Memorial Coliseum, 1960 (Julius Shulman, courtesy Getty Research Institute)
BY BRIAN LIBBY
King's Hill Historic District Tour
Many of Portland’s most notable late 19th and early 20th century architects designed homes in the hilly King's Hill, a National Register Historic District, featured on this Architectural Heritage Center tour. The neighborhood is also known for its wonderful landscape architecture, serving as a gateway to Washington Park. Tour meets at the staircase near the entrance to Washington Park on SW Park Place. Tour meetup location revealed with ticket purchase. 10AM Tuesday, October 16. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Veterans Memorial Coliseum Tour
Named a National Treasure by the National Trust for Historic Preservation in 2016, Veterans Memorial Coliseum is one of the most architecturally distinct arenas ever constructed. Completed in 1960 and designed by Skidmore, Owings and Merrill, what was originally known as Portland Memorial Coliseum offers a 360-degree view to the outside from its 12,000-seat bowl (when a curtain isn't lowered to block the view). Though more than twice the size of a Portland city block, it stands on just four columns. SOM's lead architect for the Coliseum, Myron Goldsmith, studied under both legendary architect Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, king of the elegant glass box, and Italian engineer Pier Luigi Nervi, one of the forefathers of Brutalism. The Coliseum's design, with a concrete bowl untouched by the glass box that surrounds it, thus marks a crossroads between two eras of modernist architecture, at a time when SOM, with masterworks like New York's Lever House, ranked among the foremost American architecture firms. Though the City of Portland has continued to delay the full-scale renovation the building needs, in 2017 a $2.5 refresh was completed, including a new scoreboard, a reconfigured entry, and new lighting, making this masterwork look better than it has in many years. This tour of Memorial Coliseum, presented by the Society for Experiential Graphic Design, will be guided by representatives of the City of Portland (the building's owner) and Merryman Barnes Architects, who carried out the refresh. A question and answer session will follow. Veterans Memorial Coliseum, 300 N Winning Way. 6PM Tuesday, October 16. $10 (free for SEGD members).
In-Process: Risa Boyer & Andee Hess
The latest installment of this quarterly lecture series from the AIA's Center For Architecture, which explores the creative process of local architects, designers, makers and other creators, features architect Risa Boyer of Risa Boyer Architecture and interior designer Andee Hess of Osmose. Founded in Los Angeles in 2006 and relocated to Portland in 2008, Risa Boyer Architecture is a small full-service architecture firm in Portland specializing in modern, timeless residences and creative environments. Recent projects include the Makers Row mixed-use building and the Riverwood residence. Osmose’s work focuses primarily on hospitality, retail, and high-end residential design with an emphasis on custom furniture and lighting as well as collaborations with artists and makers. Local Portland projects Ava Gene’s, House Spirits Tasting Room, Q Restaurant, and Salt & Straw Division. AIA Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 6PM Tuesday, October 16. Free.
Rietveld, Utrecht and De Stijl
Art historian Mathijs Meinderts will lecture on De Stijl, a global art movement founded by Theo van Doesburg in 1917 in Holland that attracted legendary artists such as Piet Mondriaan. Mathijs will focus on the story of Gerrit Rietveld, an Utrecht native and architect of the famous Rietveld Schröder house. This is a Portland/Utrecht Friendship City cultural event. Meinderts studied art history at University of Utrecht and works with the Centraal Museum and the Rietveld Schröder house, both located in Utrecht. Portland Art Museum, Whitsell Auditorium, 1219 SW Park Avenue. 6:30PM Tuesday, October 16. Free.
Elise Roy: Designing for Disability
As part of Portland State University's “Disability as Diversity” month, the Transportation Research and Education Center welcomes Elise Roy, a deaf human centered designer, former lawyer, and motivational speaker who works in the vanguard of the disruptive innovation movement. Roy is a passionate proponent of the notion that when we design for disability, we often develop solutions that are better than when we design for the norm. A highly skilled public speaker, she has given talks at Microsoft, the United Nations and the World Bank. Her TEDx talk, “When we Design for Disability, We All Benefit,” has over 1.2 million views. Portland State University, Lincoln Recital,1620 SW Park Avenue, Room 75. 5:30PM Wednesday, October 17. Free.
Forestry 101 (for Designers and Other Non-Foresters)
What does sustainable forest management entail? Does wood need to be Forest Stewardship Council-certified in order to be considered sustainable? How do Oregon’s laws compare to nearby states such as Washington and California, and to laws internationally? This latest installment of the Critical Mass (Timber) meetup group welcomes three forestry experts for a panel discussion: Eric White, a USDA Forest Service research scientist; Oregon Forest Research Institute director Mike Cloughesy; and a to-be-determined panelist. World Forestry Center, 4033 SW Canyon Road. 5:30PM Wednesday, October 17. Free.
Learning & Libations: Spores and Silica in Construction
As part of the Portland chapter of the Construction Specification Institute's Learning & Libations series, Emily Ricker, a client services coordinator at Forensic Analytical Consulting Services, will speak about the properties of spores in construction and the health effects of exposurel spore standards and control measures for managing spores in construction; silica uses in construction, exposures and health effects; and state standards for silica exposure and control measures. Power + Light Building, 920 SW Sixth Avenue, Suite 1300. 5:30PM Thursday, October 18. $10 ($5 for students).
Closing the Gap: The Future of Offsite Construction
While prefabrication, modularization and pre-assembly have been around for decades, they are becoming critical methods for delivering projects faster, safer and more cost effectively in a labor- challenged marketplace while leveraging the use of new integrated technologies and the increasingly blurred roles of designers and constructors. This three-hour seminar highlights critical issues and opportunities going forward. A panel discussion presented by AIA/Portland and moderated by engineer Steve Burrows of Cameron Macallister Group will also include Clayton O. Mitchell Jr. of Kaiser Permanente, architect Carrie Strickland of Works Progress Architecture, and Mike Labukas, Mortenson Construction. Questions for the panel include: What will offsite construction ask us to do differently five years from today? How do the concepts of offsite construction influence the role of the architect and the design process? What are the current limitations of the industry in utilizing offsite construction? University of Oregon, White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street. 1:30PM Friday, October 19. $35 ($15 for AIA Associate members and emerging professionals, free for students).
Disrupt – A Design Conference on the Process of Making
Local non-profit WeMake presents this two-day design conference benefitting arts education for Portland’s under-served youth. Keynote speakers include Los Angeles visual artist Katie Ann Gilmore, Los Angeles visual artist and animator Tommy Perez, Philadelphia illustrator Loveis Wise, Portland musician Luz Elena Mendoza of Y La Bamba, Portland poet Soleil Hall, Portland poet Brianna Grisby, Broccoli magazine editor Anja Charbonneau of Portland, and Portland music mastering engineer Amy Dragon, among others. Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Avenue, Mark Building Grand Ballroom. 5:30PM Friday-Saturday, October 19-20. $81.
Citizen Jane: The Battle for the City Continues
The writer and champion of pedestrian-based placemaking Jane Jacobs had a special relationship with the City of Portland over its evolution as a more diverse, mixed, walkable place. A frequent advisor to grass-roots activists in the city, Jacobs, author of the landmark Death and Life of Great American Cities, championed lively, diverse neighborhoods, and she championed citizen activism against powerful special interests, especially in her home town of New York. This even begins with a screening of the 2016 film Citizen Jane: Battle for the City, then will followed by a panel discussion with journalist Midge Pierce, Goose Hollow Foothills League president and sustainable development consultant Michael Mehaffy, Portland Planning Commission chair Rick Michaelson, and urban planner Heather Flint Chatto. What does Jacobs say to Portlanders, at a time when our fabled neighborhood association system is being deconstructed? The fact that this screening takes place at the Northwest Neighborhood Cultural Center may be fitting, for it's a place where progressive neighborhood action is needed. Its longtime tenant, the Northwest Children's Theater and School, could use a Jane Jacobs-like figure to stand up to the NNCC's Robert Moses-like figures who control the building. Northwest Neighborhood Cultural Center 1819 NW Everett Street. 7PM Friday, October 19. Free.
Landscapes and History: A Walk Through River View Cemetery
Nestled in the hillside just above the west end of the Sellwood Bridge lies one of Portland’s hidden treasures, River View Cemetery. Portland's contribution to the 19th century rural cemetery movement was so successful it helped bring about the development of public parks in Portland and elsewhere across the nation. This Architectural Heritage Center tour will visit the final resting places of the rich and famous of 19th century Portland, exploring obelisks, monuments and mausoleums, all set within one of the city's most picturesque landscapes. Tour meetup location revealed with ticket purchase. 10AM Saturday, October 20. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Inspired By Family Home Tour
Historic homes in Irvington, Alameda, and Beaumont-Wilshire comprise the Inspired By Family Home Tour, presented by Arciform (the architect for each of these renovations) and with all proceeds benefiting the Oregon Humane Society. The tour will be preceded a free Changing Family Workshop at The Old Church Concert Hall (1422 SW 11th Avenue) that will demonstrate how to design your home around diverse family needs. The tour itself includes a Georgian style home from 1937, a colonial revival-style house in Irvington from 1916 designed by acclaimed Oregon architect Ellis Lawrence, a colonial from 1911 also in Irvington, a Tudor cottage from 1929 in Alameda, and a colonial revival in Alameda from 1939. Following the tour at 6:30PM will a reception at Christiane Millinger Oriental Rugs & Textiles (2037 NW Lovejoy Street). Tour locations revealed with ticket purchase. 10AM Saturday, October 20. $20.
Foster/Holgate Neighborhood Tour — Then and Now
The intersection of Foster Road and Holgate Boulevard in Southeast Portland has a history that spans the early settlement days to the Streetcar Era and Mid-century automobile-centric period of Portland history. Today there are signs of neighborhood revitalization in the commercial and residential sectors of this neighborhood also known as Mt Scott/Arleta. Join us for a leisurely stroll and exploration of this transitional Southeast Portland neighborhood. Recently, the Portland Bureau of Transportation's Foster Transportation and Streetscape plan has become a flashpoint of controversy in the neighborhood. Tour begins at Pieper Cafe, 6504 SE Foster Road. 1PM Sunday, October 21. $15.
Houses Of Eastmoreland Tour
The Eastmoreland neighborhood is known throughout Portland for its undulating pattern of dense, tree-lined streets and landscaped yards. Once farmland, the housing in Eastmoreland was largely constructed between 1925 and 1940. Along this Architectural Heritage Center walking tour, attendees will see not only fantastic architect-designed houses in period revival styles, but also their popular, non-architect-designed counterparts. Tour meetup location revealed with ticket purchase. 10AM Tuesday, October 23. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Architects Without Borders: Withergreen School Charrette
The Oregon chapter of Architects Without Borders has agreed to design a master plan for the expansion of the Withergreen Foundation Nursery and Elementary School in Gardnerville, Liberia. All interested architects and designers are invited to participate in this charrette for this project. The chapter plans to form a project team from those who attend, but a commitment to the longer-term effort is not necessary for participation in the charrette. The non-profit Withergreen School is an existing institution currently serving 250 students in Gardnerville, a suburb of Monrovia, Liberia's capital and largest city. The expanded school will accommodate as many as 600 students on a campus that is situated a compact site in an existing neighborhood. The expansion will include additional classrooms, a community hall, library, science and IT lab, landscaped outdoor recreation space, community hall, and space for gardening and agricultural arts. AIA Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 6PM Wednesday, October 24. Free.
Design Museum Mornings: Building Relationships, Inspiring Communities
The latest edition of Design Museum Portland's Design Museum Mornings series features BRIC Architecture principal Karina Ruiz, who will discuss designing educational spaces. Ruiz has over 20 years of experience and has managed over a billion dollars in educational projects throughout her career. Her belief that education shapes the future of this world, drives Ruiz to ensure that teaching and learning objectives remain the team’s focus throughout each project. AIA Center For Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue. 8:30AM Friday, October 26. $10 (free for Design Museum Portland members).
PUARL Conference 2018
The University of Oregon's Portland Urban Architecture Research Lab hosts this conference, entitled "Migration, Refugees and Patterns." The conference provides a forum for researchers and practitioners from a variety of fields, as well as for a broader public, to come together to present and discuss areas of research and application in architecture, urbanism, media, arts, information technology, and social activism. University of Oregon, White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street. 9AM Friday-Sunday, October 26-28. $450 ($225 for students).
Lair Hill Neighborhood Tour
It turns out that Lair Hill is not named for a hill. Named for pioneering Portland lawyer and newspaper editor William Lair Hill, this residential neighborhood and subject of an Architectural Heritage Center tour is one of Portland’s oldest. Lair Hill contains a fascinating mix of historic homes, along with notable buildings significant for their connections to the city’s early immigrant populations. It’s also a neighborhood that was impacted by urban renewal and freeway development. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Saturday, October 27. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
Researching the History of Your House
Have you ever wondered who lived in your house before you? Or maybe even who built it? What was your neighborhood like when your house was first built? How has it changed? Researching the history of your house can answer many of the questions you might have. In this Architectural Heritage Center workshop, Tibby O’Brien and Morgen Young will take attendees through the steps to uncover the history of one's vintage house (as well as most any other building). Using the latest online sources, local archives, and libraries, they will show that the process is not so mysterious when one knows what steps to follow and where to look. Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Avenue. 10AM Saturday, October 27. $12 ($8 for AHC members).
Midtown and West End Walking Tour
Explore downtown between the South Park Blocks and I-405, an area filled with iconic buildings as well as numerous lesser-known architectural gems. Attendees on this Architectural Heritage Center tour will see historic apartment houses, storefronts, cultural and religious buildings, and the remnants of what was once a thriving residential area, while also gaining an understanding of the impacts of development on historic preservation efforts. The West End has also become one of Portland's hottest shopping and restaurant destinations, and includes noteworthy recent projects like Lever Architecture's Union Way, Skylab Architecture's Blackbox building, and ZFG's 12 West tower, not to mention historic gems like A.E. Doyle's Central Library. Tour meetup location to be announced. 10AM Tuesday, October 30. $20 ($12 for AHC members).
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