Portland Architecture

Lessons from a European vacation (or: Germans don't jaywalk)

2013-05-21T12:16:12-07:00

Old town Nuremberg, Germany (photo by Brian Libby)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

Perhaps the best thing about traveling is how it alters the way one sees one's home, and the ideas one brings back. It's not that I've returned to a different Portland after 16 days in Germany, Austria and Great Britain, but the little differences stand out, as do the underlying foundations.

First I visited Nuremberg, a city in Franconia dating to the 11th century which became known as the unofficial capitol of the Holy Roman Empire in the 13th. The city was also home to much of the Protestant Reformation under Martin Luther and, more recently in the 20th century, became associated with the largest Nazi Party rallies under Adolph Hitler.

Unfortunately, though, the World War II reference point touches upon all of the history that came before it. Although Nuremberg's old center contains numerous historic cathedrals and the towering Nuremberg Castle, not one survived the Allied bombings of WWII. Be it the majestic St. Sebald and St. Peter's cathedrals or Hauptmarket's Schöner Brunnen fountain, each is merely a replica of the architecture that used to be there.

But that brings up an interesting question that may apply to how I see Portland.

Each of the quasi-historic buildings I visited in old-town Nuremberg felt authentic. I'm not sure if it was the detail with which they were restored after the war or the fact that some of their facades and structures remained intact from the bombings, but I found myself more receptive to the present-day versions than I expected.

St. Peter's cathedral, Nuremberg (photo by Brian Libby)

As a result, I thought of the most historic and architecturally significant buildings that Portland lost: the collection of late-19th Century and early 20th Century cast-iron buildings along the waterfront that Portland lost in the mid-20th Century: the ones torn down by short-sighted developers for the sake of surface parking lots. Even today, more than a half-century after they were first razed, a walk or drive along the Portland waterfront feels like looking at a smile missing too many teeth.

I've always felt in the past that rebuilding old buildings from previous eras to exacting specifications is inauthentic, an act of well-intentioned fakery. But what if we were to actually rebuild some cast-iron buildings? Would that really be so bad? Just as in Germany, it would restore our connection with the past. I'm not saying this should happen, for both practical considerations (nobody builds cast-iron buildings anymore) and lingering questions of faux triteness would still make the process inadvisable. But at the very least, I've been forced to alter my sense that only a building continuously standing since its original construction is authentic.

Yet if some of Nuremberg's historic cathedrals were rebuilt, one of the most famous buildings in the city was left to ruins: Congress Hall, at the Nazi Party Rally Grounds. Designed by Albert Speer, Hitler's favorite architect, the massive building, intended as a 50,000 seat arena, was left to decay after the war, and now a portion of the structure is used as the Nazi Party Documentation Center, a museum chronicling the rise of national socialism in Germany. It reminded me, along with the rebuilt old churches, of the ongoing question of ruins and time, first articulated in a talk I once heard by Japanese architect Arata Isozaki. In the east, Isozaki said, people think of time as circular; the Japanese, for example, ritually rebuild the famous Ise Shrine every 20 years, while in the west we allow historic ancient structures like the Acropolis in Athens to decay - an indication of time viewed in a linear fashion. Either way, the visit to Speer's arena was a sobering one, even with the crowd of teenagers laughing and generally making light of the otherwise sobering atmosphere.

Congress Hall/Nazi Party Rally Grounds, Nuremberg (photo by Brian Libby)

On a transportation front, two things about Nuremberg got me thinking.

The first was crosswalks and the "Walk"/"Don't Walk" sign. At least in my experience, almost no one in Nuremberg or its adjoining city, Furth, seemed to jaywalk. The crosswalk light could be flashing "Don't Walk" in the middle of the night and not a car coming in either direction and locals would still wait for the green "Walk" sign. After growing up in a small Oregon town where behavior was similar, then attending college in New York City, I'd previously thought of jaywalking as a twisted mark of sophistication. The fact that here, and in my next stop, Vienna, the locals were very reluctant to jaywalk, made this notion more complex. Instead of being an indication of big city or small town inclinations, the matter of jaywalking seemed instead to relate to national character. For when my travels moved from Nuremberg and Vienna to London, suddenly as many people were jaywalking as I'd remembered in New York. What does jaywalking, or its absence, say about a society? Are Brits or big-city Americans more rebellious? Are Germans and Austrians more willing to acquiesce to authority? It'd be too easy to suggest that a nation of non-jaywalkers is more likely to accept something like a fascist government. But I still wonder what treating traffic laws as guides rather than absolutes says about the people who live there.

The second Nuremberg traffic difference was that instead of having bicyclists ride in dedicated cycling lanes at the side of a street, the city uses extra-wide sidewalks with half the space reserved for bikes. This would require a lot of retro-fitting of Portland's sidewalks to accomplish. After all, many of the outer areas of our city don't even have sidewalks. But given the succession of cyclist fatalities that have plagued Portland, could shared sidewalks for bikes and pedestrians be a possible solution?

Although Nuremberg has history dating back a millennium, the city was comparable to Portland in that it isn't particularly huge and is not considered one of the city's foremost cultural capitols. Yet Nuremberg was teeming with museums: for contemporary art, for cinema, for design, for homegrown artist Albert Durer, and much more. It made me think about the relative lack of significant museums in Portland other than the Portland Art Museum, and the lack of wealth underscoring our efforts. What would it take for Portland to have a contemporary art museum? Or given how Nuremberg venerates and celebrates Durer, could our city ever have a museum devoted to, say, Mark Rothko, who grew up here?

One other thought, this time relating to London: as I was flying into the city for the fifth time this year after first visiting in 1995, I was reminded once again of - its great collection of parks not withstanding - just what a massive megalopolis the English capitol truly is. Though Portland can never compete with London in population or cultural offerings or historical significance, once again I was reminded of the majesty of that which is not city or suburb: the fact that our urban growth boundary and corresponding state land use laws have kept hundreds of square miles preserved as wilderness and as pastoral farmland.

Regent's Park, London (photo by Brian Libby)

Look, I know the UGB isn't perfect. It raises property values, making home ownership out of reach for more people. It can limit the ability of landowners outside the growth boundary to make the most profit on their parcel. Yet the landscape of Oregon is, without any hyperbole, a spectacular treasure that must be preserved. More than 150 years ago the Great Migration brought countless pioneers to our state and region with the notion that, if one could handle the rain, there was a veritable Garden of Eden awaiting: a landscape of forests and beaches, of high desert and rolling valleys. It made me think of the patriotic English song "Jerusalem," with lyrics by William Blake, which likens England to a modern-day Holy Land:

And did those feet in ancient time.
Walk upon England's mountains green:
And was the holy Lamb of God,
On Englands pleasant pastures seen!

I will not cease from Mental Fight,
Nor shall my Sword sleep in my hand:
Till we have built Jerusalem,
In England's green & pleasant Land

Yet in Oregon it is not Jerusalem that we are building. It is a land of wonder, with the emphasis on land itself, and space: the wonder not of city but the natural wonders outside it.

Design Calendar: May 16-31

2013-05-16T03:26:05-07:00

Kings Road House, Los Angeles

BY LUKE AREHART

R.M. Schindler’s Kings Road House: Pre-Everybody
Lecture by Judith Sheine, UO Department of Architecture Professor and Department Head. R.M. Schindler lived and worked in his house and studio on Kings Road from its completion in 1922 until shortly before his death in 1953. It was central to his life and career and to the development of modern architecture in southern California and, arguably, internationally. Judith Sheine’s essay places the house in the context of Schindler’s career, in which it established the basis of the spatial development of his work and examines the influence of the house on the work of numerous architects from Frank Lloyd Wright to Frank Gehry. 5:30pm Thursday, May 16, 2013 White Stag Block Event Room

Isamu Noguchi (image courtesy Portland Japanese Garden)

Josep Fuses, Fuses & Viander, Girona, Spain
PSU School of Architecture is proud to host a lecture by Josep Fuses, an award-winning Spanish architect and educator whose work explores the question “What time is this place?” Working on projects as diverse as medieval cathedrals to the most modern city halls reflects a quiet humility and a dedication that the re-use of historic and older buildings is crucial to making our urban places greener, more livable, and healthier as sustainable cities. 6:00pm Thursday, May 16, 2013, Shattuck Hall Annex, corner of SW Broadway and Hall Streets. www.pdx.edu/architecture, 503-725-8405. Free.

William Tripp, "The Necessity of Drawing"
Each Friday at 4pm during the term, the students, faculty and community of the Portland State University School of Architecture converge on the Shattuck Hall Annex to hear the remarks of notable architects, artists, designers, landscape architects, academics and fellow students about their work in their respective fields. This week, William Tripp will join us to present a lecture titled "The Necessity of Drawing." 4:00pm Friday, May 17, 2013 Shattuck Hall Annex SW Broadway & Hall Street, free and open to the public.

2013 Dinner with an Architect: Rick Potestio, AIA, Potestio Studio
The Master of Risotto invites you for an evening of Italian cooking and stories in his close-in Southwest Hills condo. Conversation may include architecture, bicycle racing, bocce ball, high speed rail, or anything Italian. 6:30pm Friday, May 17, 2013 $100 Architecture Foundation of Oregon: http://www.af-oregon.org/events/dinner-with-an-architect/ Click the link for the listing of over 30 more dinners spanning though October.

A Panel Discussion: Living in a Historic District
Can I paint my house green? What if I want to add a dormer? Living in an historic district can be both rewarding and a challenge. Either way it is important to have the correct information. This panel discussion will provide answers to the most common questions, while also addressing concerns and misconceptions about what it really means to live in a designated historic district in the Portland area. 10:00am-12:00pm Saturday, May 18, 2013 Members: $8 General Public: $15 Pre-registration is strongly suggested. Architectural Heritage Center 701 SE Grand Avenue

Oswego Heritage Council Historic Home Tour
Each May, in celebration of National Historic Preservation Month & in recognition of our community's historic past & architectural heritage, Oswego Heritage Council presents the Lake Oswego Historic Home Tour. 11:00am-4:00pm Saturday, May 18, 2013 $30/person http://www.oswegoheritage.org/events/hometour.html

Scenes from the Irvington Home Tour

Historic Irvington Home Tour
The Irvington Home Tour is the longest continuously running neighborhood home tour in Portland. In fact, the very first Irvington Home Tour, conducted in 1967, was the first such tour in the city. The tour was scheduled intermittently until 1983, when the popular program became a permanent part of the Irvington Community Association's annual calendar. 11:00am-5:00pm Sunday, May 19, 2013 $25 www.irvingtonhometour.com

“The Greenest Building”
An hour-long documentary by Oregon-based producer Jane Turville, presents a compelling overview of the important role building reuse plays in creating sustainable communities. Saving historic buildings helps save the environment! Narrated by David Ogden Stiers, “The Greenest Building” explores the myth that only new buildings can be “green” and demonstrates how renovation and adaptive reuse of existing structures fully achieves the sustainability movement’s “triple bottom line” – economic, social, and ecological balance. 6:00-7:00pm Wednesday, May 22, 2013 Architectural Heritage Center 701 SE Grand Avenue

Portland State University Thesis Presentations
The Portland State University School of Architecture is proud to announce that the 2013 Master of Architecture candidates will present their design theses. 9am-6:15pm, Shattuck Hall, SW Broadway & Hall Street. http://www.pdx.edu/architecture/events/master-architecture-thesis-presentations-schedule-announced?delta=0

Josep Fuses, Fuses & Viader, Girona, Spain
PSU School of Architecture is proud to host a lecture by Josep Fuses, an award-winning Spanish architect and educator whose work explores the question “What time is this place?” His work on projects as diverse as medieval cathedrals to the most modern city halls reflects a quiet humility and a dedication to the re-use of historic and older buildings as crucial to making our urban places greener, more livable, and healthier. 6:00pm Thursday, May 23, 2013 Shattuck Hall Annex SW Broadway & Hall Street, free and open to the public.

Trinity Place Apartments, Portland (image courtesy Architectural Heritage Center)

Historic Multi-Family Housing of NW Portland
Northwest Portland’s Alphabet District is often thought of for its beautiful mansions, when in fact, it has a surprising history as a "rental" district. The Couch family built some of the earliest upscale rental units. In the 1920s, Elmer Feig became well known for his Northwest Portland apartment designs, and a housing crunch during World War II led to the conversion of many classic homes into multi-family units. We hope you’ll join us as we explore this fascinating aspect of one of Portland’s most endearing neighborhoods. 1:30pm Sunday, May 26, 2013 Members: $10 General Public: $15 Tour Limited to 20 People. Architectural Heritage Center

N/NE Neighborhood Economic Development Summit
Achieve your vision for a successful business in Portland by tapping into the power of partnerships and smart fundamentals. Featuring keynote speakers Mayor Charlie Hales and Mr. Michael Bush, serial entrepreneur and president and founder of The 8 Factors. The day will also include breakout sessions with local experts, and in-person access to resources for small businesses and community organizations. 8:00am-2:00pm Thursday, May 30, 2013 Presented by Portland Development Commission Oregon Convention Center 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr Blvd.

St. Mary's and the post office: a modernist resurrection?

2013-05-07T12:35:59-07:00

Francis and Hopkins Motors (rendering via Frozen Music)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

In late March, word came (via The Business Journal) that St. Mary’s Academy, the Catholic girls’ high school downtown along SW Sixth Avenue, is acquiring the former University Station post office building for expansion of its campus.

Most people would not think twice about the architectural significance of the recently abandoned postal station, a drab two-story structure with an adjacent surface parking lot. Yet the building, in its original form dating to 1948, was once a little modernist gem. And while chances are good that St. Mary’s would demolish the post office building, a look into its past, both aesthetically and historically, might prompt the school to consider restoration over the wrecking ball – to resurrect instead of condemn, you might say.

Originally known as the Francis Auto Sales building, it was one of the first modernist buildings in town completed after World War II. Designed by Richard Sundeleaf, it was constructed within a year of Pietro Belluschi’s internationally renowned Commonwealth Building, the first skyscraper in the United States with a glass and aluminum curtain wall (often credited as “America’s first modern office building”). And looking at original photos of the auto dealership, one can see the same international style simply applied at a smaller scale.

Although Sundeleaf is probably best known today for a plethora of homes in Lake Oswego and Portland from the 1920s-40s drawing from English arts & crafts style, he had a kind of parallel career as the city’s foremost practitioner of streamline moderne industrial and commercial buildings. Particularly during the Great Depression, people wanted homes drawing from traditional architectural styles, providing a sense of continuity in times of uncertainty and upheaval. But whether it was the Oregon Portland Cement Company building in the Central Eastside, or the Bearing Service Company building in Northwest, or the Jantzen Building off Northeast Sandy Boulevard, Sundeleaf had a gift for commercial and industrial buildings that felt elegant even in their utilitarian, stripped-down style.

Francis and Hopins Motors (image courtesy University of Oregon archives)

“Along with the Equitable Building [Pietro Belluschi], Sundeleaf’s car dealership was one of the city’s first glass boxes…[Sundeleaf’s] pièce de résistance,” write Gideon Bosker and Lena Lencek in Frozen Music: A History of Portland Architecture. Sundeleaf’s Francis and Hopkins Motors Showroom, they add, “brought Portlanders a touch of the glamorous ‘World of Tomorrow’ that the New York World’s Fair had promised them in 1939. It was Sundeleaf’s “pièce de résistance.” When the building was completed, a headline in The Oregonian called Francis and Hopkins Motors ‘The West’s Most Modern Automotive Establishment.’”

“Crossing the transparent angularity of Mies van der Rohe’s Barcelona Pavilion with the functional honesty of Loewy’s International Harvester Servicenter, Sundeleaf produced a design that pushed the automobile display window into the third dimension,” Bosker and Lencek continue. “Except for his signature rounded columns at the street elevation and the metal railing along the roof, every line of Francis and Hopkins Motors had been slicked down, smoothed over and modernized.”

Chances are good that if St. Mary’s is going to purchase and redevelop a block-sized parcel of prime downtown real estate, they’re seeking more than just this two-story building that has been altered enough to make Sundeleaf’s elegant glass box something decidedly more banal. But restoring the Francis and Hopkins building to its original design would not only be a laudatory act of historic preservation; it would also give the school, as the building’s occupant, a prominent new face. The school’s current home, a brick fortress diagonally across Sixth Avenue from the post office/Francis Auto Sales building, is not the most inviting building. It’s been built onto numerous times and, though possessing an early 20th century modern style itself, it lacks much of any connection to the streetscape outside. Having a glassy, transparent architectural space, where passers by can get a sense of the classes and activities inside, could help promote St. Mary’s and make it feel part of downtown life rather than just a school that happens to be downtown. Most owners would tear this building down, but here’s hoping St. Mary’s answers to a higher authority.

Portland to Portland cyclists explore cities' connecting threads

2013-05-02T11:55:30-07:00

Architect-editor Peter Murray (image courtesy Portland to Portland)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

By the time you read this, they will be somewhere in the bread basket of the United States, on the long stretch between Portland and Minneapolis populated with antelope and reactionaries. But for the group of British architects and sustainability experts bicycling from Portland, Oregon to Portland Place in London as part of the Portland to Portland charity ride, the focus is on cities.

"Part of it is enjoying the countryside, but since we’re all architects and planners, cities are the key places to see. And the only way you really know what it’s like to cycle in a place is to do it," explained Portland to Portland's organizer, Peter Murray, chairman of the nonprofit New London Architecture and editor of the New London Quarterly, in an interview last week in Portland on the eve of their ride. "There will be fairly few people around with the sort of professional experience we have amongst us as a team who have actually experienced the number of cities we’re going to experience in a short time and have the access to key political figures, heads of departments of transport and people involved in the cycling movement. It will give us a tremendous amount of interesting information that can hopefully feed into the discussion of how you change the culture of cycling."

When I met the Portland to Portland riders, they were only getting their first glimpse of Portland, cycling throughout the city as a precursor to riding thousands of miles across the United States, Ireland and England.

Sustainability expert Nic Crawley (image courtesy Portland to Portland)

"I’ve seen one KEEP PORTLAND WEIRD sign but that’s all. I’m a little disappointed," joked Nic Crawley, who heads sustainability efforts at London's Allford Hall Monaghan Morris Architects. "The car drivers are courteous. Back home in London it can be tough. It’s a very different culture. Here they seem to recognize bikes have as much right to the road as cars. You feel a bit safer, and that’s quite nice."

Although the ride, which includes stops in Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Chicago, Columbus, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, New York, Dublin, Oxford and London, is just getting started, Murray and the other P2P riders seem to already sense that while each city's layout and infrastructure pose different challenges and opportunities, they are united in an effort to make cycling not just a leisure activity, but part of people's daily transit routines.

London, Murray says, "has all sorts of competitions," to promote good cycling infrastructure design, "but what drives the change is the culture, and the demand. What you don’t know really until you provide the facilities is what the true demand is. Everybody has a bike in their garage. But at the moment in London, only a little over two percent actually use it on a regular basis. So everyone is potentially a cyclist. How do you actually get them to change? You get the change by delivering the infrastructure. But it’s very difficult to convince the politicians to pay for it unless there’s the demand. It’s one of those chicken-and-egg situations at the moment, so the policy is to take it slowly. London is targeting five percent rates of cycling."

Murray also sees the advancement of cycling culture into everyday life and transit as part of a broader generational trend in which citizens take back streets - or portions of them - from the dominance of automobiles.

"In Bristol, mothers on certain streets didn’t have anywhere for their children to play. They started putting traffic cones on the streets to block traffic," he says by way of examples. "It cuts across all sorts of licenses and legislation. It was a form of protest, but it’s been so successful, that then becomes accepted. Some streets have become permanent." But when it comes to concepts like shared streets between cars, cyclists and pedestrians, he says, attempts have failed. "Motorists don’t slow down enough. So we’re back to separation."

Yet this is what Portland to Portland is largely about: designers and city builders comparing notes about how we balance different modes of transportation and the space they require. And while Europe has America beat when it comes to mass transit options, Murray says we are the ones leading the way with robust cycling culture and the livable cities they're a part of.

"It started with people like Jane Jacobs. It’s an American thing," he explains. "A lot of people look to European cities, but the actual shift in how we think about cities happened with her. When I was in NY not long ago I encountered a book by Bernard Rudofsky called Streets for People. That was written in the '60s. There was a livable city movement in the united states when we didn’t pick it up for a decade in Europe."

Murray also sees in both America and Europe competing to elevate their cycling culture, not as a badge of honor but because cycling-friendly urban areas also help embolden economic prosperity. Two studies published last year, one observing cycling in New York and another in Portland, found that bicyclists and pedestrians may spend more than their peers who arrive at the same neighborhoods via automobile or public transportation.

Riders preparing to depart the Rose City (image courtesy Portland to Portland)

In New York, a study by Transportation Alternatives showed that newly created bike lanes on First and Second Avenues in Manhattan's East Village led to a sharp increase in bicycle ridership in the study’s focus area, some 24 percent compared to a one percent overall ridership rate in the five boroughs. And those traveling in the East Village by bike spent an average of $163 a week versus $111 for car users. In the Rose City, Kelly Clifton, a civil and environmental engineering professor at Portland State University, found that while customers who drive to various establishments may spend more money per visit, bicyclists visit the same venue more often, and spend more overall.

But Portland mustn't rest on its laurels, Murray says, for competition abounds. "When I was contacting people in Minneapolis in their cycling department, I said we were starting in Portland because it’s such an important cycling city. But they said, ‘Minneapolis is catching up fast. We’re looking to overtake Portland soon.’"

In city building as in all else, though, it's not a question of whether Minneapolis overtakes Portland or Columbus overtakes Pittsburgh. It's a matter of the long ride, and the opportunity to share the road.

Design calendar: May 1-15

2013-04-30T11:23:03-07:00

Wright's Marin County Civic Center (image courtesy AHC)

BY LUKE AREHART

Romanza: The California Structures Designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
In 1909, Frank Lloyd Wright designed a summer home for George and Emily Stewart in Montecito, California, his first California commission and his only Prairie School building in the state. His drawings even included a doghouse for “Eddie,” the family pet! Thus began a 50-year relationship between Wright and the Golden State. 7:00pm Wednesday, May 1. Architectural Heritage Center 701 SE Grand Avenue, $10 (pre-registration is strongly suggested).

Architects in Schools displays
Celebrate the creations of hundreds of the youngest architects in Oregon. Final projects in this year’s six-week Architects in Schools residencies will be on display in Portland. Come share in the excitement as more than 2,200 third through fifth grade students, their teachers, and the volunteer architects and architecture students who have worked with them demonstrate their learning from afo's longest running, signature program. 5:00 to 8:00pm Thursday, May 2. Center for Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue; Opsis Architecture, 920 NW 17th Avenue; Pioneer Place, 700 SW Fifth Avenue; ZGF Architects LLP, 1223 SW Washington Street; and on Friday, May 3, at the Old Mill District in Bend.

Placing Series: Julie Bargmann
Julie Bargmann is an innovative designer of regenerative landscapes and founder and principal of D.I.R.T. Studio ("Dump It Right There"). Based in New York City, she is also Associate Professor at the University of Virginia, where she leads venturesome investigations with students into derelict terrain, imagining renewed sites of cultural and ecological production. Her work has received numerous awards and has been featured in art and design exhibitions worldwide. 6pm Thursday, May 2. Shattuck Hall Annex, corner of SW Broadway and Hall Streets, 503-725-8405 or www.pdx.edu/architecture. Free.

"Ride on Holgate" (image courtesy Shawn Demarest)

You are Here
A solo exhibit featuring oil paintings from 2012 and 2013 by Portland artist Shawn Demarest. This exhibit presents paintings that explore place. All of the scenes painted represent roads frequently traveled by the artist. The roads might seem mundane, like SE Holgate, but when explored during a rain soaked day, or early evening, the play of headlights, power lines, and curve of the road come to life in an exciting way. 6:00-8:00 pm Friday, May 3, Architectural Heritage Center 701 SE Grand Avenue. Free.

Speaking Between
An exhibit of the 2013 University of Oregon Master of Fine Arts students' work; from investigations of form, to cinematic monsters redefined, to explorations of "perfection, rapture, anxiety and possibility," the show will provide a stepping off point for these artists and their entry into a global art ecology. Opening reception 7:00pm May 3, Disjecta 8371 N. Interstate Avenue, Friday-Sunday 12:00-5:00pm. Free.

Isamu Noguchi: We Are the Landscape of All We Know
Isamu Noguchi (1904–1988) was one of the twentieth century’s most critically acclaimed sculptors. Through a lifetime of artistic experimentation, Noguchi created not only sculpture but also gardens, furniture and lighting designs, ceramics, and architecture. The exhibition, organized in collaboration with The Isamu Noguchi Foundation and Garden Museum in Long Island City, New York, will feature 22 works by acclaimed sculptor Isamu Noguchi amid the setting of the most authentic Japanese garden in North America. May 3–July 21, 12–7pm Monday and 10am-7pm Tuesday–Sunday (Saturdays until 9:00 p.m.), 611 SW Kingston Ave., (503) 223-1321 or www.visitjapanesegarden.com. Entrance is included with Garden admission ($9.50 Adult; $7.75 seniors; $7.75 college students; $6.75 youth aged 6-17).

The Renaissance of the Historic Alphabet District
The 2nd annual walking tour of historic homes includes 8 historic homes raging from 1883 to 1909 and begins at the Historic NW Neighborhood Cultural Center 11:00am-4:00pm Sunday, May 5th, 2013, 1819 NW Everett Street., www.nwcts.org. $25

Historic Multi-Family Housing of NW Portland
Northwest Portland’s Alphabet District is often thought of for its beautiful mansions, when in fact, it has a surprising history as a "rental" district. The Couch family built some of the earliest upscale rental units. In the 1920s, Elmer Feig became well known for his Northwest Portland apartment designs, and a housing crunch during World War II led to the conversion of many classic homes into multi-family units. We hope you’ll join us as we explore this fascinating aspect of one of Portland’s most endearing neighborhoods. 1:30pm Sunday, May 5 and 1:30pm Sunday, May 26. Offered by the Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Ave., 503-231-7264. $10 members, $15 general public.

Lead Pencil Studio
Seattle's Annie Han and Daniel Mihalyo, leaders of Lead Pencil Studio, have received international acclaim for a series of projects overlap of a rchitecture and site-specific art, including "Inversion: Plus/Minus" at the east end of the Hawthorne and Morrison bridges. Returning to their alma mater, the University of Oregon, will discuss their origins and the studio's portfolio. 6pm Tuesday, May 7, University of Oregon White Stag Block, 70 NW Couch Street. Free.

Soda Pop to Swimwear: The Commercial and Industrial Architecture of Sandy Boulevard
Sandy Boulevard has a long history of commercial and industrial architecture with styles ranging from Brick Utilitarian to Brutalism – all with a generous supply of Streamline and Zig Zag Moderne in between. This tour takes a closer look at a surprising section of the city, an area that hosts some of the city’s most notable businesses. You’ll also see firsthand how the automobile played a major role in the form and style of 20th century architecture. 6:00pm Thursday, May 9. Offered by the Architectural Heritage Center, 701 SE Grand Ave., 503-231-7264.Pre-registration is required. $10 members, $15 general public: $15

Zaik residence (photo by Brian Libby)

Mid-Century Modern Saul Zaik Home Tour
A unique collection of six homes designed by the renowned Oregon architect Saul Zaik will be open for the annual Mid-Century Modern Home Tour hosted by the Historic Preservation League of Oregon. Zaik’s own home is among those featured, and an illustrated lecture and Q&A with the architect, and an after-tour “Snappy Hour” cocktail reception at Rejuvenation. 10:00am-4:00pm Saturday, May 11, 2013. 1838 Jefferson St., 503-243-1923 or www.historicpreservationleague.org. $30 for members, $40 general.

Gordon House Mother's Day Tea & Tour
Reserve your seats now to celebrate Mother's Day and enjoy tea, music, poetry, and a grand guided tour of the Gordon House. We invite you to join us for the popular afternoon tea at Frank Lloyd Wright's Oregon legacy. The best way to enjoy it is to sit down to a cup of tea and scones with family and friends in Wright's living room designed for the Gordon farm in Oregon. 2:00pm-4:00pm Saturday, May 11 Gordon House; 869 West Main Street, Silverton, 503-874-6006 or www.TheGordonHouse.org. $25 per person or $20 for members and their guests.

George McMath Historic Preservation Award
Portland architect William (Bill) Hawkins III is the 2013 George McMath Award recipient and is honored for his dedication to preservation through both his architectural career and scholarly work. The University of Oregon’s Historic Preservation Program and Venerable, Inc., present the McMath Award annually to an individual whose contributions in Oregon have raised awareness and advocacy for historic preservation. 11:30am-1:00pm Wednesday, May 15, 2013, White Stag Block 70 NW Couch Street. Reservation deadline is Friday, May 3, 2013 at http://uoregon.edu/mcmath 541-346-4363. $50.

The Architect's Questionnaire: Tim Eddy

2013-04-26T09:51:55-07:00

Tim Eddy (photo by Kim-Oanh-Nguyen)

BY LUKE AREHART

Since forming in 1992, Portland firm Hennebery Eddy Architects has amassed an impressive portfolio fusing sustainable principles with a reverence for craftsmanship and simple, beautiful forms. The firm has won a slough of design awards, most recently earning a spot in 2012 on the prestigious national AIA Committee on the Environment Top Ten Green Projects list, one of only three local architecture firms to do so. Be it libraries, university buildings, eccleasiastical centers, golf courses, bus stations, even landscape and interior design, Hennebery Eddy has been honored for a wide spectrum of work. If there is a connecting thread, it's not a stylistic one so much as the presence of light and natural materials.

Celebrating the firm's 20th anniversary last year, Hennebery Eddy is a testament not only to longevity but overcoming obstacles. In 1998, co-founder Stephen Hennebery died suddenly. But the firm has gone on to prosper, keeping Hennebery's name on the door. Hennebery's partner, Tim Eddy, has now guided the company for more than two decades, not only as an architect but a community leader, serving eight years as on the city's Design Commission. Recently Eddy sat down to discuss his career as an architect in Portland.

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

Timothy Eddy: I started to think about becoming an architect when I was in high school. I was looking for something where I could work at an artistic endeavor with real world implications. I grew up on a family ranch in Montana and I enjoyed and loved the character of the spaces, the landscape, and the history. I didn't experience urbanity until I was in college, aside from an occasional trip to San Diego or Seattle when I was a kid. The place I lived in Montana gave me a rural, small-town upbringing. My interest in urban places is a result of the place I grew up; you often gravitate toward what you are deprived of. I enjoyed painting and drawing and making things. I also have an affinity for math and science, so architecture seemed like a reasonable thing to do. I trotted off to architecture school and I don’t think I met a real practicing architect other than a college professor until I was in my second or third year of college.

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

Since I grew up in Montana, there is one architectural school in the state—Montana State University in Bozeman. For me, it was a lucky thing that I went there. I suppose if the internet had been around then I would’ve searched around and might have ended up somewhere else. Montana State is a terrific school. The school is interesting because it is out in the middle of nowhere, and pre-internet it was very isolated. There was a real sense of the need to reach out; I think that sense is still there. There was a lot of faculty from other places, which made it a good and diverse program. I did an exchange to the School of Design at North Carolina State in Raleigh, which was a different kind of architectural education experience and a different environment. It gave me the opportunity to spend time seeing cities on the East Coast. Subsequently when I graduated school, I went to work on the East Coast.

MSU College of Business (rendering courtesy Hennebery Eddy)

I’m still involved with Montana State today. I’m on their advisory council, along with a couple of other architects here in town. One of the most exciting things for me personally over the past year or so has been designing the College of Business for MSU. My firm started working on that project about a year ago, and it has been fun for me to go back and revisit the school.

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

I don’t think I have one favorite: I have dozens of favorites. Every project has incredible moments along with frustrating moments. For me, my favorite is the next one. There is something about each and every one of them that makes a story. Being part of that story, helping to write it, and carrying the story forward into the next thing you do is hugely important.

A recent project that I'm very personally invested in is the Portland Community College Newberg Center—our client was very engaged in both the design and technical aspects of the project, which enabled us to create a building that is conceptually quite clear. The recent work we did on the Spalding Building, a historic building in downtown Portland, is a favorite too—it was a pleasure to be able to resolve the design and materials so completely.

PCC Newberg (photo by Nic Lehoux)

Who has been an important mentor among your colleagues?

This is something else that is really difficult for me to pin down. There are the guys I worked with years ago on the East Coast at RTKL and at Ayers Saint Gross. I learned from them and they gave me a great deal of opportunity and autonomy to both learn about the profession and design work. I learned about being an architect, and there were people at both firms who pushed and supported and helped. My most important mentors are the other principals and the folks here in this office. It’s the people I work with all of the time; there is always something new.

I learned a lot during the 8 years I spent on the Design Commission, and I’d have to say that I learned an enormous amount from every person that I sat on the Design Commission with and from some of the applicants too.

What part of the job do you like best?

The thing I like best is working with the people that we’ve put together here at Hennebery Eddy. I like working with other architects and designers to analyze issues and develop concepts while testing, refining and working with our clients. It is great to see our younger staff grow and learn. I look back and see the opportunities that I was given as a young architect that helped me to grow, learn, get established and try to figure it out as much as I could; I want to make sure that we do that for the staff here.

It's also really fun to do projects that lots of people recognize, like Fire Station 28 where we had a really successful collaboration with the public artist, James Harrison.

Fire Station 28, Portland (photo by Michael Mathers)

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

I think the Equitable/Commonwealth Building is one of the most important buildings in Portland from a range of perspectives, especially considering when that building was built and the ideas that were pioneered on it along with its impact on the rest of the world.

There are other buildings that I admire as well. The sanctuary at the First Presbyterian Church is fantastic. When you walk in you step into a different era in Portland, the craftsmanship, woodwork and the whole space is absolutely gorgeous.

This is one that you probably don’t hear from many architects in Portland, but one of my favorite buildings is the Union Bank of California Building. It’s abysmal from an urban design standpoint and flies in the face of everything that we try to do in terms of creating great streets, but it’s really an unabashedly sculptural building. I know it has a sister building or two elsewhere. It’s an interesting building in terms of what it does and its gutsy sculptural quality.

Union Bank of California and Big Pink (photo by Brian Libby)

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

One is the East Wing in the National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. It demonstrates how contemporary architecture can merge into a very formal historic context. It was a place of respite for me when I was working hard as a young architect. I would go spend time there after we would finish a project. For me it’s a personal thing, but it is an interesting and beautiful building.

Another favorite is the reconstruction of the Barcelona Pavilion, which is just a fantastic experience to see now.

Barcelona Pavilion (photo by Tim Eddy)

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

We have such an amazing architectural community in Portland. I think the folks that deserve credit are generally getting it; both in terms of peer recognition and their work. With the downturn of the economy in 2007-2009 many young and entering mid-career architects are working on their own or starting new small firms. I think we are going to see a range of new talent and new ideas emerge from this movement.

There is robust competition in Portland among architects. There is also a sense of collegiality that really makes it very satisfying to work here. For all of the competiveness while we are all working hard to keep our noses above water, that level of collegiality has become increasingly more important to me the longer I live in Portland.

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

I’d like to see them put the Columbia River Crossing in a tunnel and keep the existing bridges for light rail, pedestrians, bikes and local traffic to Hayden Island and Delta Park. It feels like the horse is out of the barn and that’s done, and it’s too bad because I think the Columbia River Crossing has every opportunity to be one of the most disappointing public works projects that we’ve seen. Second to that, I would say we need to work to resolve the East Bank freeway problem.

Connect all of the bike lanes so that they are uninterrupted.

Spalding Building (photo by Josh partee)

How would you rate the performance of local government like the Portland Development Commission, or the development and planning bureaus?

It is easy for some to point to the shortcomings of BDS or the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, but there are some enormously talented folks working there. With all of the things that we get frustrated with as practicing architects or developers, we have to realize that Portland didn’t get to where it is today without a few bumps in the road. We have active community participation and a strong set of rules that we all have to play by. The Design Commission helps foster opportunities, and I think the design review process enables coloring outside of the lines when there is a great architect who has a great project. Sometimes things are administered in a tough way and there are always new rules that throw you asunder. While you could never say that you’d ever agree with everything that a bureaucracy does or the processes that we have to go through, generally, Portland's way of doing it is one of the best in the country.

Who is a famous architect you’d like to see design a building in Portland?

I’d love to see Renzo Piano design a building in Portland.

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

Cars.

Any make or model in particular?

It’s very interesting to watch and see what happens across the whole scope of the industry. How they deal with technical and practical considerations as well as fashion, design and accommodating people, it’s fascinating to me.

What are three of your all-time favorite movies?

This is probably the hardest question on here. There are so many, but if I have to say what I would watch, it’s probably movies I have already watched a hundred times before:

Clint Eastwood’s early westerns; they are so interesting in the way simple stories are put together along with some of the symbolism. They are fun to watch. Hang ‘Em High, The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, and the High Plains Drifter where they paint the town red.

Another movie that always flashes back to me is the film version of Sometimes a Great Notion “Never Give an Inch.” I enjoy that movie - it’s an Oregon movie.

This is probably an obscure one, Repo Man with Harry Dean Stanton. There are parts of it I still can’t get out of my head.

Neighbors seek limits on Williams Avenue

2013-04-22T09:28:47-07:00

The Albert Apartments, Williams Avenue (image via Ruben J. Menashe, Inc.)

BY BRIAN LIBBY

Today perhaps like no other street in Portland, Williams Avenue embodies the ups and downs of density and development in historic neighborhoods.

The one-way, two-lane street, part of a north-south couplet with Vancouver Avenue where North and Northeast Portland meet, is surrounded by neighborhoods of single family houses and single or double-story commercial storefronts. As development has ramped up here both before and since the recession, tension has increased over just how dense Williams and Vancouver should be and how tall its new buildings should be allowed to go.

In past years, as Williams in particular has attracted a host of mixed-use development with new restaurants, bars, cafes and other businesses, these have principally occupied single or two-story buildings. Yet over the past year, as the real estate economy has recovered from the Great Recession and even seen a boom of apartment construction, the newest generation of buildings on Williams has been significantly bigger, up to five stories.

Leaders of the Boise neighborhood have begun the process of creating voluntary design guidelines for developers to follow, similar to what happened in the Pearl District when it was experiencing rapid growth in the 2000s.

"The neighborhood’s been overwhelmed by developers and their proposals. And every time a project came, the neighborhood had to start from scratch," says realtor Daria Crymes, co-chair of the Boise Neighborhood Association's Land Use and Transportation Committee.

The ire of neighborhood activists has been focused on projects like The Albert, a 72-unit apartment project developed by Jack Menashe; the Boise neighborhood association appealed Bureau of Development Services approval of the design in 2009, arguing it was too big based on the size of the surrounding houses and that its design, by LRS Architects, was not pedestrian friendly. The appeal was denied, but LRS and Menashe voluntarily made some slight modifications, such as shortening the building’s southeast corner by two feet, changing the northwest corner from a square-edge to a bevel, and adding planters.

Earlier this year neighborhood leaders also opposed another Menashe development designed by LRS, the 84-unit Williams and Mason apartments. "The Albert was his first and this is his second. Neither has been well received," says architect Diana Moosman, Crymes' Boise neighborhood co-chair, "but we had another Menashe duplex presented [to the neighborhood association] by William Kaven Architecture, and we liked it a lot. There's just a series of developers who have traditionally done single-family residences."

Indeed, The Albert's language on its website is all about fitting in. "Given the choice, wouldn't you rather live in a community that's aware of the world around it?" it reads. "In a home to rent that's true to the Portland scene? The Albert is just that." It also advertises the building's proximity to Williams, a "bicycle highway." The design, although perhaps unremarkable aesthetically, doesn't seem overly monolithic. What's more, The Albert has a Gold LEED rating; in many ways it aspires to be responsible, sustainable, transit oriented development and succeeds. It's also fully leased out.

The building just happens to be taller than neighbors would like.

Unlike comparable major neighborhood streets such as Hawthorne Boulevard or Alberta Street, which are zoned CS ("Commercial Storefront") and allow buildings up to 45 feet (about four stories), Williams is largely zoned EX (for "Central Employment"), which allows up to 65 feet - generally five stories.

Williams zoning is defined by the circa-1993 Albina Community Plan, which sought to preserve the industrial jobs that had lined Williams and Vancouver in generations past. Hence the EX classification, which was intended to maintain jobs in the center of the city; from the 1960s into in the 1980s and '90s, these neighborhoods were losing much of their employment base.

According to Debbie Bischoff, senior planner in the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability who oversees the Northeast district, the city may be reviewing the Albina Plan within two years or even as soon as this summer if given a grant from Metro. But due to budget cuts, she says there is a backlog for amending zoning codes. "There are neighborhoods that haven’t been revised in 30 to 40 years," she says. "We’re behind. All plans, we hope every 20 years or so we can go back and revisit. But we haven’t had adequate staff."

What's more, the EX zone code is subject to state law, which requires what's called a two-track system, in which a developer can either chose to meet zoning codes or, if seeking exception for some kind of innovative design that violates the code, go through a discretionary design review process open to public comment. But as long as they meet the zoning code standards, there's no staff overview.

"It’s been frustrating to community members," Bischoff adds. "If a developer wants to work with them voluntarily, that’s great. But he can also say, 'I’m meeting the zoning code standards, so I don’t have to make the changes that you’re asking.' It’s not until the last three to four years we’ve seen development maxing out to that full build out. I’m hearing what the community’s saying, and we know there are problems, and we want to try to address them. "

Crymes says the neighborhood association would actually be open to the existing 65-foot height limit "as long as it’s not done continuously in huge mass so it totally contrasts with what’s here." If this were downtown, mandatory design review for projects of a certain size would help assure something compatible with the existing urban fabric is built, but it doesn't apply here. Boise neighborhood leaders suggested perhaps it should be expanded to major streets outside downtown, but that would still require a change from EX to CS zoning to avoid the state law.

Even if the city does change the code, "There's going to be a lot of build out in the next few years," says architect Diana Moosman, Crymes's co-chair. "Williams may be done by the time anything changes."

Beyond the issue of height, neighborhood leaders also say there's a difference between much of the past decade's multifamily housing in established neighborhoods like Belmont or Hawthorne and what's going up along or near streets like Williams or even Division Street in Southeast Portland.

"It just seems like there’s a little bit of degradation of material quality," says architect Diana Moosman, Crymes's co-chair. "On Belmont I’m sure those buildings were controversial. So each one has a nice material quality." Now, she adds, "It feels like something’s shifted: four story buildings are accessible now, so the developers are saying, 'We’re not going to pander. We’ll just put in HardiPlank,'" referring to the inexpensive cladding material made of cement and cellulose.

The group cautions that they're not against all high-density development. They cite the work of developers like Ben Kaiser, who has been responsible for infill projects on the street such as the Williams five and an upcoming mixed use office building. "I think some developers want to invest in the neighborhood and some people just want a make a dollar," says Stephen Gomez, co-chair of the Boise committee and board chair of the Bicycle Transportation Alliance.

Boise neighborhood leaders say more projects are coming, such as the former Oregon Association of Minority Entrepreneurs property that was recently sold to a Seattle developer. If the guidelines can be put in place, they can work with developers and architects to avoid costly redesigns.

"We’re hoping we’ll inspire developers to work with us first," Crymes explains. "I think Menashe would have been interested in it. They’ll be able to save money working with us. We don’t want conflict with developers. We really don’t."

Given Portland's multi-generational effort to curb sprawl with the Urban Growth Boundary, multi-family housing has to be allowed to happen, especially along major streets. Many of these developments are good for the neighborhoods they inhabit, increasing street traffic and investment, and some of it even has been amongst the best architecture being created in the city during this boom-and-bust era of the 200s and 2010s.

Williams seems to have the wrong zoning, especially given how it's set to be transformed from two automobile lanes to one, with an expanded bike lane. Yet city bureaus are by nature deliberative, slow-moving bodies that take years to enact changes to zoning or other guidelines. This isn't going to happen right away.

While design guidelines created by the Boise neighborhood would lack teeth, it would solve a key problem: that by the time news of potentially monolithic projects reaches neighborhood residents and leaders, it's already relatively late in the pre-construction period, when it will cost the developer to go back to the drawing board. The design guidelines Boise leaders are creating, while certainly no panacea for either side, can at least get everyone talking and thinking about these issues earlier in the process.