Retrospection

Expressing the Immigrant Story

Retrospection is a social justice center in Portland, Oregon, designed in response to the needs and goals of the non-profit organization, The Immigrant Story. Portland has a rich and complex immigration history. For decades, Portland has provided a home and community for a diverse range of immigrant groups from Japan, China, Mexico, etc. This immigration fostered a place dense with culture; unfortunately, this contribution was not always valued or welcomed. The Immigrant Story seeks to rectify Portland’s historic disregard and underappreciation for the immigrant and refugee population by honoring their tremendous strength and persistence through storytelling. Storytelling has always been a way to nurture empathy and understanding. Retrospection provides a tangible place for this to occur. The large pillars erected in Tom McCall Waterfront Park are a visual reminder to the community of the strong and permanent presence of immigrants in Portland, occupying their space beautifully and powerfully. As you proceed closer, you are gestured toward the structure framed by the city grid and invited by the stairs to explore below grade. There, you will find a celebration of differences and spaces designed to inspire compassion. It is a space to inform the public of the hardships that immigrants have endured, the violence and racism, to acknowledge that experience, and recognize them for their courage. Up the stairs and in the park, the ground has been sculpted to form small hills which emanate light from the program below. They give movement to the landscape, mimicking the rippling water of the river beside it, inviting onlookers to traverse the undulant terrain. Retrospection invites the community to embrace the city’s diverse heritage and provide recognition where it is deserved.

F’22_Arch 401

Integrated Studio

Partner: Arden Stapella

Professor: Nathan Griffith, Brian Warthen, Nick Lindsley, Khalid Khan

Grade Plan showcasing monumental staircase connection of city to water, playful mounded light well interaction, and adjacencies to site

Main Level Plan

Program includes: Exhibition space, auditorium, community/volunteer rooms, and podcast rooms. The outside zone affords outdoor ampitheatre space or extended exhibition space.

Mounded lightwell creates playful interaction on ground level and provides light to spaces below. Structure innovates the slab for longer spans. Translucent stone used to appear monolithic during the day and maintain its presence through light during the night.

Radiant floor heating and cooling alongside floor HVAC to declutter cieling condition.