Students Gain Invaluable Professional Insight

GreenWorks hosted two energetic student groups last week, giving them a sneak peek into the profession. Claire Maulhardt, landscape designer, is involved with two students groups that encourage the relationship between students and the Landscape Architecture profession; ACE Mentoring program for high school students (Architecture, Construction Management and Engineering) and ASLA Oregon Student Liaison.

Claire’s enthusiasm for teaching leads to her involvement in the (ACE) Mentoring program designed for high school students interested in pursuing Architecture, Construction Management and Engineering. On January 25^th, GreenWorks hosted one of the biweekly meetings exposing students to a range of projects in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Design. The students learned about site analysis and site planning  related to drawings for a waterfront café they are designing over the next few months. Crowded around the site plan on the wall, students threw out suggestions for site placement of their café  and discussed the opportunities and constraints as they took turns drawing. At the end of the two-hour session, the students came to an agreement on their building location. To create the most ideal waterfront “atmosphere,” the student team placed their café cantilevered over the river. In the coming weeks, structural engineering mentors will walk them through the exciting challenges that this decision imposes on the process of design and construction.

Claire Maulhardt is also involved with ASLA Oregon as a Student Liaison on the Executive Committee. This role helps facilitates the relationship between the Student ASLA chapter and ASLA Oregon. On January 28^th, GreenWorks hosted five college students from the University of Oregon as part of the Eighteenth Annual Shadow Mentor Day, an event organized by the University of Oregon’s Professional Outreach and Development Services (PODS), the Department of Landscape Architecture, Student ASLA and ASLA Oregon. The students spent the day with GreenWorks staffers learning about the day-to-day of being a landscape architect. GreenWorks staff and the students toured a few recent projects, one of which was 1^st and Main, a new roof terrace garden closed to the general public. The students learned about the range of green roof types and had ample opportunity to ask LOTS of questions about Landscape Design.

Bond Measure Dollars at Work!

The Project Pioneer Park, located in the Tualatin Hills and Recreation District, embodies some unique natural features including approximately 7.5 acres of wetlands, stream corridors, and upland forest. This park is an amenity for the surrounding neighborhood and we are excited about the opportunity to provide general park upgrades, increase habitat value, and provide an attentive approach to stewardship while creating a memorable and enjoyable recreation space.

GreenWorks Approach

The design challenge at Pioneer Park is how to balance ecological preservation and restoration with recreational uses. The park improvements should respect the natural amenities on site including hundreds of mature native trees and a seasonally wet field. We hope to offer features that keep park users’ feet a little drier and less muddy as they walk through the park. Upgraded play opportunities and ball courts will also be a priority. Our design team will be following the City of Beaverton, Clean Water Services, Division of State Lands and Army Corps of Engineers guidelines for development in sensitive ecosystems.

How You Can Get Involved?

What type of site features would you like to see in this park? How can Pioneer Neighborhood Park be improved? Come share your thoughts and ideas with us at the first community involvement workshop on March 17^th. For specific project updates, public meeting details, and general bond information please click on the link to THPRD’s website. From there, you will be able to view Pioneer Park project updates for both the park renovation and the natural area preservation.

http://www.thprd.org/bondprojects/schedule.cfm

We look forward to working with THPRD and the community to make this great park even better!

Stormwater Features Completed at Beverly Cleary School

As a Landscape Architect at GreenWorks, I get the chance to work on projects for many local public schools. I am often amazed at how much Portland area students know about rainwater. To some of them the terms rain garden, infiltration, and combined sewer are household words. A few years ago, in a 5^th grade class, I lead a discussion on the effects of urban development on stormwater and how increased impervious surfaces speed up and pollute our water . I was barraged with questions about why we continue to let this happen and why someone is not doing more about it. It seems the work of local designers, environmentalists and agencies was not enough for them. It’s refreshing to see this type of concern and curiosity in young people. It inspires me to continue to work with schools. The school community at Beverly Cleary School in NE Portland was inspired to develop a project that improved their schools effects on urban stormwater.  It took some determination.  They built and planted a swale at their school in the spring of 2006, but the downspouts were never disconnected to feed into the swale.

Recently, a dedicated parent with the support of the school community fostered the project through to completion. GreenWorks donated design and consulting services for the swale and most recently for design of the downspout disconnects. In addition to the downspout design, GreenWorks collaborated with students to measure the soil’s infiltration rate, and helped with contractor coordination during construction. The highlight of the project is the pouring downspout bucket. See it in action below. This living science lab is now open for exploration and learning by the school’s students!

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nj-tXCxpzsE&fs=1&hl=en_US]

Michelle Mathis is a Landscape Architect at GreenWorks with 8 years of experience.  She received a Bachelor of Science degree in Landscape Architecture from Ohio State University Knowlton School of Architecture, and has a Master’s in Education from Portland State University.

North Denver Avenue Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

A public celebration was held November 18^th in the downtown Kenton neighborhood of North Portland to mark the completion of streetscape improvements to Kenton’s four block long business district. Community members were joined by Portland Mayor Sam Adams and representatives from the Portland Bureau of Transportation, Portland Development Commission, Kenton Neighborhood Association, Kenton Business Association and Regional Arts & Culture Council and countless others who contributed in one way or another to this project. There was an unveiling of a public art sculpture of carved stone by artist Mauricio Saldana, which now sits prominently on the corner of N. Denver Ave and Kilpatrick St. Phase 2 improvements to the project were completed earlier this fall, which included grinding the existing asphalt pavement and repaving with concrete; a paving process called ultra thin white topping (UTW). Parking and intersections are delineated with dark gray concrete with the travel lanes a natural concrete color. Phase 1 construction work was completed earlier in the year. The complete reconstruction of the pedestrian zone included widened sidewalks, new street trees, stormwater planters that treat road and sidewalk rain runoff, ornamental lighting and carved stone benches. The purpose of this project is to support the continued revitalization of the historic Kenton business district and to make Kenton a safer place.

Early Head Start Playground Breaks Ground at Clackamas Community College

After a few months of intensive design, the children at the Clackamas Community College's Early Head Start are starting to see their playground take shape.  Little hands grasping the chain link construction fence and eyes set on the excavator, they wait patiently as the sea of bark chips is replaced with a natural area for creative play.

The Clackamas County Children’s Commission (CCCC) is a non-profit organization that serves children in Clackamas County. Their Early Head Start play space was in need of upgrades. The equipment was out dated and not meeting the physical needs of the young children.

GreenWorks worked with CCCC to develop a plan that fit within their limited space, met development requirements of younger children and offered an alternative play experience from traditional playground equipment. The nature based playground design includes an embankment slide, sand play area, trike loop, potting shed play house, lush planting and timber climbers. GreenWorks helped the client re-invision how to use the existing covered space for additional all season play, how to incorporate appropriate storage, and how play surfacing could extend social areas for music, arts, and classroom activities.

GreenWorks Finishes 6th in Division for Bike to Work Challenge

September's end wrapped up the 2010 Bike Commute Challenge and the results are in - GreenWorks placed sixth in their category for Businesses and Non-Profit Agencies with 5-24 employees. This ranking was based on a 79.2% commute rate, out of 303 competitors in the category! GreenWorkers logged a total of 149 commutes and 1324 miles overall. We also held our annual internal competition to see which employee bikes the most based on miles and commutes. Alex Perove swept both categories with 342 logged miles, biking every day in the month for a total of 44 commutes. Hats off to GreenWorks bikers for their hard work and miles put in for this year's challenge!

Greenies give back for Earth Day

To celebrate Earth Day 2010, GreenWorks continued its annual tradition of volunteering within the Portland community.  This year staff pitched in at one of its project sites, Da Vinci Arts Middle School, by weeding and caring for several sites within the campus including the water garden and stormwater system.

The Daily Journal of Commerce was there to capture the event, you can check out more Earth Day photos on their website at:http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/05/06/late-earth-day/

Pringle Creek Featured in Top 10 Green Built Neighborhoods

A recent Natural Homes Magazine article highlights the top 10 Green Built Neighborhoods in the nation, including Salem's Pringle Creek Community.  As part of an interdisciplinary team, GreenWorks implemented a wide range of project objectives related to sustainable site design in Pringle Creek.  GreenWorks  design responsibilities included: collaboration on greenstreet design; design of rain gardens; public recreational spaces; the Village Green open space; pedestrian / pathway  network; woonerfs; greenway enhancement; and overall landscape treatment.  The project was awarded the Land Development of the Year Award in 2007 from the National Home Builder's Association.

"10.  Pringle Creek (Salem, Oregon): mixed-use community with walkable neighborhoods, two restored greenhouses, and careful water planning and rainwater management."

See the full article and slide show from Natural Home of America's Top 10 Green-Built Neighborhoods or check it out in the upcoming the May/June 2010 issue.

Join us for the groundbreaking of the Merlo Bus Fuel & Wash Facility and LIFT Building

The Merlo Bus Facility is TriMet’s primary facilities operation for the western service region.  This project constructed a new 19,000 sq. ft. operations facility within a fully built out site which needed to maintain its daily operation during construction.  GreenWorks provided design services for the site including new stormwater facilities, landscaping, and irrigation.  Design efforts included consideration and coordination with the existing CWS stormwater swales and THPRD’s Nature Park adjacent to the project site. Site design included street frontage improvements for accessibility and street trees.

Please join U.S. Congressman David Wu, Washington County Commission Chair Tom Brian, Beaverton Mayor Denny Doyle and TriMet General Manager Fred Hansen for the groundbreaking of two new facilities at our Merlo Bus Facility: a new bus fuel and wash facility, and a new building for our Westside LIFT service.

The $13.5 million project is made possible by federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The Merlo Bus Facility is where TriMet’s Westside bus lines are fueled and washed each day and has been in failing condition for many years. This project will construct a new 19,000 sq. ft. facility. The Westside LIFT facility supports TriMet’s door-to-door ADA service. The current LIFT building is leased, and the building owner's desire is to use this building. TriMet will construct a new 4,700 sq. ft. building for its Westside administration functions. Construction of both buildings will take approximately one year to complete.

Wednesday, February 17, 9 a.m.

Merlo Bus Facility

16130 SW Merlo Rd.

Beaverton, OR 97006

Creation of ‘Eco-Districts’ to Give Portland a Boost

A recent special supplement in the Daily Journal of Commerce featured Energy and how an upcoming pilot program will add eco-districts to five area in Portland, creating a model for sustainability and growth.  GreenWorks' Principal Mike Faha was a panelist at the Portland Architecture + Design Festival weighing in on the concept of eco-districts and their community impact, see the full article below: Creation of 'eco-districts to give Portland a boost

PILOT PROJECT WILL TRANSFORM FIVE HIGHLY-VISIBLE AREAS INTO MODELS OF SUSTAINABILITY THAT PROMOTE HEALTHY COMMUNITIES AND GREEN JOBS

By Melody Finnemore

For the DJC

Urban proverb: New York is a city with a park in the center. Portland is a park with a city in the center.

In the 1980s, when Mike Houck began leading Portland's effort to incorporate parks, trails, greenspaces and natural resources as a centerpiece of urban planning, city leaders told him there was no room for nature within a bustling metropolitan area.

How times have changed. Portland Mayor Sam Adams has created a technical advisory committee and a "sub cabinet" to explore how the city can implement neighborhood-scale green redevelopment that has minimal environmental impact while fostering vibrant communities with access to an array of manmade and natural amenities.

In other words, continue Portland's momentum as a city that grows around a thriving system of parks, trails, greenspaces and natural resources.

The redevelopment concept of eco-districts and the ways in which it furthers energy efficiency, greenhouse gas reductions and other sustainability practices was the topic of a recent panel discussion during the portland Architecture + Design Festival. The month-long festival, held in October, was sponsored by the American Institute of Architects Oregon chapter.

Panel participants included Houck, executive director of Portland's Urban Greenspaces Institute; Rob Bennett, executive director of the Portiand+Oregon Sustainability Institute (P+OSl); Carrie Schilling, principal at Works Partnership Architecture; Johanna Brickman, associate partner at Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects; and Mika Faha, principal at GreenWorks, a landscape architecture and environmental design firm.

Bennett has worked closely with Adams through a public-private partnership formed to promote the redevelopment concept. Along with P+OSI and the city, the partnership includes the Portland Development Commission, Metro, Oregon Built Environment & Sustainable Technologies Center (BEST), and the local real estate, design, and construction industries.

The mayor's work groups are charged with exploring regulatory reform analysis and recommendations for zoning, building codes, fees and incentives this month. By next month, those regulatory changes will be introduced for adoption to the City Council. And, over the next three years, pilot projects will transform five highly visible areas into model eco-districts.

The five pilot districts are Portland State University, South Waterfront, Lloyd District, Gateway and Lents. The focus was on districts that already had been developed rather than "shiny new examples," Bennett said, adding eco-districts are just as feasible for industrial areas as they are for mixed-use neighborhoods.

The high-performing, green districts are designed to bring together residents, businesses, utilities and other groups to create and manage their own energy and wastewater systems, saving money and creating better places to live and work.

Eco-district redevelopment goals are to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and air pollution, ensure that water is safe and clean, preserve and restore land, build healthy communities and ecosystems, and create green jobs.

District-scale, energy-efficiency measures, and renewable and low­carbon energy production are key components of the eco-districts concept. Neighborhood energy savings are achieved through passive building design, equipment efficiency and renewable district energy generation.

However, success in this area depends on, among other things, the creation of new financing tools such as energy-efficiency utility districts to fund building retrofits. Oregon's environmental quality, energy and economic development departments have been called upon to provide technical assistance, tax-credit financing, loans and other support.

Along with reduced energy consumption and gains in renewable energy production, eco­districts feature multimodal transportation that prioritizes transit, cycling and walking as well as the preservation of affordable family housing that promotes livable and resilient neighborhoods. Eco-districts also provide a new perspective on storm water and potable water management, Schilling said.

"Current city regulations say to deal with storm water only on your own site, but eco-districts provide an opportunity to create a deliberate collective plan and connect to a larger infrastructure," she said.

Eco-districts also help promote ~ the concept of storm water as a resource to be used rather than something to be disposed of, Bennett added. Green infrastructure is at the heart of the eco-district strategy, and site design integrates biologists, ecologists, landscape architects, architects and engineers, he said.

Faha noted that eco-districts create the chance to achieve greater connectivity among city parks outside the downtown core as well as connecting open spaces with schools, daycare facilities and recreation centers. Such integrated resource planning not only benefits communities, but also would help the city, county and state save money through cost sharing, he said.