Noah Green's Thesis Studio Monograph

URBAN WATER STEWARDSHIP A PORTLAND CLEANWATER RESEARCH LABORATORY

COMPREHENSIVE STUDIO PROJECT BY NOAH GREEN

URBAN WATER STEWARDSHIP

ABSTRACT 2 PROJECT CONTEXT 4 MASTER PLAN AND VISION 8 PROGRAM 18 PROJECT SITE 20 BUILDING DESIGN 32 BUILDING TECTONICS 50

2

ABSTRACT Re-envisioning a pivotal brownfield site on Portland’s waterfront into an urban-water research laboratory. Portland, Oregon Portland’s greatest aquatic asset, the Willamette River, has long been polluted and poorly cared for. Up and down the Willamette River are industrial sites, some still in use and others abandoned, that contaminate and damage the quality of the water. These changes have significant implications for irrigation, consumption, and aquatic ecosystems. Additionally,

access to the Willamette River in Portland is limited, at best, and non-existent in most instances.

Rehabilitating damaged industrial sites into valuable social and communal realms is critical to the health and wellbeing of urban environments and those who use them.

This thesis investigates redeveloping a damaged brownfield site into a usable public space and how the qualities of water can inform the architecture of a program dedicated to the use of water in urban environments. The Ross

Island Sand & Gravel site at the foot of the Ross Island Bridge is an excellent candidate for research laboratory.

The locations redesign as a Cleanwater Research Laboratory seeks to: •

• •

populate a prominent urban waterfront site in Portland with an engaging cultural institution create access and usable public park space along the Willamette River act as a catalyst project for socially-responsible design in an industrial zone

3

VISION FOR A NEW PORTLAND WATERFRONT

4

PROJECT CONTEXT The city of Portland has long held a high standard for water quality and stewardship.

Past generations ensured that prior to the present time this standard would continue to be met. The City has a responsibility to maintain a high level of water stewardship and care – to the benefit of the people of the Portland metropolitan region.

Reaching the level of highquality stewardship set forth by prior caretakers will not be

easy. Portland’s greatest aquatic asset, the Willamette River, has long been polluted and poorly cared for. The Central Eastside’s stormwater and wastewater overflow directly into the river during large storms. Up and down the Willamette River are industrial sites, some still in use and others abandoned, that contaminate and damage the quality of the water. The economic vitality of Oregon is reliant on water.

Supply and demand for water is changing and climatic conditions

are evolving. These changes have significant implications for irrigation, consumption, hydropower generation, and aquatic ecosystems. Additionally, access to the Willamette River in Portland is limited at best, and non-existent in most instances.

Rehabilitating damaged industrial sites into valued social spaces is critical to the health and wellbeing of urban environments and the people who live and work in them.

5

GREAT BLUE HERON, WILLAMETTE RIVER

6

ROSS ISLAND SAND & GRAVEL OPERATIONS, WILLAMETTE RIVER

7

WILLAMETTE RIVER WATERFRONT, SOUTHEAST PORTLAND

8

MASTER PLAN AND VISION The Tilikum Crossing area of Portland is ripe for future development and planning. The Portland River Plan intends to transform the Central Eastside to be a highly urban regional center with a waterfront that serves as the city’s main civic space and as a regional attraction. Access to the river and public use of the water will improve through new development and public transportation.

The Tilikum District Master Plan will revitalize the neighborhood through mixed-

use development and urban rejuvenation. The plan will work to replace buildings in the industrial area with mixed-use apartments, live-work offices, and makerspaces. The plan also will reduce the size of the superblocks in the area to the typical Portland block module (200’ x 200’) so as to increase the overall walkability in the neighborhood and increase opportunities for street-adjacent program types. The new street infrastructure will incorporate different street typologies to increase access within the neighborhood for pedestrians,

cyclists, and people traveling by public transportation. Finally, the master plan will develop the waterfront between OMSI and the Ross Island Bridge into an ‘innovation corridor’, establishing spaces for the Portland Opera and the Cleanwater Research Laboratory. These institutions will open up the waterfront and allow public access to the Willamette River through public site elements. These spaces will act as a catalyst development for waterfront plans to come.

9

PORTLAND CITY CENTER

WILLAMETTE RIVER

TILIKUM DISTRICT

SITE OF STUDY

10

EXISTING TILIKUM DISTRICT

11

PROPOSED MASTER PLAN

12

LINK DIVISION TO WATERFRONT

DEVELOP POWELL DEVELOP NORTH WATERFRONT

BROWNFIELD SITE CLEAN-UP

TILIKUM DISTRICT 15 YEAR PLAN

13

DEVELOP CORE OF MIXED-USE

DEVELOP SOUTH WATERFRONT

DEVELOP MAKER-SPACE

TILIKUM DISTRICT 30 YEAR PLAN

14

WATERFRONT TILIKUM MAX STATION TILIKUM WATER-TAXI STATION

5 MINUTE WALK 10 MINUTE WALK

DIVISION BUS SERVICE EASTBANK ESPLANADE WATERFRONT TRAIL

TILIKUM BUS SERVICE

ROSS ISLAND PARK POWELL BUS SERVICE SPRINGWATER CORRIDOR

NEW TILIKUM DISTRICT WATERFRONT ACCESS

15

INNOVATION MIXED-USE MAKER-SPACE

NEW TILIKUM DISTRICT PROGRAM TYPES

TILIKUM DISTRICT STREET TYPOLOGIES SIDEWALK

TWO LANE ALLEY

PEDESTRIAN

HIGHWAY VIADUCT

PEDESTRIAN ALLEY

SIDEWALK

PEDESTRIAN STREET

SIDEWALK

16

VIADUCT

SOFTSCAPE

PATH

MIXED-CORRIDOR

SOFTSCAPE

SIDEWALK

ON STREET PARKING

TWO LANE STREET

STORMWATER SWALE

TWO WAY BIKE LANE

SIDEWALK

17

BLOCK-INTERIOR

18

PROGRAM Regional conditions and objectives suggest that the Institute for Water and Watersheds is an ideal organization for the Central Eastside redevelopment. A Cleanwater Research Laboratory dedicated to water research and stewardship would be of great asset to the city of Portland and the greater metropolitan area.

Current and future students and faculty involved with the Institute for Water and Watersheds at Oregon State would significantly benefit from

a satellite facility in Portland. A Portland facility would provide opportunity for water research in a dense urban metropolitan area and facilitate increased ease of collaboration with water researchers, managers, and planners.

for more specialized research to be conducted than what may be conducted in Corvallis. The facility will provide labs and collaborative rooms for cleanwater scientists and water quality researchers.

This program will also be shared with students from Oregon State University’s Water Resources The site on the Willamette graduate program. Students will River will provide an urban have the opportunity to further facility to serve the needs of develop skills and knowledge in the Institute for Water and water resources engineering, Watersheds. The facility will water sciences, and policy and provide the organization with management. a base of operations within a heavily urbanized area - allowing

19

SPACE exhibit hall

SIZE 4000

OCCUPANCY 60

DESCRIPTION

ECS

SPATIAL RELATIONSHIPS

large presentation room with accommodations for students and faculty

indirect sunlight

public space that acts as building entry

small lab spaces with support rooms

indirect sunlight and HVAC system

private space adjacent to offices and dry labs

small dry lab space

indirect sunlight

private space

wet labs

4000

25

dry labs

2000

20

open office

2000

30

small office space with work stations for 30 employees

indirect sunlight

private space with connection to lab work areas

classrooms

2000

60

two small classrooms for discussion and presentations

indirect sunlight

private spaces with selfadjacencies

resource center

2000

20

small library area with study room

indirect sunlight

semi-private space with adjacency to classrooms

60

meeting spaces with gathering tables and presentationcapabilities

indirect sunlight

semi-public, adjacent to offices spaces and lobby

15

small private lounge with social area and basic dining and food prep

indirect sunlight

private space adjacent to classrooms and labs

conference

break room

2000

1000

backhouse support

4000

sub-total

23000

20% unassigned

4600

total

27000

provide mechanical support, location for truck deliveries, and storage

adjacent to respective spaces

20

PROJECT SITE The Cleanwater Research Laboratory seeks to redevelop two brownfield sites into usable public spaces along the Willamette River. The site will feature park spaces of varying scales and different spatial qualities to provide recreation spaces for people who live and work in the neighborhood and for

people who are traveling along the Eastbank Esplanade trail. The site also seeks to connect the Eastbank Esplanade trail with the Springwater Corridor via a trail running along the waterfront, rather than rerouting the trail though the neighborhood, as it does now. Plazas and terraces will be incorporated along the trail

to provide people with places to sit, eat, and contemplate along the river. Remnants of Ross Island Sand & Gravel operations on the south side of the site will remain to inform visitors of the industrial history of the site, shape outdoor rooms, and act as sculptural pieces within the park.

21

22

BARGE CRANES

ROSS ISLAND SAND & GRAVEL EQUIPMENT

23

ROSS ISLAND SAND & GRAVEL EQUIPMENT

UNSTABLE SEA WALL

24

SITE PLAN

25

SITE SECTION

SITE SECTION

26

EXPOSED

PEDESTRIAN CIRCULATION

BICYCLE ROUTES

INTERMEDIATE

HEAVY

INTIMATE

LIGHT HARDSCAPE ANCHORS

SPATIAL QUALITY

MOVEMENT

EXPOSED

INTERMEDIATE

INTERMEDIATE

STATIONARY

PROTECTED SOLAR EXPOSURE

ACTIVITY

EXPOSED

VEHICLE ACCESS

SITE DIAGRAMS

VIEW DISTANCE

REVEALED

INTERMEDIATE

OBSTRUCTED

PROTECTED

WIND EXPOSURE

27

VIEW FROM NORTH

28

VIEW FROM RIVER

29

TULE

BUR-REED

CATTAIL

ALDER

COTTONWOOD

+30.00

+20.00

+10.00

HIGH WATER LOW WATER

+0.00

YELLOW IRIS

SITE PLANTING STRATEGY

PANICLED BULRUSH

OVATE SPIKERUSH

DOGWOOD

30

CONCRETE

INDUSTRIAL ARCHEOLOGY

PAVERS

31

VIEW FROM SOUTH

32

BUILDING DESIGN The design investigation into program and form favored a design concept that incorporated the physical properties of water in the building and the program.

The physical properties of water parallel key ideas about the project and the idea of an institute dedicated to water quality and stewardship. Water undergoes metaphorhis the same way water research strategies must adapt to a changing climate and local urbanization.

The characteristics of water’s physical form communicate a level of transparency and

purity – similar to the values of service and integrity that public organizations strive to uphold.

The metaphorical qualities of fluidity and water informed the spatial and tectonic qualities in the Cleanwater Research Laboratory.

The spatial organization of the Cleanwater Research Laboratory creates a constant connection between the users and the Willamette River. The building takes the shape of an arc with the interior of the arc focusing to the west in the direction of the

river. A large gallery runs the length of the building and acts as a spatial volume between the rest of the program and the river, providing circulation and views throughout the building. The remaining program, the wet labs, dry labs, classrooms, and other support spaces are adjacent to the hallway and provide users with views to the east and west of the building. A mezzanine is positioned above a portion of the building and provides spaces for conference rooms and an open office.

33

CONCEPT IMAGERY

34

STUDY MODELS

35

36

PARTI DIAGRAMS

37

38

0

GROUND FLOOR

16

32

64

128

39

MEZZANINE

40

BUILDING SECTION - EXHIBIT HALL

41

BUILDING SECTION - OFFICE

42

BUILDING SECTION - WET LAB

43

BUILDING SECTION - CLASSROOM

44

GATHER PRACTICE STUDY

RHYTHM

PROGRAM

45

46

PRIMARY

SPACE TYPOLOGY

SERVED

SECONDARY

SERVANT

TERTIARY

ACCESS

47

48

PUBLIC PRIVATE

VIEWS

PRIVACY

49

50

BUILDING TECTONICS The physical qualities of fluidity and water are apparent in the form of the roof. The entire building is covered by a single surface that rises in elevation as it moves to the north and undulates at aperiodic intervals – creating a visual quality similar to flowing water. The roof overhangs on all sides of the building to provide passive shading when needed and to create an outdoor spatial volume at the perimeter of the building. Stainless steel panels are an ideal material for the roof because of their reflective quality, durable life-span, and ability to be bent into curved forms.

to create the undulating effect in the roof system. The exposed structure on the interior of the Cleanwater Research Laboratory speaks to the technical nature of the program and instills a sense of honesty about the building construction and tectonics. The space frame canopy is supported by metal tube columns. The columns are spaced at a consistent interval through the building and create a sense of rhythm and cadence.

Exterior walls are constructed using a curtain wall system that spans from the ground to the roof above. Glass The roof is supported by fins are used as the structural an exposed steel space frame system for the curtain wall. The structural system. Space frames alternatives such as a more aluminum mullion were a preferred candidate for traditional structure because they can span system would clutter views of long distances and can be used the river and complicate the

appearance of the exterior walls.

An operable aluminum louver system protects the exposed glass walls on the southwest and northwest facades during sunny days. During overcast and rainy days the louvers can remain open and increase views of the river and the west side of Willamette waterfront.

The interior walls, aside from the four shear walls, do not reach the space frame canopy above. The result is a single, shared volume under an undulating roof.

The effect creates a cohesive atmosphere in the Cleanwater Research Laboratory building that splits the focus of the users between their work and the views of the Willamette River outside.

51

VIEW OF HALLWAY

52

STEEL

BAMBOO

GLASS

53

54

UNDULATING ROOF, STAINLESS STEEL PANELS SPACE FRAME STRUCTURE, STEEL WITH FINISH OPERABLE ALUMINUM LOUVERS, MOUNTED TO CURTAIN WALL

EXTERIOR CURTAIN WALL, SUPPORTED BY GLASS FINS

STEEL TUBE COLUMNS, AND STEEL SHEAR CABLES

MEZZANINE LEVEL, PARTITION WALLS AND HARDWOOD

GROUND LEVEL, PARTITION AND SHEAR WALLS

EXPLODED AXONOMETRIC OF BUILDING TECTONICS

55

56

GRASSHOPPER DEFINITION

57

58

STAINLESS STEEL PANEL STEEL FURRING RIGID INSULATION METAL DECK ALUMINUM CEILING PANEL STEEL CHANNEL FRAME CONNECTION BRACKET BUILDING MECHANICAL SYSTEM

STEEL SPACE FRAME NODES STEEL SPACE FRAME CHORDS SPACE FRAME CONNECTION PLATE TUBE STEEL COLUMN

OPERABLE ALUMINUM LOUVER SYSTEM GLASS CURTAIN WALL GLASS FIN MULLION

BAMBOO FLOOR STRUCTURAL SLAB POLISHED CONCRETE CONCRETE PAVER

GRAVEL RIGID INSULATION FOUNDATION WITH PILING, BEYOND

SCALE : 1/2” = 1’ - 0”

ENVELOPE DETAIL

59

60

VIEW OF WET LAB

61

62

NOAH M. GREEN contact: 503.442.1559 noahg@uoregon.edu