August 21, 2018

Fairview Woods Park

August 21, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

Fairview Woods Park is a renovation of an existing open space to a neighborhood Park and an example of where we successfully used a sustainability filter to improve park conditions and facilities. Some trails and interpretation existed at the park but graffiti, inappropriate park use and gunfire were common in the park and neighbors were concerned about safety. GreenWorks and SWCA environmental developed a conceptual plan and construction documents to address park safety and upgrade facilities to meet neighborhood recreation needs and provide access to wetland and riparian areas. We also addressed creek and wetland protection and sustainability on site by including native plant community restoration, vegetation management to provide visual corridors, minimal tree removal, use of downed woody debris for interpretive and plaza features, wetland trail improvements, trail decommissioning, minimized parking including ADA space, and upgraded trails to meet ADA standards.

August 20, 2018

RiverEast Riverfront Connection & Shared Greenstreet

August 20, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

The Holman Building, redeveloped for commercial mixed – use as the RiverEast Center, includes office space for two corporate headquarters and retail uses. RiverEast is an important project in the redevelopment of Portland’s inner eastside, located adjacent to the Willamette River and Certified LEED Gold. Major site design components included converting the Clay Street ROW adjacent to the building into a pedestrian plaza that provides a connection for eastside neighborhoods to the Willamette River Greenway. Unique features include creating a green parking lot, retrofitting Water Avenue to a Green Street, conveying and treating rooftop runoff with artistic downspouts and stormwater basins, and re-using recycled materials from building demolition for site wall features. The project exceeds City of Portland standards for stormwater management by treating roof runoff from the building through stormwater flow-through planters. The development was coordinated with many local agencies including Portland Development Commission, Portland Bureau of Planning, Portland Bureau of Transportation, and Bureau of Environmental Services. The project relies heavily on native planting schemes to conserve water consumption and promote bio-diversity. GreenWorks services included schematic design, design development, and construction documentation services.

August 20, 2018

Oak Harbor Clean Water Facility

August 20, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

GreenWorks is part of a multi-disciplinary team that renovated this regional wastewater treatment facility in historic downtown Oak Harbor, Washington. Situated in Windjammer Park, on the shores of Oak Harbor, the facility takes advantage of technological updates to modernize the facility, integrate it with the surrounding environment, and reduce its visual and olfactory impacts.

“… the facility takes advantage of technological updates to modernize the facility, integrate it with the surrounding environment, and reduce its visual and olfactory impacts.”

Routes for cars and people on either side of the facility provide easy access from downtown Oak Harbor to Windjammer Park and the waterfront. The site plan requires the creation of strong physical and visual links along these axes. The planting and hardscape reflect the coastal setting, with the inclusion of rolling dunes planted with coastal grasses and perimeter sidewalks, emulating local wooden docks. Parts of the facility are exposed to the public, offering opportunities for interpretation along the two main thoroughfares.

Photo by Thomas Harris

August 20, 2018

Sisters Cascade Ave Streetscape

August 20, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

people gather on a sidewalk behind landscaping and a stone wall, lit lampposts form a gateway for a crosswalk

GreenWorks was part of the team working on the Cascade Avenue (US 20) Streetscape Plan in the City of Sisters. US 20 provides a connection across the Cascades Mountains between the growing communities of Central Oregon and the Willamette Valley’s major population centers. Thousands of trucks and passenger vehicles travel through the tourism-based town of Sisters each day making US 20 both a main street and a major regional freight route. As a result, alleviating conflicts between local and through traffic and pedestrians enjoying the vibrant business district along this corridor was a major goal of the project.

The Cascade Avenue Streetscape design makes improvements to US 20 that address pedestrian/motorist conflicts, improve the walk-ability of downtown, and express the identity of the City of Sisters. The project team presented five different streetscape design concepts with various alternatives for each set of streetscape features, including trees, furniture, and paving. These were reviewed by the community at a series of open house sessions. The design team subsequently synthesized the community’s input into the Preferred Streetscape Design Concept. The result is improved safety along the corridor, green street improvements, design features that express the community identity of Sisters, and economic development within the community. The project was completed in 2014.

August 20, 2018

The Encore

August 20, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

Located at the intersection of NW Overton and 9th Street in the heart of the Pearl District, this site is home to a 15-story condominium residential tower. GreenWorks was hired to provide landscape architectural elements for the development parcel, and adjacent public properties. GreenWorks designed a dramatic entry plaza, park lane, enhanced pedestrian areas, and a viewing garden that will be energized by stomwater runoff flowing over recycled glass. This project is targeting LEED Silver achievement.

August 20, 2018

Washougal Town Square Raingarden Courtyard and Stormwater

August 20, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

Located at the City Center, this mixed use office/retail project was envisioned to be a catalyst for town center redevelopment. GreenWorks designed the site improvements to reinforce pedestrian and visual connections to the urban fabric and to the Columbia River Gorge area as a demonstration project. GreenWorks implemented goals for a sustainable development model by creatively designing stormwater solutions, rainwater harvesting, a central courtyard, and native plantings in an urban context for the one block development. GreenWorks used 3-D modeling to enable the design team, developer and local staff to visualize design solutions. This project is one of the 10 LEED-ND pilot projects by the USGBC for the nation.

August 20, 2018

Beranger Condominiums Ecoroof

August 20, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

GreenWorks was responsible for a number of sustainable strategies for the Béranger Condominiums. The ecoroof project, the first in the City of Gresham, included 3,000 s.f. of extensive vegetated rooftop area. In addition, the project included using rooftop flow-through planters in tandem with the ecoroof for an integrated stormwater strategy that manages all of the building run-off prior to it reaching the ground. This minimized cost and maximized useable open space. Amenity areas were included, with a 1000 s.f. rooftop plaza for residents using raised pedestal paver systems, and incorporating seasonal plantings. The overall design provides stormwater management that is functional, serves as an amenity for residents, and is helpful as a marketing tool for attracting prospective buyers.

August 20, 2018

Gresham Center for the Arts Plaza

August 20, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

GreenWorks designed the new Center for the Arts Plaza in downtown Gresham for the city and its non-profit partners. The plaza is the new “living room” for Gresham and features a dramatic integration of the arts using light, water and sound. Key features include “art pillars” dedicated to literature, music, performance and fine art. Additionally, an interactive public fountain, large gathering space for concerts and dynamic lighting effects enhance nighttime activity. The plaza spills out into a “festival street” along Third Street and is host to many community events such as farmer’s markets, civic ceremonies and patrons of the Center for the Arts.

August 19, 2018

Southwest First and Main Office Building

August 19, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

The First and Main Office Building is a $100 million, 15-story office tower in the downtown Portland core with views of the waterfront as well as downtown open spaces. The building received LEED Platinum Certification and offers unique amenities, including a large- bike hub, as well a 13,000 s.f. of extensive ecoroof and a 15,000 square foot rooftop terrace. Both of these amenities work to achieve the stormwater management strategies, as well as provide habitat, reduce heat island effect, and provide a pleasant place to relax for office workers. Included in the terrace is a large open plaza zone, looping pathway for exercise, and large planters with a range of lush vegetation. Acting as an oasis in the city, these spaces add to the sustainability and marketability of this high-profile project which includes highly-efficient irrigation, quality materials, and innovative design.

August 19, 2018

MODA Center Exterior Project

August 19, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

GreenWorks provided services for the Portland Trail Blazers’ Moda Center Exterior project. The project will beautify the Center’s landscaping with native and drought-resistant plants, provide waterproofing, and replenish the grounds with healthier soils and stormwater facilities in order to reduce the site’s landscaping water use by 20-30% among other progressive initiatives. This work represents the first phase of sustainable improvements around the arena and will further the Trail Blazers’ efforts for sustainability in keeping with their ideals.

August 19, 2018

Pendleton Westgate Gateway

August 19, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

This project implemented a high-priority project identified in the Pendleton Court Avenue/River Parkway Master Plan prepared by Greenworks.

The goal of this project was to create a meaningful gateway at the Westgate entrance to downtown Pendleton. The previous conditions at the Westgate Intersection were a confusion of unsafe vehicle traffic circulation, a multitude of cluttered overhaul utilities and barren landscape slants. The City of Pendleton and ODOT reconfigured the intersection to provide safer traffic movements and reduced utility pole/lightpole clutter to create a simpler and safer intersection solution.

GreenWorks worked with the proposed intersection improvements to enhance the visual gateway aspect of the project. GreenWorks designed landscape and interpretive improvements and displayed decorative wall features to create a strong sense of arrival at this intersection. The decorative wall design was reputed at the Riverfront Park location to help tie together corridor improvements

August 17, 2018

Fernhill Wetland Master Planning and Design

August 17, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

Fernhill Wetlands is part of a 748 acre parcel near Forest Grove, OR, owned by Clean Water Services and managed in partnership with Forest Grove. The site, located within the Tualatin River Watershed, consists of agricultural fields, wastewater treatment and other public utility facilities, and several pristine wetlands which are open to the public and draw birders from far and wide who come to observe the many rare migratory bird species that stop at the wetlands during their journey.
With future plans to integrate the wetlands into the wastewater treatment process as part of a natural and sustainable cleansing and cooling approach that preserves the site’s ecological and recreational significance, Clean Water Services commissioned GreenWorks as consultants who bring extensive experience in constructed wetland and green infrastructure design. In collaboration with CWS, GreenWorks developed a master plan vision for the site which included an overall site layout consisting of treatment wetlands, roads, trails, overlooks and other public spaces; a graphic representation of the water circulation path from wastewater treatment facility all the way to the Tualatin River; accompanied by a collection of artistic photorealistic renderings from various vantage points, which will collectively be used to clearly convey design intent throughout future project phases.

The Unified Sewerage Agency contracted with GreenWorks as part of a team of engineers, biologists, and hydrologists, to develop wetland development concepts for a large-scale wetland mitigation bank, along Gales Creek in Forest Grove. The concept plan recommendations included the establishment of ash forest wetland, emergent marsh and scrub-shrub wetland, wet meadows, and oak woodland upland buffers.

August 17, 2018

Zidell Green Infrastructure

August 17, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

The 33-acre Zidell Yards site offers the first holistic, comprehensive opportunity in Portland, Oregon to identify solutions for applying green infrastructure to manage stormwater on one of the largest brownfield remediation and redevelopment sites in Portland. The goal of this effort was to develop a range of comprehensive green infrastructure scenarios consistent with the constraints of a recently remediated brownfield that can be implemented within the framework of a 15- to 20-year development master plan.

August 17, 2018

Lake Oswego 2nd Street Green Street

August 17, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

This green street project is located in the heart of downtown Lake Oswego. With the slight narrowing of the curb to curb width of the street, the City transformed the street into a beautiful modern streetscape within the core of the downtown business district. Widened sidewalks, street lights, benches, driveways, street trees, and unique stormwater planters were all delicately knitted together by the design team to deliver a streetscape project that benefits the surrounding business community while protecting the urban watershed.

Drainage Basin Analysis_LakeO_2ndStreet.jpg

August 16, 2018

Lake Oswego Demonstration Street Project

August 16, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

GreenWorks closely collaborated with an engineer and urban designer to develop a prototype street reconstruction plan that emphasized a pedestrian friendly environment. Design solutions included narrowing of lane width, replacing left turn lane with landscape median, addition of a rich variety of paving materials in pedestrian zones and placement of street furniture, ornamental street lights, street trees, and annual color accent planting. Our specific responsibilities included final design and specifying of cobblestone paving in crosswalks, pre-cast concrete pavers in parking zone, patterned concrete in pedestrian and furniture zones, as well as landscaping improvements.

August 16, 2018

Chambers Creek Wastewater Treatment Facility

August 16, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

As part of ongoing development at the 930-acre Chambers Creek Properties, GreenWorks developed schematic design and construction documents for long-term sustainable stormwater strategies integrated with perimeter landscape buffers for the existing Chambers Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant (CCWTP) wastewater treatment plant and planned expansions. Working closely with Pierce County staff, Brown & Caldwell engineers, and Michael Willis Architects, GreenWorks developed the landscape buffer concept to visually and physically screen the treatment plant.

The buffer serves to blend the treatment plant area harmoniously with the dramatic landscape of south Puget Sound, surrounding land uses and future development on and off the plant site. The design incorporates stormwater management facilities that treat plant runoff, provide new recreation trails that connect with existing trail networks, and improve wildlife habitat. The buffer must also accommodate support facilities for bus traffic and large crowds attending the 2010 PGA US Amateur’s Open and the 2015 US Open to be held on the adjacent Chambers Creek Golf Course. In addition to the perimeter buffer, GreenWorks is working on the redevelopment of the plant entrance to improve visibility and enhance circulation.

August 16, 2018

Headwaters at Tryon Creek

August 16, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

GreenWorks provided landscape architecture services in master planning a new 2.8 acre mixed residential development near the headwaters of Tryon Creek. The project includes a variety of residential types including elderly housing, town homes, and a Portland Development Commission (PDC) built low-income apartment building. All of the new residential developments, along with an existing apartment building, were designed to be integrated with the daylighting of a tributary of Tryon Creek. The development was coordinated with many local agencies (PDC, Portland Department of Transportation, Portland Parks and Recreation Bureau, and Bureau of Environmental Services) to extend the daylighting project from the headwaters of the tributary in a park adjacent to the site, through the site and adjacent neighborhood to Tryon Creek. The goal of the developer and the design team was to incorporate the buildings, parking, plazas, bridges, and other site elements into a cohesive sustainable site development that takes full advantage of this daylighting opportunity. GreenWorks services include schematic design, design development, construction documentation, and services during construction. This project is certified LEED Silver.

Headwaters at Tryon Creek_FrontPageWeb_reduced.jpg

August 16, 2018

Lane Community College Health & Wellness Center

August 16, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

GreenWorks provided site design for the new Health and Wellness Building and surrounding open space on the Lane Community College campus in Eugene, Oregon. The team was tasked with creating a dramatic, attractive and sustainable environment for the new academic building’s site. The resulting design demonstrates responsible environmental practices and creates an active “living” classroom for educational opportunities. Rainwater is captured and conveyed into bioswales, translating health and wellness to the physical landscape. The Health and Wellness Facility is located at a major entrance point to campus, making clear circulation and a sense of arrival essential to the design concept. The design connects the multiple levels and pathways surrounding the Health and Wellness Center to the rest of the campus, creating a clear entry sequence that maintains accessibility for all. The result is activated exterior spaces that engage and connect.

August 15, 2018

Expo Center Stormwater Green Wall

August 15, 2018/ Shannon Leahy

Two Story metal structure with hexagon shapes and basins filled with verdant plants

The Portland Expo Center Stormwater Green Wall is the first of its kind in the United States. It integrates sustainability, art, and science for managing stormwater runoff.

Mature sedges and star jasmine fill a metal structure on a sunny day

Designed by a team led by GreenWorks, PC, it’s an innovative and unique project representing the next step in creative stormwater management solutions. By taking roof-runoff and routing it through a series of vegetated planters mounted to a vertical wall structure, the Portland Expo Center Stormwater Green Wall, designed with many partners including Oregon Metro, isn’t a traditional bioswale or garden. Instead, it effectively uses the available vertical square footage of the existing building to provide stormwater filtration for the 9,400 square foot roof.

“Standing 30-feet tall and 60-feet long, the free-standing, artistic structure is made of steel and aluminum and is adorned with soil and vegetation native to Oregon, particularly the Columbia River Gorge.”

Because of the stormwater wall’s prominent location, it was important that the design fit within the context of the existing site and complement the existing postmodern style of architecture. This was accomplished by giving particular attention to forms and materials. The form of the stormwater channels relate to forms evident on the existing building and the hexagons provide a decorative element that ties in subtly to the EXPO Center’s logo and brand. This project was constructed in 2014.

“There’s an educational component going on here… We want to explain how this structure is more than architecture. It’s connected to good, sustainable practices and mitigates the Expo’s footprint.” - Lydia Neill, Oregon Metro

A female mallard duck was recently photographed enjoying the Wall’s lush vegetation. Since opening in 2014, the Stormwater Green Wall has flourished. After a few winters that have broken rainfall records in the Portland Metro area, the ferns, star jasmine, sedge, and other plants are thriving. We are delighted to learn that besides processing stormwater, it provides urban wildlife habitat too!