Gabriel Fonseca (courtesy SmithGroup)
BY BRIAN LIBBY
Recently one of the nation's oldest architecture firms opened an office in Portland. In fact, SmithGroup is the longest continually-operating architecture and engineering firm in the United States that's not a wholly-owned subsidiary. Founded in 1853 in Detroit by Sheldon Smith, today the firm designs many college and university buildings as well as large civic buildings and even stadiums like Ford Field, home of the NFL's Detroit Lions.
To welcome SmithGroup to town, I invited principal Gabe Fonseca to participate in our ongoing Architect's Questionnaire series. Gabe earned a master's degree in architecture from Yale University and a bachelor's degree in architecture from the University of California at Berkeley, and had spent most of his career in the Bay Area before relocating to the Rose City. He's celebrating his 15th anniversary with SmithGroup this fall, and, as you'll see at the end, is a big fan of two great movies by Lucas and Hitchcock.
Portland Architecture: When did you first become interested in architecture as a possible career?
Gabe Fonseca: Originally, as a child but not in a serious manner. I was good at drawing as a kid and drew most things I saw. My mother encouraged my drawing activities and often mentioned that I should be an architect. It was not until college that I seriously considered architecture as a path for me.
Spring semester of my freshman year, I needed a class to round out my schedule. I was sitting in the dorm lounge with other dorm mates when a friend of mine came in and mentioned that he was off to audit an architecture class. He invited anyone who was interested. I decided to go. In that class, the professor walked into the room, stood on stage peering at us out in the lecture hall. He then walked over to the wall, pulled a coat rack off from the wall and screamed, “What is this!” We all sat in silence. Someone finally got up the nerve and quietly responded, “A coat rack?” The professor screamed back, “Are you sure?... What about now?” He then dropped the rack to the floor and said, “Now it’s a trap!” He then picked it up and started swinging it screaming, “What about now?... Is it a coat rack or a weapon?” The point he was making is something that accepting an object as only existing for its preconceived function can be limiting. It's only when one thinks of possibility, does true creativity thrive.
SmithGroup's Valley Children's Eagle Oak Specialty Care Center (Emily Hagopian)
Where did you study architecture and how would you rate the experience?
After my first experience with the academics of architecture, I decided to pursue a degree in architecture at the University of California at Berkeley. After completing my bachelor of arts in architecture, and a few years working in the profession, I obtained my master's in architecture from the Yale School of Architecture. Both experiences were phenomenal and really helped me develop as a problem solver.
What is your favorite building project that you’ve worked on?
It was a project that was outside of my professional career. As part of my graduate education and in lieu of a construction sciences course, the Yale School of Architecture offered a course where the class entered a design competition for a single-family home. The client was a nonprofit developer of affordable housing. The winning design would then go into construction documentation phase and eventually construction, with all work being completed by the student body. I participated in the course my first year, built the winning design and ended up as a graduate student instructor my third year, teaching the first-year students the art of building. I spent my first summer out of graduate school, building with the students. The payback in socially-responsible work is what gives me joy.
Who has been an important mentor among your colleagues?
Every senior architect that I have worked for or under has had an influence on me in various aspects of my development as an architect. Some impacted my design thinking, or a way of seeing. Others offered practical exposure to the business of architecture, while others imparted ethics and social responsibility onto me. The point being that they all placed a little piece in the till.
What part of the job do you like best as an architect, and what are you best at?
Teaching the craft of building is my favorite part. Most of my career has been spent in the project architect role, managing the day-to-day technical work associated with design and building. As such, I often manage more junior architectural staff, which requires an approach centered around teaching and mentorship.
Dekum Building (University of Oregon Libraries/Marion Dean Ross)
What are some Portland buildings (either new or historic) that you most admire?
Having only recently relocated here during the pandemic, I have not had much opportunity to explore the built environment. Of the buildings and spaces I have visited or noticed, two stand out to me. For building, I really noticed and appreciate the presence of the Dekum building on Third Avenue. I generally tend to appreciate modern architecture more, however, the mass and weight of this building impressed me to the point of researching it further. To me, the building represents the history of Portland and local mindset as all the stone for the building was quarried locally. The other space that I find interesting is the Kennedy School, simply for the creative use of existing space and building to house new, fun and interesting functions. I find it to be very quirky and creative and a great representation of Portland spirit.
What is your favorite building outside of Portland and besides any you’ve worked on?
Of the architecture I have visited, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France, stands out as one of my favorites. What I really appreciate about this project is the boldness of expression by flipping the “guts” to the exterior, which becomes the elevations of the building. Like my first experience in the architectural academic setting with the coat rack, the building rethinks the often-overlooked potential of some part or piece that can, if expressed differently, impart beauty and become the creative expression of the building.
Centre Pompidou (Wikimedia Commons)
Name a local architect or firm you’re a fan of that you haven’t worked for.
In a different life, I think I would have liked to work at a firm that specializes in smaller scale single-family residential architecture. Without naming any single firm or architect, there are many here in Portland whose residential work I respect and would have loved to be a part of.
What would you like to see change about Portland’s built environment in the long term?
Unfortunately, what I would like to undo does not apply just to Portland, but many metropolitan areas across the United States. When I was an undergraduate architecture student, I was introduced to the book City of Quartz by Mike Davis. The main theme of the book is how the built environment and policy can segregate and exclude those that may be seen as marginalized or “other.” Discriminatory planning and zoning policies from the 1950s and 60s really changed the face of many cities by creating a building environment of separation and isolation. There are citywide movements that recognize the damage done and aim to rectify the conditions through redevelopment and thoughtful inclusive planning, with Portland being a city that recognizes the mistakes of the past and actively taking measures to try and mend the city fabric.
How would you rate the performance of local government, whether it’s the mayor and City Council, Prosper Portland, or various bureaus?
Being relatively new to Portland, I am often surprised at the types of projects that get built, especially at the residential scale. The neighborhood fabric of some of Portland's oldest communities are often interrupted by the “West Elm” style town home , often two on one lot with little to no front, side or rear yard, two to three stories over an on-grade garage level. Maximum density with for-profit developments seems to be the norm in Portland’s neighborhoods. To me, interventions of this type represent a lack of care on the part of city planning to preserve urban fabric and density.
Name a famous or just a talented architect you’d like to see design a building in Portland.
Unlike other cities I have lived in and visited, I feel that Portland is missing that one new modern public building or space, designed and completed by a well-known, highly sought-after architect. With that I would love to see a firm like OMA [Rem Koolhaas] or Herzog & de Meuron design a public building or space in Portland.
What does your place of residence—the location, the type of architecture—say about you?
I relocated to Portland in part due to the dominance of the craftsman style bungalow. I find this type of residence to be simple, comfortable, sturdy, strong in character and easy to understand architecturally. The clarity I see in the craftsman home as a residence type is what draws me to the type. In my practice, I also aim for clarity through simplifying the complex and emphasizing integrity and character through actions and service.
What’s something besides architecture (sneakers, furniture, umbrellas) that you love the design of?
Although I do not operate or own any, motorcycle design has always intrigued me as it is such a basic machine that can express itself so differently, across the types of bikes out there. For instance, I love a Harley for its expression of frame while its counterpart sport bikes embrace the notion of shell, an exoskeleton but all composed of two wheels, and an engine.
What are three of your all-time favorite movies?
In order... Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back, North by Northwest and Forrest Gump.
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