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.

Beavercreek Sustainability

Construction was completed last fall on the Beavercreek Road Green Street project, which was also recipient of an honorable mention for Project of the Year from the Oregon APWA.   The Beavercreek Road Improvements Project was a $4.2 million project undertaken by the City of Oregon City to upgrade 2500 feet of a heavily traveled regional arterial. Beavercreek Road is the primary link between Highway 213 and the City's main north-south arterial, Molalla Avenue. The project, a major component in the City’s Transportation System Plan, expanded the existing three-lane roadway to five lanes with bike lanes and sidewalks on each side. It also incorporated green street design elements for stormwater collection, reduction, and treatment. The project’s design and construction engineering was completed by Wallis Engineering, along with GreenWorks for landscape architecture with construction completed by Dirt and Aggregate Interchange, Inc. and landscape construction from Fox Erosion Control.

Check out the project in more detail in this video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Z-75pERCu0]

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.

Windscape Video

Construction was recently completed on the GreenWorks project 'Windscape', which  "...forms a dramatic landmark in the Gateway District of Northeast Portland; an art installation at an undevelopable site dominated by vehicle traffic.  A constructed topography built from the concrete rubble of a major streetscape redevelopment project recalls the rugged slopes and bluffs of the Columbia River Gorge. Bisecting the landform are rows of flexible windpoles, 20 feet tall and laid out in the cardinal directions. The north-south double row symbolizes adjacent 102nd Avenue as it cuts through the landform. The east-west row of poles represents East Burnside Street, as it was the baseline upon which the city of Portland was laid out." The recent installation of the wind poles gave the opportunity, with this past weekends high-velocity east winds, to see how the project was working in action. Landscape Architect Shawn Kummer, who was the GreenWorks designer for the project, shot the following video:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X2eREj0lxxw]

"Motion is the key theme of the piece. The windpoles flex, dependent upon the amount and direction of the wind. As a person drives the loop, the view of the piece is in constant movement, as the rows of poles align and then diverge, and the overlapping topographic features rotate, also appearing to move. Stormwater from adjacent roadways will be captured and directed into an infiltration basin on the site which will filter out stormwater contaminants, while also functioning as an aesthetic element that the recycled concrete walls meander through. Douglas fir trees form a contextual backdrop to the piece, creating windows through which to view Windscape and the adjacent development."

Gresham plaza artist to talk about public art

From the Daily Journal of Commerce - 01.13.09 The artist chosen to create art elements for Gresham’s Center for the Arts Plaza will be at the 4th Street Brewing Company on Jan. 28 to discuss her work in public art. Claudia Fitch was awarded $175,000 to create art to mark the Third Street entrance to the GreenWorks PC designed-plaza, which will act as a “living room” for the city. Fitch has designed a variety of public art projects, including art for Qwest Field in Seattle. At the presentation, she will discuss her previous work and her strategy for approaching public art projects. Her artwork for the plaza is expected to be completed and unveiled in August.

Fitch’s commission was donated by Dwight Unti, Sue O’Halloran, Mike McKeel, Steve Thoren, John Kilian and the Gresham Art Advisory Committee in memory of Walter C. Calvert. The presentation will be held at 77 N.E. Fourth St., in Gresham, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. The $1.5 million Center for the Arts Plaza will be a freestanding town square at the center of Gresham’s historic downtown. The project design includes decorative pavers, in-ground LED lighting and a public fountain, as well as a performance and events facility. Project construction began in fall 2008 by Konell Construction, which plans to finish the plaza early this 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.)

Centennial Plaza comes into focus

By Kathy Aney - The East Oregonian (orginally printed:  Oct. 18, 2008)

Just for a second, picture in your mind’s eye the Pendleton Round-Up grounds the way it looks as you drive by on Court Street.

In your imagination, gaze at the chain link fence, the long, narrow, treeless sidewalk and the backside of the South Grandstands, looking tired underneath coats of yellow and faded reddish-pink paint.

Now, wipe it all from your mind and look at an artist’s concept of Centennial Plaza. The drawing shows quite a different scene – a streetscape, if you will.

Gone is the chain link fence, the awkward entrances and the unattractive utility lines. In their place is a black wrought-iron fence, tall trees, a 14-foot-wide walkway, underground utilities and two entry plazas at the east and west ends.

Sitting near the east gate is a monument-sized bronze of a rodeo horse in mid-buck.

Organizer Jennifer Hawkins said Austin Barton, a sculptor from Joseph, will create the bucking horse bronze for $150,000. “He did ‘Attitude Adjustment’ at Hamley’s,” she said, referring to Barton’s bronze of a horse wildly bucking as a cowboy clings to his back as though Super Glued. “He knows his horses.”

The artist, a former wrangler, is in his early 80s.

“He feels this is going to be his signature piece,” Hawkins said.

Mike Thorne, Round-Up director, is ecstatic about the future streetscape.

“It is going to be a powerful entrance to the community and the Round-Up grounds,” said Thorne, chairman of the Round-Up Association’s long-term planning committee. “With visitors coming through town, the temptation will be to pull in, stop and get out."

Thorne said the Round-Up Association and the city want Pendleton’s rodeo to maintain its world-class image.

“The vision and the image are so important,” he said. “The bar keeps getting higher – this is not my father’s rodeo anymore."

Fundraising is going at full-throttle. The RU Association is two-thirds of the way to the $1,105,078 needed to make the artist’s rendering a brick and mortar reality. 

Hawkins and Jill Thorne kicked off major money-raising efforts a year ago by writing and receiving a $232,000 Transportation Enhancement Grant. The Round-Up Association added another $186,000 and the city of Pendleton offered a $219,245 in-kind donation. In-kind donations from Charter Communications, Pacific Power and Gordon’s Electric brought in almost $100,000.

Several grand applications are pending.

The RU Association is selling sponsorships for each of the 45 brick pilasters built into the fence for $5000 each, giving first shot to current and past RU directors.

With $768,695 collected, the project is likely a fully-loaded train heading down the tracks.

“This is a go,” Mike Thorne said. “The RU Association has embraced this project – we’re fully committed and we’ll close the window on the fundraising somehow.”

Construction will happen quickly, said organizer Jill Thorne.

“It’s going to be wild,” she said. “All of this is going to be happening from June 2009 to September 2009.”

The RU property is deeded to the city of Pendleton.

Independence Station - LEED Platinum

The popular green building blog Jetson Green published an end-of-the-year post '33 Stunning LEED Platinum Projects', which featured a post on GreenWorks project - Independence Station.  The mixed-use project, located in downtown Independence, Oregon is on track to become the highest rated LEED building in the world, currently projecting a final tally of 64 points (based on current estimates).  Working with inspirational developer Steven Ribeiro, from Aldeia Development,  along with a team from Ankrom-Moisan Associated Architects,  Johnson Controls, Balzhiser & Hubbard Engineers, and Green Building Services, to name a few - the project is maximizing site regeneration through net zero water use, rainwater harvesting,  restoration of open spaces, rooftop ecoroofs with photovoltaics, rooftop terraces, green walls, and a range of other sustainable features throughout.

Read more about the project at Worlds Greenest Building.

Happy Holidays from GreenWorks!

Veg.itecture: Landscape Middle East

Jason King,  ASLA LEED AP, Associate at GreenWorks, has authored an article for the magazine, Landscape, the First Specialised Landscape Magazine in the Middle East. The article is entitled The "The Veg.itecture of Ken Yeang" and uses the work of the legendary bioclimatic architect to address topics related to integration of landscape into buildings as an aesthetic and functional reasons. 

Check out the online version of the magazine here... and jump to pages 60-61.