Chambers Creek Waste Water Treatment Plant Awarded 2018 Project of the Year by APWA

The American Public Works national awards program was established to recognize outstanding individuals, groups, and chapters representing the best in the public works profession. This year, Chambers Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (CCWTP) was the recipient of the Project of the Year Award in the Environment category in projects more than $75 million. Working with MWA Architects and Brown and Caldwell, GreenWorks developed the landscape buffer concept to visually and physically screen the treatment plant.

Ben Johnson Presents on Nature Play at Design Museum Mornings

Last Friday GreenWorks was delighted to host Design Museum Mornings: Nature Play in the City at the Center for Architecture in Portland's Pearl District. Drawing an enthusiastic crowd of about fifty—everyone from early childhood education professionals and community organizers, to fellow landscape architects and nature play experts—the event included a fun social session with breakfast provided by GreenWorks followed by a comprehensive lecture on Westmoreland Nature-Based Play Area by GreenWorks' Landscape Architect, Ben Johnson.

Ben, who has gained a reputation as a nature-based play specialist, began by sharing academic research on the subject, including the benefits of risky play and exposure to nature at a young age, before moving on to the vision and design process at Westmoreland. He outlined the successful Public Engagement process lead by Elizabeth Kennedy-Wong at Portland Parks and Recreation, who brought the community together early on to support the project and also described Adam Kuby’s role as the project Artist who had an integral role throughout the visioning and construction phases.

From the structural integrity of the massive logs and boulders, which are meant to encourage balance and climbing, to the carved stones which capture the journey of rain water, every detail of the space was carefully analyzed through multiple lenses including sustainability, safety, childhood development, and design.

GreenWorks had a fantastic time working with Design Museum Portland, a pop-up museum whose mission is to "educate the world about design," and look forward to following their work around the city.

Missed the lecture? Interested in learning more? Check out our award-winning work on Westmoreland's Nature-Based Play Area here and here!

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

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/  

Angelo Planning Group Honored at DJC Building Diversity Awards

Our friends at Angelo Planning Group were honored last night at the DJC's Building Diversity Awards ceremony. Darci Rudzinski, Cathy Corliss and Matt Haste were there to accept this award that celebrates outstanding COBID firms. Congratulations APG!

Ridgewood View Park Awarded for Sustainable Infrastructure

The Tualatin Valley Water District’s (TVWD) Ridgewood View Park Reservoir and Pump Station was completed in October of 2016 (except for the lawn area, which will be roped off until spring).

You can learn more about this project at TVWD’s website: http://www.ridgewoodviewwater.org/ GreenWorks aided TVWD in replacing an outdated reservoir with a new one adjacent to Ridgewood View Park in Beaverton. The new water project required extensive piping and construction staging on the Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District (THPRD) park site so, in turn, TVWD needed to upgrade the amenities in Ridgewood View. GreenWorks’ proposed new park elements, including open lawn, paths, parking, picnic shelters, access to natural areas, playgrounds, and a bocce ball and tennis court on top of the reservoir. Innovative elements for the project included terraced rain gardens that treat and convey stormwater from the roof of the reservoir. The park’s new rain gardens help screen the 15’ wall of the reservoir in the park and provide an educational resource for TVWD, THPRD, and the residents of the neighborhood.

This project received the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s (ISI) Envision rating system’s Gold Award. Read more about the award here: http://sustainableinfrastructure.org/envision/project-awards/ridgewood-view/

GreenWorks Receives Green Award

GreenWorks received a Green Award from the West Multnomah Soil and Water Conservation District (WMSWCD) on October 29, 2016 for the Meadowscaping Handbook. GreenWorks was one of three groups recognized at the Conservation Districts Annual Meeting. The Conservation District was very pleased with the design and layout of the publication especially the illustrative plant list and 3-D planting templates. Upon receiving the award, Mary Logalbo said “Greenworks went above and beyond their original commitment to complete the project.” GreenWorks was honored to collaborate with WMSWCD on The Meadowscaping Handbook. The Conservation District’s knowledge and ecological awareness was a pleasure to work with and aligns with our mission, “Integrating people and nature through creative and sustainable design.” A copy of the handbook can be downloaded from WMSWCD’s website.

A note from the Marketing Manager

Veronica and I attended the Daily Journal of Commerce’s annual Women of Vision event this week. This year’s panel discussion and awards ceremony drew 500 attendees to honor 37 amazing women in architecture, engineering, construction, and related professions. The panel discussion was deeply inspirational and included Grace Crunican (General Manager, Bay Area Rapid Transit) as moderator with Diana C. Mendes, AICP (Senior VP, HNTB); Dr. Beverly Scott (CEO, Beverly Scott Associates); and LaVerne Frances Reid (Former FAA New England Region Airports Division Manager). Ms. Mendes reminded the audience that “Not taking a risk is a risk in itself.” We are sometimes preconditioned to fear rather than embrace risk. Learning to embrace risk as an opportunity rather than a danger is a huge challenge. Another powerful message to take from the day is to “lift as we rise.” The importance of mentorship in our industry cannot be overstated. As we recognize those who mentor us, it is equally as important to turn around and acknowledge those next in line. In the building industry we focus so much upon sustainable and resilient built environments. Infusing our operations and professional relationships with the same regenerative spirit will go a long way in strengthening the profession for the future.

Women of Vision supplements will be appearing in Friday’s DJC. More information can be found at this link: http://djcoregon.com/women-of-vision/