APLD Conference Keynote

Mike Faha, Principal of GreenWorks, gave a Keynote Speech on Tuesday, July 14th to the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD), in town this week for their annual meeting.

Design + Sustainability, A Retrospective on Portland’s Establishment as a National Leader in the Sustainable Design Movement F. Michael Faha, ASLA, LEED This session will include discussions on the following topics: the impetus behind a city’s determination to go green; evolution of public acceptance for sustainable practices; sustainable site design, low-impact development, green development practices; integrating habitat into the urban environment; sustainable stormwater, raingarden design, green roofs, green walls, green streets; LEED projects; sustainable landscapes do not have to look like a weed patch; the use of recycled materials in the landscape; and rainwater harvesting.

Click here to download a PDF of the presentation (5.78 MB)

Kenton Streetscape in Portland Monthly

 Some recent press regarding the Denver Avenue Green Main Street project, in the Kenton Neighborhood of North Portland.  This is excerpted from the Portland Monthly article "Upgrade Avenue: Kenton gets a million-dollar makeover"...  by Rachel Ritchie - Published July 2009

  "IF EVER A PATCH OF PAVEMENT could capture the multiple personalities of Portland’s past, present, and future, it would be the intersection of N Denver and N Interstate Avenues in the historic Kenton neighborhood. Here, a giant statue of Paul Bunyan stares down at the ramshackle all-nude roadhouse Dancin’ Bare while the Euro-futuristic cars of the MAX light-rail glide by. Kenton was home to Portland’s stockyards and the meatpacking titan Swift & Company in the early 1900s; legend has it that so many cattle were slaughtered in the neighborhood, the Columbia Slough ran red. Over the years, Kenton held fast to its gritty pioneer character (Exhibit A: The Bunyan statue), but minus pedestrian-friendly amenities like benches and crosswalks, its business district—the car-clogged N Denver Avenue—foundered, becoming perennially studded with vacant properties. But now the Portland Development Commission (PDC) is offering up a bundle of new business loans, plus $2.85 million for the Denver Streetscape Project, a six-month-long renovation set to begin in August. Here’s a preview of Kenton’s next incarnation. Green Street Not only will N Denver Avenue’s sidewalks be widened from ten to fifteen feet and its three car lanes cut down to two, but by year’s end, the thoroughfare will be one of Portland’s first fully retrofitted green main streets. The pavement will be replaced with concrete, which retains less heat than asphalt, thus reducing cooling needs for adjacent businesses. Stormwater planters on every block will capture and sift runoff from the roads and sidewalks while adding a hint of street-level lushness. New Business To encourage N Denver Avenue’s rebirth as an urban boutique district à la N Mississippi Avenue and NE Alberta Street, the PDC is subsidizing small-business loans. One early taker: Kenton resident Jessie Burke, who, in May, opened Posie’s Café (posiescafe.com), a charming coffee shop committed to supporting fellow local businesses. (She sells coffee from Ristretto Roasters, pastries from Florio on N Willamette Avenue, and wraps from White Girls Can Wrap.) Paul Bunyan The mythological concrete-troweled lumberjack, who earned a spot on the National Register of Historic Places this year, was built in 1959 for Oregon’s Centennial celebration and has since remained the icon of Kenton. He’ll stay put, but the plaza he stands in will soon be dressed up with trees, greenery, and seating. Kenton Library Hennebery Eddy Architects has designed a new six-thousand-square-foot Multnomah County library branch, slated for completion in 2010, that will provide Kenton bibliophiles with a home. The neighborhood has lacked a library since its founding in 1909. Mauricio Saldaña Sculpture Portland artist Mauricio Saldaña, a third-generation stone carver, will create a granite sculpture to stand at the corner of N Denver Avenue and Kilpatrick Street, as well as seven concrete-and-granite benches that will be planted along the corners of the street."

Summer Sustainability...

GreenWorks is excited to be involved again in 2009 with the 2nd iteration of the Summer Sustainability Series program on 'Sustainability in the Built Environment.

From the Website:

"The Summer Sustainability Series offers unique professional programs based on the ground-breaking work of Oregon’s businesses, universities, not-for-profit organizations, and policy makers. We visit experts and practitioners in the field as they bring their experiences to life. Participants will join other thought leaders from a range of professions, pushing beyond the current thinking to find better solutions."

Again this year, GreenWorks Principal Jim Figurski gave an overview of the process of creating Tanner Springs Park (a collaboration between GreenWorks and Atelier Dreisietl, seen above). And Doug Shapiro of Hoyt Street Properties gave everyone the opportunity to get a birds eye view of the park atop the penthouse of the Metropolitan Condominiums. Not a bad perspective.

Day 2 Featured a presentation by Jason King, Senior Associate, giving a tour of the Multnomah County Building Green Roof (in full bloom below) and the newly planted rooftop urban agriculture demonstration, the Hope Garden.

Gardening for Hope

GreenWorks has been honored to help orchestrate the transformation of the rooftop planters on the Multnomah County Green Roof into a 'Hope Garden' ... From Multnomah County website:

"Multnomah County and the City of Portland are partnering to plant organic vegetable gardens at their respective headquarters to recognize the growing community interest in local food systems and to inspire residents to plant their own edible gardens.  “Growing food is a great way for a family to reduce food costs, spend time together, and to assist hungry families,” said Multnomah County Commissioner Judy Shiprack.   “Multnomah County recognizes that our local food system has a significant impact on the economy, health, and environment of our community,” said Multnomah County Commissioner Jeff Cogen. “And this demonstration project fits one of the county’s core missions to promote healthy people and healthy communities.”

 

Volunteers from a number of organizations and firms contributed their time and effort into making the garden a reality.  A list of donations includes:

:: GreenWorks Landscape Architects www.greenworkspc.com :: Teufel Landscape www.teufel.com :: Tremco Roofing www.tremcoroofing.com :: Anderson Roofing www.andersonroofing.net :: Phillips Soil Products www.phillipssoil.com :: HD Fowler www.hdfowler.com :: Oregon Wire www.oregonwireproducts.com :: Territorial Seeds www.territorialseed.com :: Plant Health www.planthealthllc.com :: Portland Nursery www.portlandnursery.com :: Parr Lumber www.parr.com  

Food will be cared for by the Multnomah County Green Team, and donated to local food banks via the Share your Harvest program.  The roof is publically accessible at 501 SE Hawthorne, and open during regular business hours.  Plus the view of downtown is stunning.

Gresham CFTA Plaza Opens Tomorrow

Updated pics of the GCFTA Plaza with plantings... as the grand opening gets near.

Just a reminder about the Grand-opening festivities for the Gresham Center for the Arts Plaza, to be held tomorrow on Saturday at 12:30 p.m., followed by musical performances and family-fun activities from 1 to 8:30 p.m.

For more information on the project, visit http://www.gcfta.org/.

DaVinci School in NY Times

A recent blog post from the NY Times showed "A prototype green classroom addition under construction at the Da Vinci Arts Middle School in Portland, Ore. includes natural daylighting, passive heating and cooling systems, solar roof tiles and other green features that yield a 70 percent efficiency improvement over Oregon building code requirements."

:: image via NY Times Blog

The project by SRG Partnership and the University of Oregon’s Energy Studies in Buildings Lab was aided by pro-bono services from GreenWorks for site improvements and land use issues. Read the full NYT post about this innovative project here, as well as some additional local coverage in the DJC here.

Walking the Walk - Earth Day Style

Crew pitches in to clean up school’s bio-swale

Volunteers from Portland landscape architecture and environmental design firm work on Earth Day

Volunteers from GreenWorks, a Portland landscape architecture and environmental design firm, spent their Earth Day morning sprucing up Rosa Parks Elementary School in North Portland. The crew did some weeding, pruning and trash pickup in the large bio-swale in front of the elementary school in the Portsmouth neighborhood.

“These days are a chance for us to get out of the office and do some needed work in the community that ties in with the mission of our company,” said Greenworks principal Mike Faha, who volunteered. “We have been working with schools on projects like this for several years and always feel good about our efforts after we are finished and see the results.”

(source: Daily Journal of Commerce, April 24 2009)

GreenWorks Promotes Five

GreenWorks Landscape Architecture has promoted Jason King and Robin Craig to Senior Associates, and Brett Milligan, Alexandra Perove and Tim Strand to Associate.

King has 15 years of experience in eco-roofs, sustainable housing, health care, institutional and recreational projects. His recent projects include the Columbia River Community Hospital, Asante Health System Courtyard and Independence Station. He holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture and a Bachelor of Science in environmental design from North Dakota State University.

Craig has 17 years of experience and is currently working on a new Lane Community College health and wellness facility, TriMet light-rail transit system improvements, and Riverdale School District’s new K-8 school. She holds a Bachelor of Environmental Design in landscape architecture from North Carolina State University and a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of Virginia.

Milligan is currently working on the Condit Dam removal and Portland Fire Station 18. He holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of New Mexico, Albuquerque.

Perove is currently working on The Dalles Riverfront Connections project and the city of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Systems Planning. She holds a Bachelor of Landscape Architecture from Pennsylvania State University.

Strand is a project manager and landscape designer. He is currently working on the Clay Street green street and Chambers Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility. He holds a Master of Landscape Architecture from the University of California, Berkeley.

SSI works toward certification of landscape architecture

Sustainable Sites Initiative seeks to address issues not completely covered by LEED From the DJC Oregon - originally printed Tuesday, January 27, 2009

BY SAM BENNETT

As a landscape architect with Greenworks, Jason King keeps pace with changes in the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design standards. King in 2003 was one of the first local landscape architects to become LEED accredited, and now a third of his office is accredited.

But while it’s important for landscape architects to understand LEED, the system is mostly oriented toward the built environment and does not address, in depth, the complex systems used in landscape architecture. To remedy that, several groups are combining forces to develop the Sustainable Sites Initiative – an effort to define comprehensive guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable landscapes.

“This initiative gives us the opportunity to expand the (LEED) idea and provides a mechanism for certification of nonbuilding sites,” said King.

The new initiative would give landscape architects a ratings system for parks, plazas, streetscapes, golf courses and even cemeteries. Sites with buildings, such as retail and office parks, military complexes, airports and botanical gardens would also be part of the system.

Proponents of the initiative say that landscape designs can have an impact on the environment by reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the use of vegetation and soil, by controlling invasive plant species and by controlling water pollution through improved storm-water runoff control.

Landscape architect Jana McKenzie, a managing principal and vice president with EDAW’s Fort Collins, Colo., office, said she and a group of fellow landscape architects came up with the idea for a landscape architecture ratings system in 2001.

“LEED is advanced in addressing building performance, but it felt like the site components, including land use, needed to be addressed as well,” said McKenzie.

The idea expanded in the next couple of years to groups outside the American Society of Landscape Architects, and became an interdisciplinary effort that included Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center and the United States Botanic Garden.

In addition to creating voluntary guidelines and performance benchmarks for sustainable land design, the system will address construction and maintenance practices at the sites that are certified. McKenzie said the new system must be region specific, because of the importance of using indigenous plantings.

Input for the new system, which will likely be folded into the LEED system, has been sought from landscape architects, restoration ecologists, biologists, civil engineers, hydrologists and water quality specialists.

Tom Liptan, a sustainable design specialist with the city of Portland, said he has added input for developing criteria for the new system in the area of hydrology – specifically, storm-water management and rainwater harvesting.

“We’re trying to address issues that LEED doesn’t address comprehensively,” Liptan said. The new system can address issues such as preventing storm water by capturing water in vegetated areas or creating rain gardens, he said.

Liptan said developments, for example, could win extra points in the new system if they daylight a creek. Developers and designers, he said, would be rewarded for “trying to achieve a well-balanced ecosystem” on the property. Green streets could also have benchmarks in the new system.

The most recent draft of the Sustainable Sites Initiative Guidelines and Performance Benchmarks, from last year, is available on the Sustainable Sites Initiative Web site, www.sustainablesites.org.

King expected that the new initiative would see its first pilot projects in 2011, and that a reference guide would be available the following year.

Materials for Sustainable Sites

A fabulous resource for landscape architecture is the recent publication from Wiley entitled Materials for Sustainable Sites and authored by Meg Calkins, LEED AP. Ms. Calkins, who is an educator at Ball State University and frequent writer on sustainable materials, has created a valuable must-have resource for site designers for evaluting truly sustainable materials for projects. Often used in our office, the resource is invaluable for life-cycle evaluation as well as a range of options for materials reuse in projects. Read Jason King's review for a more in depth evaluation of the book and it's content.

In addition to being a fabulous resource, GreenWorks is excited that Ms. Calkins chose to showcase some of our projects relating to a number of sustainable materials uses, including reuse of concrete, use of natural and local materials use, and repurposing industrial materials for both sustainable and cultural relevance. The following project excerpts are from the book - along with the associated captions.

Figures CP4-CP5 - Concrete panels cut and removed from exterior building walls in a remodel were resued as site walls by artist Linda Wysong and GreenWorks. The concrete panels define spaces in the landscape, reference the history of the building, and reduce waste materials from the remodel. Holes cut in the concrete panels focus views (Photo from GreenWorks PC.)

the confluence project

Figure CP17 - Crushed oyster shell paving at the Confluence Project, commemorating the journey of Lewis and Clark, by Maya Lin and GreenWorks was obtained from nearby Oysterville, Washington, the Pacific Northwest hub of oyster production. This reused material from a local industrial waste product was crushed to a spec equivalent to one-quarter inch minus stone and installed four inches think in the Totem Circle (Photo from GreenWorks PC.)

tanner springs park

Figures CP35-CP37 - The undulating wall at Tanner Springs Park in Portland, constructed from reclaimed railroad rails, connects the current park site to its history. Atelier Dreiseitl and GreenWorks intended the wall to represent the 'skin' of the city being pulled back to expose the original wetland site prior to the railroad, industry, and the current mixed-use neighborhood. (Photo from GreenWorks PC.)