http://djcoregon.com/news/2014/11/10...found-wanting/
Competition’s designs found wanting
By: Inka Bajandas in Scrolling Box November 10, 2014 4:43 pm
The Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building recently received a renovation that drew praise from judges of design awards handed out by the American Institute of Architects’ Portland chapter. (Sam Tenney/DJC)
The Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building recently received a renovation that drew praise from judges of design awards handed out by the American Institute of Architects’ Portland chapter. (Sam Tenney/DJC)
While New York-based architect Jonathan Dreyfous was in Portland to judge the Design Awards for American Institute of Architects’ Portland chapter, a “Keep Portland Weird” sign reminded him what was lacking in this year’s entries.
“I was looking for some weirdness, some idiosyncratic-ness,” he said Friday during an awards presentation at the Gerding Theater.
Dreyfous, a partner with New York-based CDR Studio Architects, wasn’t the only member of the judging panel who admitted to greater expectations for the projects that Portland-area architecture firms submitted for design awards. Judges Gladys Ly-Au Young, a principal with Seattle-based Sundberg Kennedy Ly-Au Young Architects, and Los Angeles Times architecture critic Christopher Hawthorne said they had hoped to see more innovation, attention to urbanism and high-level design for both exteriors and interiors.
“We were looking for projects that showed tremendous social transformation – something that was more forward-thinking for Portland,” Young said.
Judges chose not to give out any awards in the unbuilt category because they wanted to see more creativity among the entries. They lamented the glut of private multifamily projects and longed for more public ones.
“We thought that side of the ledger was underwhelming,” Hawthorne said of the unbuilt category. “We were ready for projects that had a different idea for the interior. I think because so many of the projects were developer-driven they were a bit safe.”
A “tidal wave” of private multifamily development in Portland led to worries among the panel that architects were spending too much energy on projects’ exteriors to the detriment of their interiors, Dreyfous said.
“The exterior becomes the billboard for the building and we are concerned about the interior living up to the facade,” he said.
The panel’s response wasn’t all negative. One project that garnered significant praise from the judges was the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building renovation designed by Portland-based SERA Architects. The project received a merit award for what the judges considered a thoughtful transformation that incorporated many sustainable elements.
“We felt the designers worked really well to break up the massiveness of the building,” Young said. “You see the old and the new work really well together.”
Hawthorne said he has been following closely the debate on the future of the Portland Building, which suffers from structural issues and leaks. He noted that it could benefit from a renovation similar to the one for the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt building.
“This was the same exercise of remaking a building,” he said. “All of those questions are being tested and examined in this project.”
The judges were impressed by several projects designed by Works Partnership Architecture. The Portland-based firm earned a merit award for the Bowstring Truss House and citations for the 33rd & Division Apartments and Overton 19 multifamily projects, all in Portland.
The judges said they were particularly blown away by the Bowstring Truss House after touring it. A former industrial building in Northwest Portland was renovated into a living space.
“A lot of the details that we were impressed with in photographs came through when we walked the space,” Hawthorne said. “It was one of the strongest projects we looked at.”
THA Architecture received a merit award for Discovery Hall – a science and academic building at the University of Washington’s Bothell campus. The judges said that consideration given to surroundings came through in the design.
“There’s not really a front side or a back side,” Young said. “All sides are well thought through.”
ZGF Architects received a citation award for Pearl Izumi’s North American headquarters in Louisville, Colo. Young said she appreciated the unified approach.
“The interior and exterior are by the same firm so they really feel like the same hand,” she said.
The panel awarded two citation awards specifically for interiors-focused projects. The first went to Architecture Building Culture for the Lubavitch Center of British Columbia in Vancouver, B.C. They praised the understated design of the center for a Jewish organization.
“I’d like to commend the clarity of what it’s doing for the space,” Dreyfous said. “It’s very simple.”
Hennebery Eddy Architects took home the same honor for a renovation of the Shute Park library branch in Hillsboro.
“Rather than tearing down the building, it uncovered the strength of the building,” Dreyfous said.
Also at Friday’s event, Portland Mayor Charlie Hales praised the work of the city’s architecture community.
“It’s a great privilege to be mayor of a city where people appreciate excellence in urban design and architecture,” he said.
Hales then revealed the winner of the Mayor’s Award for Design Excellence: the Stephens Creek Crossing affordable housing complex in Southwest Portland, designed by MWA Architects.
“It is inviting to the people that live there and the people that will visit,” he said. “More importantly, they created a neighborhood there. This, to me, is one of the best examples of how you can create community in new projects.”
Honorable mentions for the Mayor’s Award went to SERA Architects’ Marriott Residence Inn, the Reed College Performing Arts Building designed by Opsis Architecture, The Emory apartments designed by ZGF Architects and the A Dialogue Street Seat by Scott | Edwards Architecture.
This year’s AIA Portland Citizens’ Medal for Design Excellence, selected through a public vote, went to Architecture Building Culture for the Roberts Creek Cabin single-family residence in Roberts Creek, British Columbia.
Also announced Friday were the recipients of AIA Portland’s 2030 Challenge Design Awards. They recognize sustainable design and honor a challenge from nonprofit organization Architecture 2030 for all new buildings and major renovations to be carbon neutral by 2030.
Hennebery Eddy Architects’ Ash + Ash won in the single-family category. The Kiln Apartments, designed by GBD Architects to meet passive house standards, earned the honor in the multifamily category. The Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt building renovation won the office category and the Central Oregon Community College Health Careers Center, designed by Yost Grube Hall Architecture, earned the institutional honor.
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