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Architect Robert Frasca, FAIA, founding design partner of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects (ZGF) and an influential figure on Portland and Oregon's architectural scene for several decades, has died on January 3 at the age of 84. ZGF has released the following obituary: It is with great sadness that... View full entry
This week, Donna and Ken are joined by Indianapolis architect and ARE Sketches author, Lora Teagarden. Lora is an architect with RATIO Architects and L^2 Design. On this podcast, we'll be discussing three news items from the website. First up is the controversy around the proposal for the... View full entry
William Kaven Architecture recently revealed their proposed design for the US Postal Site redevelopment project in downtown Portland, Oregon. Currently in the conceptual design stage, the firm has fleshed out major goals for Portland's central site. William Kaven have proposed a multi high rise... View full entry
"By investing in Framework, our city will now be home to the first skyscraper made from wood in the United States. This project not only reflects Oregon’s leadership in the newly emerging wood products industry of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), it also demonstrates our city’s commitment to finding innovative ways to quickly deliver affordable units during our housing crisis,” said Portland Mayor, Ted Wheeler. — Portland Housing Bureau
LEVER Architecture's project, Framework, has been awarded 6M from the city of Portland as a recipient of the City's "Fast Starts" Affordable Housing Program. The program aims at providing financial and city level assistance in the development and deployment of affordable housing projects that aim... View full entry
“Whether there is or is not a Northwest regional style of architecture is debatable,” said John Yeon in 1986, “but what is certain is that lot of people want to think there is.” — Places Journal
In "A Fortuitous Shadow," Keith Eggener is inspired by the Portland Art Museum's recent exhibition on John Yeon's life and legacy to explore the concept of regionalism in architecture, beginning with the doubts expressed by the architect long associated with Pacific Northwest regional modernism. View full entry
One of the new luxury apartment buildings constructed in 1910 was the Belmont Court, on the city’s growing East Side. Plans called for a modern 24 unit-apartment building with a range of conveniences. More than a century later, the Belmont Court building still stands...According to Zillow, average apartment rents in Portland are about $1,600 per month. With studio apartments renting at just under $1,100 they’re not exactly cheap, but they cost less per square foot than newly built units. — CityObservatory
Drawing on research from housing blogger, Iain MacKenzie who runs Next Portland, Joe Cortright at CityObservatory shares some examples of affordable housing in Portland that had been considered luxury when originally constructed. The author argues that affordable housing has always been generated... View full entry
Launched in 1999, the inaugural Pickathon Music Festival was not so much a festival, but rather a small fundraiser for KBOO—a non-profit community radio station. Held in the woods nearby Portland, Oregon, the now annual summer event has grown into a sellout affair with lineups including Beach... View full entry
In each room, Ms. Gabe, tucked safely under an umbrella, could press a button that activated a sprinkler in the ceiling. The first spray sent a mist of sudsy water over walls and floor. A second spray rinsed everything. Jets of warm air blew it all dry. The full cycle took less than an hour. Runoff escaped through drains in Ms. Gabe’s almost imperceptibly sloping floors. It was channeled outside and straight through her doghouse, where the dog was washed in the bargain. — The New York Times
More than half a century ago, incensed by the housecleaning that was a woman’s chronic lot, Ms. Gabe began to dream of a house that would see to its own hygiene: tenderly washing, rinsing and drying itself at the touch of a button. Ms. Gabe built the self-cleaning house with her own hands and... View full entry
But it’s the tattoo that holds him. It runs from her wrist up her right arm, covering it wholly, and disappears into the shoulder of the dress, a complicated design in fresh, bright colors he cannot make out in a single glance. — Numéro Cinq
"Portland" is a short story about an architect, and an odd one. While set in Portland, Boullée's Cenotaph for Sir Isaac Newton is visited, along with an elaborate tattoo. Another excerpt: He is—or was—an architect for a large firm with a reputation in San Jose that has had several scores... View full entry
Designed by LEVER Architecture, Framework Building aims at promoting sustainable building practices and economic opportunity for a sustainable urban-rural ecology.To receive the permit the 12-story building has completed a series of fire, acoustic and structural tests which have proven that mass... View full entry
Under the terms of the project, [Multnomah County] would build the granny flats and homeowners would get to keep them—a substantial property upgrade. In return, a homeowner would commit to a five-year lease of the backyard structure to a homeless family, without pocketing any rent.
"We're taking risks," says Mary Li, director of the Multnomah Idea Lab, a county policy center. "My hope is, we prove this concept, and we do 300 of these in the next 12 months."
— Willamette Week
As the homelessness crisis worsens in Portland, city and Multnomah County officials are under pressure to find solutions. One pilot project the county will test out is “A Place for You”, wherein the county would offer to essentially pay homeowners to build them a roughly 200-square-foot in... View full entry
Archinect's Architecture School Lecture Guide for Winter & Spring 2017Archinect's Get Lectured is back in session for Winter and Spring 2017. Get Lectured is an ongoing series where we feature a school's lecture series—and their snazzy posters—for the current term. Check back... View full entry
My issue is not with areas being improved, it is how gentrification is about one demographic of our society changing an area for themselves and not for the benefit of everyone. — the guardian
Portland, US: ‘We are currently building our way to hell’“I am a 70 year old carpenter and I have seen more decay in the quality of life in the last three years in Portland, Oregon – pearl of culture in the Great Northwest – with the one-term mayor ‘Chainsaw Charlie Hales’ who was... View full entry
Beating out SOM and Adrian Smith + Gordon Gill Architecture, the Portland-based firm ZGF Architects has taken the number one spot in Architect Magazine's annual ranking of the fifty best architectural firms. The ranking, which evaluates firms using the criteria of Business, Sustainability, and... View full entry
Portland has embarked on a gentler approach – letting the homeless bunk down on city sidewalks or pitch tents on public rights of way during evening hours, with the understanding they pack up and move out by 7 a.m.
The city's "safe sleep policy" is aimed at breaking up the homeless encampments where crime and drug use can fester by allowing people to sleep in public places and sidewalks without fear of being harassed by authorities.
More on the homelessness crisis throughout the US:Increasing development translates to more homeless housingHomes of the homeless, seized: L.A. cracks down on free housing"It’s about recognizing someone as existing": Photo exhibit depicts L.A.'s homelessness crisisBay Area media ban together for... View full entry