The Not-So-Lost Art of Drawing

Flora, a senior project manager at GreenWorks, took the opportunity this week to present to us the importance drawing has on the design process. An article written by renowned architect, Michael Graves, inspired the presentation. He argues that computer-aided design software, such as AutoCAD and SketchUp, has replaced hand-drawing along multiple phases of the design process. His ultimate message is that drawing should never divorce itself from design, because it stimulates the imagination and expresses the interaction of mind, body, and hand more so than technology is able to. Flora shares these beliefs with Graves, and often utilizes hand-drawing over computer-aided design software in her designs. This process is directly reflected in her work for Mt. Hood Community College where, after site analysis and setting goals with the clients, Flora began with study sketches of the space. Through refinement, she transformed the sketches into design layouts. The concept plans and axonometric sketches were presented to the students and faculty at an open house at the school earlier this week. Thank you for sharing your design process with us Flora!

To read the article in its entirety please follow the link: Architecture and the Lost Art of Drawing

GreenWorks Receives Three ACEC Awards

Three GreenWorks projects recently received awards from the American Council of Engineering Companies (ACEC) of Oregon for 2018. The awards recognize engineering firms and projects that demonstrate an exceptional degree of innovation, complexity, achievement and value. The following projects were award recipients.

Grand Award: Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge

OBEC Consulting Engineers with the City of Salem and project partners GreenWorks and DKS Associates, created a connected system between Minto Island, Salem, and West Salem providing increased access to 1,300-acres of riverfront park space and 30 miles of off-street trails.

Honor Award: River Island Restoration Project

Inter-Fluve worked with METRO and Biohabitats, Aquatic Contracting, Clackamas County Parks, ODFW, PGE, K&E Excavation, Clackamas River Basin Council and GreenWorks to restore natural channel processes to support multiple values including fish and wildlife habitat, riparian and upland forests, as well as water quality and recreation on the Clackamas River.

Honor Award: Terminal 4 Sustainability Stormwater Street

GeoEngineers, Inc., Century West Engineering, and David Evans and Associates with the Port of Portland worked with project partners GreenWorks and RailPros to create a new access road into the port’s most active marine terminal utilizing green street approaches.

We would like to thank the above mentioned clients and engineering firms for their continued partnership and commitment to excellent work.

Minto Island Bridge named Project of the Year

The Peter Courtney Minto Island Bridge, which opened to the public on August 2^nd 2017, has been named the APWA Oregon Chapter Project of the Year in the category Structures-$5 Million to under $25 Million. This project is the culmination of years of planning and effort by the City of Salem and Salem’s Urban Renewal Agency. The bridge was designed by OBEC Consulting Engineers. GreenWorks had the pleasure of developing a conceptual framework that integrated existing park features, such as the “Eco Earth” art globe, with new terraced seatwalls and complemented accent plantings. The bridge now serves as a link between downtown Salem and Minto-Brown Island Park, a 1,400 acre green space. It is estimated that 2,000 people use the bridge each day. We would like to thank OBEC Consulting Engineers, the City of Salem, and DKS Associates for their partnership on this project.

To see all APWA Oregon award winners please visit: http://oregon.apwa.net/PageDetails/12969

Bend Whitewater Park Wins Design Award

Bend Whitewater Park has received the 2017 Design Award by the Oregon Recreation and Park Association. The award is presented to the best designed public parks agency recreation area, taking several criteria into account such as maintenance design, cost effectiveness, and most efficient use.

A team that included GreenWorks designed this project to provide safe passage over the existing dam. The project is made up of three distinct channels: the Passageway Channel with modest rapids; the center Whitewater Channel with four wave features for more experienced whitewater enthusiasts; and the Habitat Channel, with no public access, provides habitat to local and migratory wildlife. Opened in 2015, the Bend Whitewater Park enhances recreation by allowing river users to travel through the dam without having to portage and improves riverfront habitat in an ecologically sensitive area. GreenWorks is honored to have worked on this project and would like to thank OTAK, Pacific Habitat Restoration, Wallace Group, River Restoration, Hickman Williams and Associates, and Inter-Fluve for their partnership, as well as Bend Parks and Recreation. Please follow these links for more information:

Live Feed of Bend Whitewater Park

Bend Parks and Recreation Park Page

Complete ORPA 2017 Award Winners

Design Workshop for Gateway Green

GreenWorks recently held a Design Workshop for Gateway Green, a once forgotten 24-acre parcel located at the confluence of I-205 and I-84 in Portland, Oregon. During the workshop the advisory committee was encouraged to provide feedback on desired programming, circulation, and general layout of the park. By utilizing a mix of tactile objects such as post-its, colored string, and movable icons, participants were able to discuss the pros and cons of various layouts and engage in dynamic conversations about the project. GreenWorks gained an insurmountable amount of feedback from the experience, and is excited to use the information as guidance while navigating the project’s ultimate design.

Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Wins 2017 Demuro Award

GreenWorks was recently awarded the 2017 Demuro Award for excellence in preservation, reuse, and community revitalization for its work on the Trinity Episcopal Cathedral Access Project. Built in 1906, Trinity Episcopal Cathedral is a historic church in Portland’s Alphabet District. The project retrofitted an existing staircase with new accessible ramps and stairs which provided better access to the courtyard and church entry. GreenWorks was a sub-consultant to Waterleaf and we provided irrigation and planting services. For more information on this years winners and Restore Oregon please visit: https://restoreoregon.org/demuro-awards/  

Columbia Tech Construction Update

What a difference a couple of weeks makes! Columbia Tech Nature Play Area is taking shape. Project Manager Ben Johnson was in the field and captured these shots of the progress. Kudos to contractor Rotschy, Inc. and to Columbia Cascade for crafting the custom wood play structures and embankment slide.

International Rose Test Garden Celebration

Our thanks to Portland Parks & Recreation for hosting the 100 Years of Roses event and the Accessibility Improvements Project ribbon cutting ceremony. It was a beautiful summer day in Washington Park’s International Rose Test Garden. A multitude of proud Portlanders, Royal Rosarians, families, musicians, artists, and visitors to the Rose City celebrated amid a stunning display of roses. Portland Parks Director Mike Abbate and City Commissioner Amanda Fritz spoke, and Gill Williams (the project’s Principal-in-Charge) and Mike Faha represented GreenWorks. Our thanks to the project team: PP& R Project Manager, Robin Laughlin PP&R Botanical Specialist/Curator International Rose Test Garden, Harry A. Landers Public Involvement, Maija Spencer Owner’s Representative, Suzanne Carey Contractor, Brown Contracting, Inc., Beau Biron, Project Superintendent

(Photo Credit: KLiK Concepts)

Starting Off the Week at Columbia Tech

This morning, Ben Johnson and Flora Yeh (pictured left) visited the Columbia Tech Nature Play Area now under construction in Vancouver, Washington. Great progress has been made since we last blogged about the project in August. Photos really don’t do it justice; the scale of this play area will surely make this a popular destination once complete. We’re thrilled to be working on this exciting project for PacTrust!

Lake Oswego – Tigard Water Treatment Plant Grand Opening

The GreenWorks team was in attendance at the Lake Oswego – Tigard Water Treatment Plant’s Grand Opening August 31. The Lake Oswego - Tigard Water Treatment Plant was expanded to serve future demands forecasted for the Lake Oswego and Tigard service areas and is also now an emergency supplier of water to the City of West Linn. GreenWorks provided landscape design for stormwater management, address visual impacts in residential areas, and to provide amenities for neighborhood use. Amenities included a neighborhood trail linking neighbors to the north and south where no street exists, public open space for neighborhood use including an amphitheater seating area, and native woodland enhancements. GreenWorks actively met with the adjacent neighbors to hear their concerns about the project and with the broader community at workshops to describe landscape / site design elements for public comment. GreenWorks would like to acknowledge the team: Joel B. Komarek, PE, CWRE | Project Director | Lake Oswego-Tigard Water Partnership Dick Talley, PE, PMP | Area Manager | MWH, now part of Stantec Tom Lebow | Construction Manager | Brown and Caldwell Catherine Dummer | Construction Administrator | Brown and Caldwell Ryan J. Imel | Project Manager, General Contractor | Slayden Constructors, Inc. Sean Curley | Landscape Contractor | SCC Earthworks