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)

Catlin Gabel School - On the Boards

On the boards 2/17/09 Daily Journal of Commerce - BY NATHALIE WEINSTEIN

Mahlum Architects and PLA Design Inc. A concept plan developed by Walsh Construction Co. and Mahlum Architects will create a new creative arts center at Catlin Gabel, an independent coeducational K-12 school on 54 acres in Southwest Portland.

Project manager Walsh Construction worked with Mahlum, representatives from Catlin Gabel and community members to develop the arts center, a $7.5 million, two-level, 20,000-square-foot building that will consolidate the school’s music and arts activities. Designed by Mahlum, the new facility includes spaces for painting and ceramics studios, media art classrooms, a gallery and a black box theater, which was designed in conjunction with theater consultant PLA Design Inc. The building will also provide a physical bridge between the middle and high schools. Made up of three blocks, the building will be oriented on an east-west axis to take advantage of northern light. The largest block contains the theater, which will open onto an outdoor amphitheater with broad steps that can be used for outdoor classes. Sloping roofs on the building will catch rainwater, which will be diverted to on-site bioswales.

Construction on the project is expected to begin this year and finish in 2010. Other project partners include structural engineer J.G. Pierson Inc., mechanical design/building consultant MEP Consultants, and landscape architect Greenworks PC.