FOR ARD MOTION M
2016
AIA Southwestern Southwestern Oregon Oregon
DESIGN ANNUAL
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TrackTown: More Than Just a Meet
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Design Excellence & Community Consensus
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Our Community Looking Forward
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People’s Choice Awards Winners
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Looking Forward, Thinking Forward Stan Honn, AIA President, AIA-SWO Presented in this year’s Design Annual are highlights of recent projects by architectural firms in the local area as well as articles reflecting on developments, challenges and issues we face together as a growing community. Browse it often and thoroughly. Reread the articles in a quiet moment. Then look around with fresh eyes. Think with a fresh lens. And then react: Speak Up! As a community resident, as a property owner here, as a potential client for a future project, we encourage you to partner with us and plan for our future together. Our cities face a range of challenges related to the need to accommodate a swiftly growing population, while simultaneously improving urban livability, resiliency, protecting the natural environment and creating an ever-more vibrant economy.
You have an important role: become an advocate for rational growth. Our public infrastructure needs thoughtful planning for that growth, including our water system, our storm water and sanitary sewer systems, multi-modal transportation types, and power and telecommunications systems. Become an advocate for rational development of our urban area, with visionary planning for increased density and the implementation tools to balance individual rights with community needs. Speak Up! for the needs of our
current residents as well as generations to come. Speak up! for the needs of our environment and our planet, particularly as we implement sustainable measures to reduce the impact of climate change. Get involved in community discussions that impact the way we grow and develop. If you’re not already, become a part of the conversations to resolve conflicts in our visions of our community’s future. As you peruse this Design Annual, make note of these examples of recent work that reflect a vision of serving generations to come. Our theme of ‘Forward Motion’ reflects the reality that change is inevitable, and it’s our challenge collectively to implement that change in the most productive way possible: to improve our urban livability, to be responsible stewards of our natural environment and to provide for the economic well-being of our residents. Be informed. Think. And Speak Up! Enjoy!
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AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS | SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CHAPTER
Photo by Dave Thomas/ TrackTown USA
Hayward Field and the surrounding area were the focus of attention during the Olympic Trials last summer. Eugene will again be center stage for the 2021 World Track & Field Championships.
TrackTown Aims to Propel Eugene Forward By Curtis Anderson TrackTown USA “More than just a track meet.” For the past decade, those words have served as the unofficial mantra of TrackTown USA, Inc., a private, non-profit organization dedicated to setting a standard of excellence in the sports of track and field and running. Based in the Eugene-Springfield community, where the sport’s most passionate fan base in America resides, TrackTown USA is recognized worldwide for its innovation in staging premier track and field events, for creating a supportive environment for elite athletic performances, for inspiring the next generation and for being a leader in sustainable practices. But the mission goes beyond that.
Working in conjunction with a long list of stakeholders – many of whom were among the original visionaries and subsequent caretakers of the sport’s rich and storied tradition in Oregon – we have worked hard to build upon that legacy. We understand that the national and international events staged at Hayward Field can be leveraged for even grander purposes. Today, those goals are perfectly aligned to take advantage of the most prestigious prize of them all – the 2021 IAAF World Track & Field Championships. As most readers know, it will be the first time in history that this event will be contested on U.S. soil, and it is incumbent that we do everything within our power to capitalize on the numerous opportunities the World Championships will provide, starting now with the five-
R AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS | SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CHAPTER
year build-up. Forward Motion, indeed. So, what is possible over the next five years as we strive to meet those challenges? For us, it’s all about connections. As we come together to establish our goals in welcoming the world to Oregon for this once-in-a-lifetime sporting event, we must involve the entire state so that everyone stands to benefit from this extraordinary gift … before, during and even beyond 2021. First, we must connect with our youth. In the ongoing battle against child obesity, we want to encourage healthy lifestyles by instilling a love of the simple joys of running, jumping and throwing in boys and girls of all ages. We can do this through our support of mul-
tiple youth initiatives which harken back to the first all-comers meets at Hayward Field in the late 1940s and early 1950s. Our sport is thriving at the youth level. With a well-developed middle school and high school system, numbers show that more young people are participating in track and field than ever before. However, we can do a better job of linking those kids with our elite athletes and keeping them involved in the sport. There will be no better showcase to introduce the sport to the next generation than the amazing competition at the 2021 IAAF World Championships, which will feature 2,000 of the world’s greatest track and field stars. We can do this in a number of ways that have already proven successful in Continued on Page 12
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Community Consensus and Design Excellence By Randy Nishimura, AIA Robertson Sherwood Architects Architects may frequently be of one mind when it comes to complex issues related to design and planning. It’s also true their views are occasionally as divergent and varied as are all individuals’ opinions. In the case of what needs to be done to preserve and improve upon what makes Eugene desirable, architects cannot claim a monopoly on ideas. They have learned to listen, to consider humility a virtue, and to avoid repeating past mistakes. Architects recognize that accord on issues of public concern is hard won but worth pursuing. Building consensus is challenging, particularly in the arena of environmental and public policy. The process exposes rifts between competing interests, while highlighting the diversity of those interests and the groups involved. Whether understood or not, the parties affected are interdependent, which is why it is
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difficult and ineffective for these groups to attempt solving immeasurably complex, controversial problems on their own. Solutions are not easy and consensus seems miraculous when achieved. A significant planning success story, one built upon community education, collaboration, and consensus, is Envision Eugene. The seven pillars of Envision Eugene reflect the values of the community and are the foundation for the City of Eugene’s present and future policies, guidelines, and actions related to development of the urban environment. The seven pillars are: 1. Provide ample ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITIES for all community members 2. Provide HOUSING AFFORDABLE to all income levels 3. Plan for CLIMATE CHANGE and ENERGY RESILIENCY 4. Promote COMPACT URBAN DEVELOPMENT and EFFICIENT TRANSPORTATION OPTIONS
5. Protect, repair and enhance NEIGHBORHOOD LIVABILITY 6. Protect, restore and enhance NATURAL RESOURCES 7. Provide for ADAPTABLE, FLEXIBLE and COLLABORATIVE implementation Community involvement played an important part of the Envision Eugene project from the beginning. The City’s website details the extensive and ongoing community involvement process. Architects have participated as equal partners directly on various committees or resource groups, and provided review and input during the many public outreach opportunities. A wide spectrum of the community expressed views commonly held, and a shared vision of the city’s future exists in the form of Envision Eugene. AIA-Southwestern Oregon members generally agree with how each pillar is framed, and the city proposals to balance them while accommodating the jobs, homes, parks, and schools we
will all need as Eugene grows. The seven pillars appeal to universal values and beliefs; they’re motherhood statements few people would disagree with. Irrespective of Envision Eugene’s seven pillars, architects have an obligation to influence the community dialogue about how Eugene will look and feel tomorrow; to augment and give flesh to the principles those pillars espouse. How can architects best leverage their talent, experience, and wisdom as a force for positive change? In my opinion, architects should focus upon what they do best by emphasizing the importance of design excellence. Architects can illustrate excellent design strategies for bringing our streets to life, creating successful public spaces, and strengthening neighborhood character. They can explain the importance of working with nature by designing for climate and resiliency, celebrating imContinued on Page 14
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS | SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CHAPTER
R AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS | SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CHAPTER
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Photo by Sarah Taylor / YellowEleven Photography
Traffic on Franklin Boulevard streaks by the University of Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena in Eugene.
As Area Grows, Transportation Opportunities Must Be a Priority By Eric Gunderson, AIA President of BEST The years 2021 and 2035 are significant for our community. In 2021 the Eugene-Springfield area will host the third largest sporting event in the world; the IAAF World Track & Field Championships. Visitors from over 200 countries will need hotel rooms, restaurants, and transportation. A requirement for being selected as the host city was that Hayward Field be capable seating 30,000 people. That is only 5 years away. In about 20 years, by 2035, it is conservatively estimated that Eugene will grow by more than 30,000 people—over 50,000 if you include Springfield. Those people will need homes, jobs, schools, services, places to shop, play, and they will choose how they get around our community. Such growth is not an abstract theory: In the last 20 years Eugene grew by roughly 40,000 people and Springfield by another AIASWO.ORG
12,000. Whatever we feel about growth, changes will occur. There is a relationship between these dates other than the coincidence of the number 30,000. The World Championships will focus the attention of the world on our community. Many who visit and many more who watch through the media will see the beauty of our state and the best of our community. But the championships are also an opportunity to move ahead on some long-term goals. Housing, transportation, parks, and other public and private projects are all on our agenda. How much can be completed in the next 5 years to serve the Championships and to move toward the longer-term future of our cities? We, of course, should not fall into the trap of building only for a single event. This would be similar to the vast sums spent on Olympic venues that are more about vanity than pragmatism. But Continued on Page 13
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS | SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CHAPTER
Pushing the Boundaries of Livability in Bend By Seth Anderson, AIA Ascent Architecture & Interiors
Since 1970, when state land use laws were enacted, the population in Bend, Oregon, has grown from roughly 14,000 to a now estimated 87,014 people (as of July 2016). That strong growth trend is expected to continue, with forecasters anticipating a population of 115,000 people by 2028. This growth means Bend is acutely affected by statewide planning goals and land use laws, including the Urban Growth Boundaries. While these land use planning laws were enacted in Oregon to protect resources (farm and forest land) and public involvement in the development of land within cities and in more rural areas, one effect is that cities are required to become denser before they can expand. Accommodating Bend’s growth while yfollowing the land use planning laws requires serious and diligent planning. City
Photo by Erin Foote Morgan/Bend 2030
Finding good solutions to issues like bike lanes will be key as Bend continues to grow.
officials have nearly completed Bend’s Urban Growth Boundary expansion for the 2028 planning horizon after 12 years of work. The first attempt was completed in 2009, but was rejected by the Oregon
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Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) in 2010, their reason being that Bend needed to increase density and reduce its need for undeveloped land around the city’s boundaries. This sparked discussion in the city about Bend’s current and future character. Community members have expressed a sincere and understandable concern about increased density changing the character of Bend, which is currently dominated by single-family neighborhoods and a quaint, two- to three-story downtown. However, people continue moving to Bend for its outdoor recreation opportunities, quality of life and community character, and when that’s combined with a state limitation on urban sprawl, there is little choice but to infill and build taller buildings. It’s a catch-22 that the number of people moving to Bend for its character is the act that will affect its existing character the most.
In late 2015, AIA-SWO started working with Bend 2030, and 16 other community partner organizations. Together they developed a conference that would “Educate, Empower and Engage” the community on the future of Bend with the goal of not only maintaining but also improving livability and quality of life for Bend’s current and future residents. The four-day Bend Livability Project and one-day Bend Livability Conference were held in June 2016, and were attended by roughly 3,500 individuals. As AIA-SWO, Extra-Metro Director, I organized one of the conference sessions, titled “Lessons from Division Street: Tangible Tools for Shaping City Policy.” A panel of two members from the Division Design Initiative, a Portland neighborhood organized advocacy group, discussed ways in which community members can work with developers and Continued on Page 15
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Looking Forward
Community Members Share Their Views on Our Community’s Future
Now and in the coming decades our area faces a range of challenges related to the need to accommodate a growing population, while simultaneously improving urban livability, protecting the natural environment, and creating a more vibrant economy. The upcoming 2021 IAAF World Track & Field Championships make these challenges more vivid: the eyes of the world will be upon us. Meanwhile, high profile local events have proven that cities like Eugene and Springfield as well as others nearby have had a range of successes (and failures) in facing these challenges. This year, the Design Annual asks some community members to look ahead. In planning for growth and change, what issues should our community prioritize? How should we set goals in the short, medium, and long term?
DB
Our city needs to increase density sensitively, plan for growth to meet our future needs, and provide the full spectrum of housing needed. We should also begin to plan for a city that expands beyond the University and supports other industries.
AD
The most important things for our community to prioritize in the planning process is conservative expansion of the Urban Growth Boundary (UGB) and housing affordability and access. Conserving the UGB means that we must plan for neighborhoods that are walkable and increasing density in a way that doesn’t encroach on livability. In the short term, we need to prioritize keeping housing affordable in the core areas of Eugene and Springfield, so those most affected by the high cost of housing are not also burdened by high transportation costs. In the long term, I’d like to see our community focus on more progressive multi-modal transportation system that negates the need for so much parking, which is wasted urban space.
KP When I ran for office 12 years ago, I knocked on a lot of doors and listened to a wide variety of
Dan Bramske, AIA, NCARB Architect at Nir Pearlson Architects
folks from across the city and the political spectrum. I concluded that we all share some important values in caring about our environment, our people and our economy. This is the triple bottom line of sustainability and has to be an essential part of how we make decisions now and into the future. To that end our city incorporated these concepts into the pillars of Envision Eugene, our community plan for growth and change. This has been a long process involving a large number of our community members. We need code changes. We need to preserve our older neighborhoods, housing stock and green spaces. We need to build affordable, small and attractive housing options. I have confidence we can do this, if we work together.
JM
Priorities: Sustainability (economic, environmental, and social) will change not only the physical structures we develop, but also the industries that populate the built environment, as well as the hearts and minds of the individuals who inhabit them. Goals short-term: champion the champions, talk to the travelers, and buy local. Goals medium-term: create a grand, scalable, urban design vision and stop asking the same questions of new consultants and new trends. Goals long-term: Execute this vision whole-heartedly and fearlessly.
Anya Dobrowolski Director & Board President ToolBox Project
Kitty Piercy Mayor of Eugene
BQ
Eugene College Hill Community mural project Corner of 26th and Olive Photo by Robin Cushman
As we plan for future growth and a changing community, I believe our top priority should be sustainable housing accommodations for all citizens of Eugene. From the unhoused and low income residents, to the young professionals building their careers, and the high income earners or established residents, if our community hopes to maintain our current urban boundaries, we must open our minds and neighborhoods to smart, responsible infill and density that will allow us to meet the housing needs for all Eugeneans.
OP
This community, as it relates to the built environment, fears Growth and Change. The highest priority would be to understand that it will happen and
Joseph E. Moore, AIA Principal At GMA Architects
will need management. Understanding that this is an opportunity is key to development. Design professionals need to participate and embrace this opportunity. Design Professionals should be more creative, generate clear and appropriate examples, then actively assist and engage these changes. It is a matter of attitude. We, as a community often embrace development and change eventually. Sometimes we are too eager to accept proposals for economic reasons. Past history shows some examples that we embrace and are known to take and accept most anything. In these cases the cheaper the better wins. This I fear.
DL
Our city has the potential to be a shining example of how a small city increases its urbanity and manages growth and density within a sustainable framework. We should work on setting up that framework for urban growth now, enact that plan in the coming years and in the long run we will reap the rewards of living in an exemplary small urban city of tomorrow.
Currently, what are our community’s biggest development challenges? What are opportunities?
DB
Developing problem areas: EWEB riverfront, filling in downtown’s holes, densification of existing commercial strips (River Road, West 11th, South Willamette, etc.)
Brittany Quick-Warner Eugene Area Chamber of Commerce and Small Business Owner, Blue Bus Creatives
Lucy Vinis Mayor-Elect of Eugene
AD
Our City in currently confronted with a lot of resistance from current residents to the inevitable changes we are already seeing in Eugene/Springfield. The recently adopted Clark-Brown has the potential to hold back our community’s ability to have compact urban growth happen at the pace we need to accommodate new residents affordably. The greatest opportunity lies with building trust between residents and City staff, as a starting point before we continue critical community conversations about our future.
KP We are challenged by fear and resistance to change, especially when it affects us personally. We are challenged in effectively using the space we have, in livable and pleasing ways. New development should add value and enhance the neighborhoods we already have. We need to update our planning documents, codes, and policies to reflect current social, economic and environmental challenges and opportunities, to remove barriers. We need innovation and creativity in a time when many people cannot afford housing of any kind.
JM
Development Challenges: Being too precious. At times it seems we’re trading our talents for fears excellence should provide the inspiration and motivation to act and innovate, not suppress our courage. Development Opportunities: There are many great industries in Eugene. I think the Art, Design, Manufacturing, Outdoor, and Food and Beverage Industries align well with our local spirit, which has deep roots. All of these industries present the greatest opportunities to catalyze development and vibrancy.
BQ I think our biggest development challenge as a community is the rhetoric and negative attitude, of some community members, towards change and growth. This manifests itself in conversations about growth of industry, changes in neighborhoods, and development
Otto P. Poticha, FAIA, NCARB Professor of Practice, University of Oregon, Architecture Department
downtown. However, as more citizens, especially young professionals, engage in conversations about the future of Eugene, I see tremendous opportunity for dense, walkable, sustainable and responsible development that is supported and encouraged by a majority of our community.
LV
The biggest challenge is translating our agreed upon goals, as stated in the seven pillars of Envision Eugene, into changes on the ground. Increasing density radiating along our transit corridors is a key element of giving more people the option of biking, walking and taking the bus, as well as helping us meet our climate recovery goals to reduce our consumption of fossil fuels. We have an opportunity to think about these changes as ways to make life better for all of us to improve our stock of housing in ways that are more energy efficient and comfortable, to give more citizens a choice of transportation, and to improve connectivity within neighborhoods and across the city.
KK We still face a tremendous opportunity, and challenge, in downtown. We need a lot more people living and working in the city center, and to gain critical mass agreement to wards making the changes that we need. Downtown should be a neighborhood that people take pride in and where we’re sharing space intentionally. The health of downtown still determines much of our overall economic health, and it has a big part to play in accommodating growth. But time has real value in this equation. We can’t wait 8 or 10 years to take another small step forward.
DL
Right now, our biggest challenge is in how we leverage what we are already accomplishing. While Simultaneously improving lacking areas. We should double down on our investments in areas like the arts, industries and food. In broad categories like technology, sustainable development and transportation infrastructure, we need to increase investment.
Kaarin Kundson, AIA Architect at Rowell Brokaw Architects
David Lieberman Student at the UO department of Architecture and the Allied Arts
How can our community better resolve conflicts that arise between competing visions for our city’s future?
DB
We need to continue to publicize all parts of growth plans, and obtain both general population and professional buy-in of projects. We need a City that can be sensitive to listen to all, but strong enough to move forward with projects.
AD
City staff needs to spend more time engaging with neighborhood leaders and residents need to actually show up when their opinions are solicited. City Council and the Mayor also need to show up when staff hold meetings to solicit input from the community.
KP In order to improve, we need to collectively give permission to try new ways of doing things. Sometimes we will err and that is how we learn. Fear of erring can cause no movement at all. In that case we cede planning to fate, and reaction is all that’s left. We need to listen more broadly and deeply and to plan together. Excellent communication is key. We
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need to be guided by love of community, optimism, and confidence that we can do this. I don’t think most of our visions are very different. It’s how we get there that provokes questions.
JM
I think we need to embrace conflict as an inherent aspect of planning, design, and improvement. We should be patient, listen carefully, and honestly assess the assumptions and beliefs that lead to conflict. Then, we should identify priorities, create a plan, and stick to it.
BQ
Communicate, communicate, communicate. Many of the conflicts that arise within the community are a product of misunderstanding and lack of communication. I believe the most important role our elected officials play is of a liaison between city staff and their neighborhoods and constituents. We need to improve our civic communication in to the 21st century with creative and innovative outreach methods that promote informed, open-minded civic engagement. By embracing technology and meeting people where they are with the information they need to stay informed and engaged, we can avoid
frustration and heart ache in the 11th hour and instead develop solutions that have been vetted along the way.
LV
Most members of our community are more aligned in their vision than it might seem. As I walk and talk to residents in neighborhoods across town, people everywhere express pride in the unique and wonderful attributes of their neighborhoods. Everyone wants to retain what is good – parks, bike lanes, neighborhood schools, access to shopping, and lots of trees. If we keep in mind that we are more alike than different, then we have a much greater capacity to listen to one another. That said, the burden is on city staff and elected officials to be clear, deliberative, timely and responsive in our communications and public gatherings to ensure that people have a chance to speak and to feel that their perspective contributes to the outcome.
OP
Conflict is good and often is the result of being creative and imaginative. It spurs meaningful discussion and leads to a true understanding of the problem and the solutions. The resultants are
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS | SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CHAPTER
solutions that uniquely relate and are particular to our community.
KK
In my experience, when the whole community has good information, good things can happen. A lot of our conflicts seem to be generated out of frustration. We could avoid at least some of that by communicating more effectively. And then I think we need to look for good compromises and focus on common ground. Conflict is normal, but being paralyzed by it is not. We need to keep moving forward.
DL
The School of Architecture and Allied Arts (A&AA) is an incredible asset that the City of Eugene needs to utilize more. Filled with a diverse knowledge and skills sets, based on fields associated with urban environments. A&AA unified by the arts and design, is uniquely capable of providing guidance and support to the City as it grapples with issues of growth, urbanity and the built environment. In your vision for a future Eugene/Springfield, what is the most notable feature/quality?
DB
A small town feel (short commute times, quick access to the surrounding countryside, mountains, lakes, and rivers), with a dense core, and a variety of housing for all income levels, family sizes, and typologies (single-family, multi-family, etc.)
AD
Neighborhoods centered on fun, beautiful, walkable, bikeable mixed-use corridors, like the vision we had for South Willamette.
KP My ideal is that we protect the natural and built assets that we care about,which drew many of us. Also that our neighborhoods remain strong, healthy and attractive, and that change only enhances that.
BQ
As cliché as it sounds, I deeply desire to live in a community where we see every community member for who they are and treat others how we would want to be treated, regardless of their situation. I think this means being compassionate and also holding each other to higher standards of civility and responsibility to contribute however they can. I also want this area to be a place where young,
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talented people want to move to and put down roots and local talent wants to stay.
LV
I moved to Eugene over 25 years ago because I wanted to live in a city that valued its landscape.
OPAttitude/ pride in our accomplishments/ trust/ imagination/creativity/appropriate solutions
KK
There is a beautiful river that unites us, and our cities should be of equal quality. I’d like to see a world-class trail system that builds on the investments made 30 and 40 years ago. This should be the easiest place in the world to commute to work, and go for a 20-mile trail run with the option to take an after-work walk in the woods.
DL
Eugene is such a beautiful city with strong ties to the outdoors. While focusing on its increasing urbanity, Eugene should leverage its location on the Willamette River and utilize this asset to make a clean, sustainable and lush new urban center. Editor’s note: These responses have been edited for length and clarity by Karen E. Williams, AIA
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For TrackTown, 2021 World Championships is About Connections T Continued From Page 3 previous meets – free admission for underserved children, athlete outreach into public schools, opportunities to compete on the same track as their heroes, specialized clinics, autograph sessions, photo ops and other fun activities. This ongoing effort to forge lifelong bonds between our youth and athletes will be a cornerstone for the sport’s future in the U.S. Second, we should use the World Championships as a connection point for Oregon businesses to shine on a global stage. We know the event will be a boon for our state’s economy. With a Hayward Field temporarily expanded to host over 30,000 people, we are confident that thousands of visitors from around Oregon, the United States and, indeed, the world will attend the World Championships in our community. That’s great news for our lodging, restaurant, transportation and tourism industries, but how will other businesses get involved? Consider this: In the five-year build-up to the event, creative agencies will be used to develop branding and promotional campaigns; equipment suppliers will be needed to provide tents, tables, chairs and other infrastructure; architects and contractors will be utilized for electrical, mechanical and general construction work; the television industry will deliver broadcast personnel; and the medical community
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Photo by Dave Thomas/ TrackTown USA
Young girls wave shortly after an 100M exhibition during the Olympic Trials, one of many youth initiatives held in conjunction with the meet.
will be tasked with taking care of the world’s best athletes. And, one of the biggest impacts will occur after the World Championships have completed, when local businesses will be able to boast to their clients about their involvement in this transformational event. It will be a powerful story to tell. Finally, the marketing opportunities surrounding this event are staggering, and we must ensure that the entire state is able to connect with those messages. There will be approximately 3,000 credentialed media from around the world covering the event, and the televi-
sion broadcast signal will be transmitted to all corners of the planet, and images of Oregon will fill their screens.
In the weeks leading up to the World Championships, before the Olympic-style Athlete Village on the University of Oregon campus is open, many of the larger national federations – including Team USA – will want to set up training camps so their athletes can acclimate to the Pacific time zone. We will work together to encourage those teams to establish their training camps in Oregon. We’re also exploring all avenues of cross-promoting the World Championships with cultural and artistic enterprises that we might want to showcase to a global audience. The City of Eugene, of course, has already taken the first step by establishing the 20x21 mural project in which they are commissioning local and world artists to create 20 murals in the lead-up to the 2021 World Championships. That’s a tremendous start. Now, it’s up to all of us to decide what that forward motion looks like in the next five years.
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS | SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CHAPTER
Transit Options are a Must Continued From Page 6 athletics and track and field are shared values that could be catalysts for lasting enhancements. TrackTown USA, the University of Oregon, and City of Eugene are currently exploring projects needed to host the World Championships. Transportation and housing are examples of projects that are on our long-term wish list but which could be leveraged by the World Championships. In reading about how other communities have dealt with large events, I learned that some have built multi-family affordable housing temporarily used for visitors and athletes. Once the event is over, the units were converted to their original intention but with the benefit of the income paid by event visitors. This is an innovative financing method that would increase the feasibility of affordable housing. Transportation is an obvious need for the large number of visitors coming to the
Championships. Lane Transit District is currently working with the community to plan the next segments of EmX bus rapid transit. In Eugene, the MovingAhead project is studying four corridors to determine where to pursue EmX bus rapid transit or other improvements. The goal is to be strategic about which corridors make the most sense as community investments in enhanced transit service. In Springfield, the Main-McVay Transit Study is investigating possible safety and transit improvements along Main Street and McVay Highway to Lane Community College. These efforts could take us a long way to constructing the 60 miles of bus rapid transit envisioned in our longterm transportation plan. `In addition, the most successful EmX corridor, between Eugene and Springfield, is constrained in places by having just a single lane. There is room for a second lane which would allow more frequent service. This would be an advantage for service to Hayward Field and the University both for upcom-
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Planning for transportation options need to take into account mass transit, autos, bike lanes, and pedestrian traffic.
Photo Courtesy of PIVOT Architecture
ing events and for the future. We are struggling with how our city can accommodate future growth. Our common agreement is that we should be judicious about adding land to the UGB meaning we would first make use of existing land for new homes and businesses. The struggle has come with how to locate higher densities where they impact existing neighborhoods. Transit is funda-
mental to efficient use of land and to our ability to maintain existing quality neighborhoods and to fashion vibrant new parts of our community. By transit I mean a range of transportation choices including autos, buses, bikes, and pedestrian. By working together to incorporate complete streets which accommodate all modes of transportation we create a healthy, safe and vibrant community.
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Forming Design Excellence Around Community Consensus Continued From Page 4 portant natural features, and enhancing the regional habitat network. They can describe why it is important to evoke a sense of place and work with the genius loci by embracing Eugene’s most successful patterns. They certainly can emphasize that design excellence is a means to achieve a desirable urban density because not all density is created equal. The key to consensus buy-in by Eugeneans is enhancing their appreciation, through information and education, for the benefits of good urban form and compact growth. The place where urban planning and design excellence meet is not at an edge; instead, there is an overlap that is substantial and growing. Planning alone—conducted in the absence of an understanding of its physical con-
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sequences—is insufficient to foster a beautiful, sustainable, and livable city. It should be our goal to nurture a culture of design excellence in which citizens equate the quality of the built environment with the quality of their lives. This culture would embrace ingenuity, artistry, and the ineffable properties we immediately recognize as design genius. Ideally, we will see our neighbors demand, value, and appreciate design excellence. If this happens, architects will have contributed in a way only architects can, to truly important and significant effect. Looking forward, AIA-SWO members will work to further ongoing dialogue and consensus building about critical topics associated with the built environment. If our participation constructively supports enlightened policy-making and greater public appreciation for the value of good design, we’ll have done our job well.
Photo Courtesy of Randy Nishimura / Robertson Sherwood Architects
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS | SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CHAPTER
AIA-SWO, Bend Organizations Shape its Future Continued From Page 7 shape city policy to preserve neighborhood character. Their initiative culminated in a comprehensive Draft Division Design Guide that clearly articulates design goals and community design preferences for their neighborhoods. The session encouraged community members to get involved with their
sanctioned City of Bend Neighborhood Associations to discuss design goals for each of their unique neighborhoods. One of the initiatives coming out of the Bend Livability Project is the Housing Policy Workgroup, a group of partnering organizations, including AIA-SWO, focused on finding unique solutions to Bend’s shortage of housing in the mid-range market. The workgroup hired a project manag-
R AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS | SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CHAPTER
er and analyst to develop policy recommendations and Bend-specific solutions to our housing shortage. The workgroup, which includes architects, local housing developers, the city, the Central Oregon Association of Realtors, the Central Oregon Builders Association, and the regional housing authority, will spend the next 12 to 18 months combining those policy recommendations with their own expertise to design solutions that work for Bend. Using Bend as a case study illustrates how architects are poised to provide well-designed solutions to the sometimes competing interests of density and livability. Architects will be called on to create the mixed-use projects and multi-family housing projects that will house our growing our population, and it will be up to us to make sure density is carefully planned and executed so that neighborhood character and livability is enhanced rather than diminished. As a profession, we believe we are up to the challenge.
Photo by Erin Foote Morgan/Bend 2030
AIASWO.ORG
People’s Choice Award Winners Each year, the AIA-SWO and ASLA sponsor these awards to educate and inspire our fellow citizens by showcasing architecture, interiors, and landscape architecture projects which are created within the chapter area.
COMMERCIAL
INTERIORS
Coburg Medical — TBG Architects
Howard Elementary — PIVOT Architecture
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE
MULTI-FAMILY HOUSING
STUDENT / EMERGING
Courtyard Revival— Stangeland
Boathouses — Dustrud Architecture
Clean Air — Poston, Kern, & Rayle
SINGLE FAMILY R ESIDENTIAL
PUBLIC / INSTITUTIONAL
UNBUILT PROJECTS
Push | Pull House — Speranza Architecture
Serenity Lane — TBG Architects
Den @ Emerald Village — envelop design
AIASWO.ORG
Sponsors: • Advance Cabinet Designs • Arbor South Architecture • Builders Electric • Dustrud Architecture • Rexius • Rubensteins’s • Skyline Fine Cabinets & Furniture • Stone Works International Inc.
AMERICAN INSTITUTE OF ARCHITECTS | SOUTHWESTERN OREGON CHAPTER