more of a role of editor. This ownership transition is allowing people already here to more freely communicate within the studio. And it’s becoming more obvious where the body of work is coming from. Bill and I always talked about the firm as two halves of one great architect. We kind of propagated that idea. It’s not that it’s shifted but there are more people involved: Jen obviously as partner; Ian Role, who’s been with us for several years as a design director in the office; Judson Moore, who has been one of our design mangers for years.

Slate (Brian Libby)

And then the other big change is that looking at the core nucleus of the studio for overall strategic development, and whether it’s identifying regions of interest or similarities in other markets, bringing on a director of operations, which we’ve never had before. His name is Michael Reis. Between that nucleus of Jen and I and Ian and Jud and Michael setting a new direction for the firm, and having the comfort and free communication to talk through that and set a course, I think the one thing we’re seeing right now—I don’t want to say it’s always better—the studio is truly acting in its best collaborative form. We’d always talked about it as a collaborative. The whole idea of the name was not having any one person’s fingerprint too heavily, that were all doing this together in a studio. We always talked about it like that. I think the big shift in the last ten months is it’s truly operating that way. There’s a lot of discussion and sharing of ideas. There’s a lot of cross-pollination happening. It’s getting clients to understand that too. There’s a perceivable difference in tone and spirit.

How might the personnel change lead to an evolution of style? Obviously each project is different, and the firm’s style has always evolved, but there was a certain fingerprint I think one could especially associate with recent buildings like Slate, Framework and here at 811 Stark.

I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about that. I think one way we used to describe ourselves…a writer talked about how our work walks the line between sexy and stern. I think that holds true as you look through the work. Slate, maybe this building we’re in, there’s a commonality of language. It almost feels like there was a slowdown in investigation. There’s a commonality there—you’re mining the same thread—whereas we’d previously been more fluid. I think now we’ve picked up the fluid exploration again. Concept is still a really big part of all the projects: a clear seed that’s carried forward. We’re doing a pretty sizable collection of buildings in Denver now. They’re all post transition. They’re a little more lively. I don’t want to say they’re whimsical. I still bring the whip to crack things back onto the stern side. There’s still a strong concept, but there’s a lightness to the projects now that I find refreshing. And that feels like a notable difference. We’re less than a year into it. But we’re already seeing the result. I think what we keep calling the Burns Block but is actually called 550 MLK: it was approved and that’s a bit of the new era, for example.

Rendering of the upcoming 550 MLK (Works Progress Architecture)

Can you talk a bit more about that project?

The project itself is seven stories. It’s half hotel, half traditional apartments. It’s a partner project with the Schleifer Furniture building’s adaptive reuse. The same operator will run both. There’s this relationship to the historic building, and drawing a line from the Grand Avenue Historic District to this side, not in it. It builds a relationship to the historic building, but it’s also a very kind of modern, fragmented, traditional masonry building. Sometimes there’s a fear that you’ll overshadow the historic building, but I think it highlights and allows more appreciation of the historic fabric and highlighting its timelessness.

WPA also seems to be branching out of Portland, with the new Los Angeles office and commissions in other cities.

I think that in the last year coupled with this transition internally, more and more of our work is outside Portland. For the most part it’s people seeking us out for bringing that thought process or materiality. There’s a kind of no-nonsense approach that’s less about style and more about function. It’s something I’ve always done as a practicing architect. But it’s not how most people work. It’ll be interesting in the next few years to see what influence WPA can have on those other urban markets.

It does really seem like WPA has left a huge imprint on the Central Eastside when you combine renovation projects like Eastbank Commerce Center and the Olympic Mills Commerce Center with new construction like Slate, Framework, 811 Stark and now the Jupiter Hotel and some other upcoming projects as well.

It does prove that it doesn’t have to be one intersection, but how many pins do you put on a map before there’s a critical mass and a sea-change effect.

Framework (Joshua Jay Elliot)

[We move away from the interview room and Carrie shows me a quintet of projects in Denver, including a music venue, as well as a tower in Los Angeles.]

Besides the tower, what else in L.A. is the firm doing?

It’s not the same scale, but Stumptown’s doing a big new reinvestment in the L.A. market and we’re doing their stores…and Central Office [the coworking site occupying the ground floor of Slate] is expanding in L.A. and we’re doing some work for them too.

Have you spent much time reflecting on the journey Works has made over the past 13 years, or how that compares to where you're headed now?

I was made an AIA Fellow this year, and my design impact statement talks about the Central Eastside and Portland in general. Even prior to WPA, being involved in the Eastbank Commerce Center and stuff with Beam Development and Brad Malsin: I can say over a 16-year time period what impact has that had on a district. It’ll be interesting to zoom out ten years from now and look at how it’s impacted other cities as well.

  

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Design calendar: April 1-15

US Custom House (Brian Libby)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

Beaux Arts Portland Walking Tour
This downtown Architectural Heritage Center tour explores the influence of the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris on Portland architecture of the late-19th and early-20th centuries. Attendees will learn how American architects, including some from Portland, attended the school and started a trend in the U.S. emphasizing classical Greek and Roman designs, elaborate ornament, and heavy masonry – all used in a very formal manner. Stops on this tour include several of Portland’s most recognizable historic buildings and preservation success stories. Tour begins at SW Park and Madison. 10AM Tuesday, April 3. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Key Relationships and Risk Allocation in Construction Projects: Session 2
This second in a three-part series of seminars will examine the intricate relationship between government oversight of building design, construction and the practice of architecture. This course will not only touch on zoning, permitting and design review, but also government regulation of the employer/employee relationship and the licensing, ethics and discipline of architects. Lunch will be provided with admission. Speakers will include Amanda Gamblin, William Ohle and Garrett Stephenson of law firm Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt as well as Robert Collins of Day CPM. AIA Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 12PM Wednesday, April 4. $70 ($50 for AIA members, $30 for Associate AIA members, $10 for students).

Open Architecture Portland: Community Garden Project Kick-Off
Want to get involved in a new community garden project? A local community clinic is in need of a garden storage bench and informational kiosk for their small garden on Southeast Division Street. The goal is to provide a place for tool storage to allow patients ease of access to the garden. The information kiosk will act as a place of shelter and provide information on food security, health, and locations of nearby gardens, farmer’s markets etc. Through this project kick-off meeting, Open Architecture Portland is currently seeking volunteers to lead this project. Peter Meijer Architect, 605 NE 21st Avenue, Suite 200. 6PM Thursday, April 5. Free.

Gary Rogowski
Join author and furniture maker Gary Rogowski for a reading as well as chat on creativity, practice and working with our hands in this digital age. Rogowski's 2017 book Handmade is a series of stories about the value of curiosity and the need for failure and forgiveness in any journey to becoming a master. The book is for anyone interested in doing creative work today. Part memoir, part stories from the bench, it speaks to the artist inside us all. Rogowski tells the story of skidding off a degree path in literature in the 1970s to pursue building handmade furniture. He wrote for and was a contributing editor at Fine Woodworking magazine and his 2002 book The Complete Illustrated Guide to Joinery is in its 15th printing. Rogowski is also the founder and director of The Northwest Woodworking Studio in Portland. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 6:30PM Thursday, April 5. Free.

Downtown Portland's North End and Chinatown Tour
This Architectural Heritage Center tour explores the abundant architectural and cultural history in the downtown neighborhood wedged between Old Town and the Pearl District. Along the way attendees will see 19th century gems like the Mariner’s Home building, which has recently been rehabilitated and turned into the Society Hotel. One will also learn how the area became New Chinatown, and later Japantown, while seeing landmark buildings like Union Station, the US Custom House, and a historic fire station. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Saturday, April 7. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Historic Irvington Walking Tour
Irvington started out as a streetcar suburb in the 1890s and by the 1920s had become one of the most prestigious residential neighborhoods in Portland. The Irvington National Register District includes over 2500 houses, most of them are considered contributing to the historic character of the district. On this Positively Portland Walking Tour, attendees will see only a rather small portion of the neighborhood, but included in the tour are some of the finest examples of Colonial Revival and high style Arts and Crafts residences in the city. Tour begins at Peet's Coffe and Tea 1414 NE Broadway. 11PM Saturday, April 7. $15.

Piedmont Neighborhood Walking Tour
In addition to the well-known neighborhoods of Irvington, Ladd's Addition, or Laurelhurst, Portland is also home to the lesser known but architecturally rich neighborhood of Piedmont. This area contains many fine examples of familiar styles such as Queen Anne and Arts & Crafts but also the less frequently seen forms of Byzantine, Jacobean and Prairie style. Visitors on this Architectural Heritage Center tour will see the work of architects like Joseph Jacobberger, whose North Portland Branch Library has stood as a neighborhood landmark for more than a century. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Tuesday, April 10. $20 ($12 for AHC members).

Unreinforced Brick Masonry Restoration
This April meeting for the Portland chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute will focus on understanding the rationale and methodology for condition assessment and the repair and restoration of historic unreinforced brick masonry buildings. Particular attention will be paid to late 19th and early 20th century unreinforced masonry, its use in exterior construction, and types of deterioration. Much of what is considered visible deterioration can be attributed to any number of factors including the ways in which the brick was manufactured, how it was used within the construction, associated building materials/features, exposure to weather, and previous maintenance or repair campaigns. The program will provide insight into common types of deterioration and material behavior along with specific intervention methods and materials that may be appropriate and sympathetic to the original materials. Speaker Amy Lamb Woods is the Portland director of technical education with the International Masonry Institute and a licensed professional engineer in Washington, Wisconsin, and Minnesota. Her background combines architecture, historic preservation, and civil engineering materials. Ms. Woods has over 18 years of experience in forensic engineering, including facade and failure investigations with materials such as brick masonry, terra cotta, stone, concrete, terrazzo, and stucco. Her primary interest is the investigation and repair of historic masonry and concrete materials. Kells Irish Pub, 112 SW Second Avenue. 11:30AM Tuesday, April 10. $40 ($50 if purchased after April 6, $40 for CSI members, $10 for students).

Introduction to the Living Building Challenge
What if every act of design and construction made the world a better place? With the Living Building Challenge, you can create buildings that are regenerative spaces that connect occupants to light, air, food, nature, and community; self-sufficient and remain within the resource limits of their site. Living Buildings produce more energy than they use and collect and treat all water on site; and healthy and beautiful. Living buildings give more than they take, creating a positive impact on the human and natural systems that interact with them. But how can you build a Living Building? How can you help others do so? Come and learn, from Kathleen Smith, vice president of the Living Building Challenge + Education. Portland State University, Native American Student + Community Center, 1825 Southwest Broadway. 12PM Tuesday, April 10. Free.

2018 Old House Revival Tour
This self-guided annual Architectural Heritage Center tour provides the opportunity to see inside several historic Portland-area houses, each providing ideas and information on how one can restore spaces lost to previous remodels, create new spaces that are sensitive to the architecture of the home, or preserve original building materials. Older homes can be adapted to a 21st century lifestyle while not losing all of their original style, historic character, and charm. Homes on the tour are representative of many of the most common eras and architectural styles found in the Portland area. 10AM Saturday, April 14. $35 ($25 for AHC members, $15 for those aged 18-25).

Design Week Portland: Opening Party
Connect with fellow Design Week Portland attendees at this opening party launching 170 different events across the city over the ensuing seven days, with design activations, food trucks, and a live photo booth. A street closure will feature parklet installations, and visual goodies will by curated by Plastic Sunshine. Get a first look inside Custom Blocks, the evening's hosts, home to Southeast Portland's newest creative space. Custom Blocks, 900-998 SE Main Street. 7PM Saturday, April 14. $15.

Restorative Design: The Confluence Bird Blind by Maya Lin
Maya Lin's Confluence Project has brought landscape installations and ecological restoration to six locations along the Columbia River System. Combining natural history, culture, and design, one of these locations, the Confluence Bird Blind, asks us to consider evolving land ethics and one’s role in a sustainable future. Join Confluence as part of Design Week Portland for this informative hike through the significantly restored Sandy River Delta, and discuss using design as a means to greater ecological awareness. The hike is a flat, 2.4 miles round-trip. The group will meet at the kiosk near the restrooms. Sandy River Delta, Interstate Exit 18, Troutdale. 10AM Sunday, April 15. $10.

Portland Bridges Walking Tour
Explore the history, design and infrastructure of Portland's Willamette River bridges, and learn about their look, their development, and their original purpose. The tour will be led by Portland Underground Graduate School instructor John Doyle as part of Design Week Portland. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Sunday, April 15. $30.

Gentrification, Design, and Urban Development: South Portland Walking Tour
A neighborhood re-envisioned in the 1960s by architecture firm Skidmore, Owings, and Merrill (S.O.M.) along with landscape architect Lawrence Halprin, created a new urban model of high-rise apartments, commercial spaces, fountains, and interconnected walkways. It’s Portland's first great experiment with urban renewal and comprehensive urban planning.  The tour will be led by Portland Underground Graduate School instructor John Doyle as part of Design Week Portland. Tour meetup location to be announced. 2PM  Sunday, April 15. $30.

Resilient Infrastructures and Just Cities: Integrated Design for the 21st Century
Cities like Portland are confronted with the need to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to upgrade water and other infrastructures, during a time of climate change and hydrological regimes that are transforming. Convening experts in architecture, urban design, landscape architecture, engineering, and finance, this Design Week Portland panel discussion will explore the intersection of design, resilient infrastructure, and equity. The structure will involve short talks by four experts representing different disciplines followed by a panel and question and answer session. University of Oregon, White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street. 3PM Sunday, April 15. Free.

"Neon" Screening
The 2015 documentary “Neon," screening as part of Design Week Portland, chronicles the imaginative mystery and handmade craft of the neon sign, as well as neon signs' mythic status in 20th century American life. Written and directed by award-winning Australian filmmaker Lawrence Johnston, the film celebrates the beauty, color and vibrant history of this beloved form of advertising from an international perspective as we face a world where it will soon be lost and superseded by LED-illuminated signage. The craft and construction of this 100-year-old medium has changed very little, making neon one the greenest forms of light ever produced, and an amazing and enduring force of color and beauty in the visual landscapes of our lives. Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Avenue. 7PM Sunday, April 15. $7.

 

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