Expo Center Stormwater Wall

GreenWorks is working with the City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services to design a Green Wall at the Expo Center that will also manage roof stormwater runoff. Because of this added function, we have taken to calling this project a Stormwater Wall. A design workshop was just recently held on April 16^th with our project partners at Metro and the Expo Center along with participants from BES and GreenWorks. There was a lot of good conversation, information and design ideas generated during the work session from which to move forward with into the design phase of the project. The Storm Water Wall project will serve as a prototype for BES from which they can monitor and learn from for future green wall projects. It will also provide an exciting and attractive new green sustainable feature to the the Expo Center.

Happy Holidays from GreenWorks!

 

The GreenWorks crew enjoyed our annual holiday party at the Jade Lounge in Southeast Portland.

In the spirit of the holiday season, GreenWorkers collected over 275 pounds of food to donate to the Oregon Food Bank!

Wishing you all the best this holiday season. We look forward to seeing you in 2013!

ASLA and AIA Oregon EP Greenroof Tour

Greenworker Claire Maulhardt, along with other ASLA and AIA Oregon Emerging Professional (EP) members, organized a great educational event on June 13^th, Local Innovation in Greenroofs.  The sold out event was a green roof tour of three Portland buildings, followed by a lecture/discussion lead by Tim Nash of Columbia Green hosted at the Center for Architecture. Speakers on the green roof tour also included Casey Cunningham, City of Portland’s Sustainable Stormwater Division, and Trent Thelen, landscape designer of The Indigo Building green roof. The speakers talked about the plants, wildlife and technology of greenroofs.  The event met ASLA Oregon EP committee’s goal of encouraging professional enhancement.  Participants were given a unique opportunity to further their education and connect with fellow landscape designers and landscape architects. Greenworkers Danae Davison, Derek Sergison, and Azad Sadjadi were among the 25 participants. This tour was ASLA Oregon’s Summer 2012 EP 101 Series event and was sponsored by Willamette Graystone and Columbia Green.

Special THANKS to Christopher Olin, Desirae Williams, and Emily Hull all their efforts in making the event a success! AND to the other EP Committee members for helping us staff the event.

Photo Contest Results

For their annual wild-flower hike this year, GreenWorks employees headed to the Tom McCall Nature Preserve in Rowena. Located in the transition zone between the moist, heavily-forested, west side of the Cascades and the drier bunch grass prairies of the east, the Preserve brings impressive blooms every spring. As part of the hike, GreenWorks employees were encouraged to photograph the scenery and enter their best shot in an office wide photo contest. Results can be viewed below for First, Second and Third Place. First Place: Mike Faha

Second Place: Derek Sergison

Third Place: Amy Kearsley

Nature Play Community Workshop For Westmoreland Park

Portlanders celebrated St. Patrick's Day with a community design event put on by Portland Parks and Recreation and GreenWorks geared around the eventual design for a nature play area to be built in Westmoreland Park. Kids of all ages really enjoyed the event! Their creativity, teamwork and ingenuity were all in full gear. It was an amazing start to an exciting project. Thank you to those who joined us!

The Concept: Portland Parks and Recreation and GreenWorks Landscape Architecture invited the community to play with natural materials, talk about natural play, make models and lay the groundwork for the design of the nature play area at Westmoreland Park. The City of Portland recognizes the benefits of letting children play in nature, including the physical, mental and social benefits. Prior to the natural play workshop, Parks and Recreation staff participated in a workshop to discuss risk and maintenance associated with natural play areas.

The Activities: Activities ranged from having adults remember their childhood play experiences, to free building and water play areas, to model making. The design team was able to talk with kids and adults about what they would like to see in the natural play area.

The Outcome: As kids of different ages and abilities worked together, creativity soared. We got some amazing feedback and ideas for the play area. Plus, we had a lot of fun!

Join Portland Parks and Recreation and GreenWorks this Saturday, March 17th, for a Fun-Filled day at the Westmoreland Nature Play Workshop!

A fun, interactive chance

for you and your children

to explore nature based play.

How does a nature based

play area differ from

a traditional playground?

Portland Parks & Recreation

is designing the City of Portland’s

first nature based play area in

Westmoreland Park.

Who: All ages welcome and encouraged to play! Come rain or shine, the event is indoors!

When: Saturday March 17th -10am-2pm

Where: 5040 SE Milwaukie Ave. and SE Mitchell St. Tri-Met bus #19

RSVP: Portland Parks and Rec or call Elizabeth at 503-823-5113

More information: www.licenses.ci.portland.or.us/parks/index.cfm?c=57822&

SE Clay Street Green Street Open House

Join GreenWorks and the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services at Indent Studios for an Open House discussing SE Clay Street Green Street this Thursday the 13^th from 4:30 to 6:00 p.m. The Open House will present the latest information on the project and answer questions about the community impact of the new green street. GreenWorks worked with the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services on the streetscape design for 12 block section ofSE Clay Street in the Central Eastside Industrial District (CEID). The new green street will provide a pedestrian friendly corridor from Ladd’s Addition to the Eastbank Esplanade.

We hope to see you there!

For more information visit:

http://www.portlandonline.com/bes/index.cfm?c=47012&a=367456

ASLA Emerging Professionals: Nursery Tour + Wine Tasting

On June 9^th five members of GreenWorks enjoyed a beautiful evening in Newberg, Oregon at Oregon Small Trees Nursery.  Danae Davison, Claire Maulhardt, Alex Perove, Azad Sadjadi, and our new summer intern Ben Hedstrom attended a nursery tour plus wine tasting as part of ASLA Oregon’s Emerging Professional (EP) series.  Claire is the ASLA Oregon Emerging Professionals Committee Co-Chair, and put on the event with Emily Hull and Christopher Olin. Dave Leckey, owner of Small Trees Nursery, gave an educational talk about process of building his nursery, consisting mostly of mature small trees.  He explained sustainable processes he implements to grow the trees and shared the different qualities of trees he grows and how their form matures over the years.  Dave discussed how small trees could inspire a design and be a nice accent in small places. The nursery was started about 15 years ago when Dave began planting a group of unique and unusual small slow growing conifers. Today, the nursery still contains mostly small conifers with a small collection of maples.

In tangent with the nursery tour, K&M Alchemy Vineyards held a wine tasting in the central gathering space. Ken Morrison, owner of K&M, poured a selection of their Pinot Noir vintages.

Dave Leckey talks about the qualities and characteristics of a tree at Oregon Small Trees Nursery

For more information about Upcoming ASLA Events, visit: www.aslaoregon.org

Oregon Small Trees Nursery Phone: 503.625.9467

www.oregonsmalltrees.com

K&M alchemy vineyard

Phone: 503.625.3236

http://kandmwines.com/

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.

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.