Portland State University (PSU) Development News

[zilfondel]

I'm worried about that wood siding, tho. The rain screen at the PCC technology building has been rotting, and is only about 10 years old.

[maccoinnich]

This article is from December, but I didn't see it at the time:

Rebooting an Ugly PSU Building with Euro Style
World-renowned German architect Stefan Behnisch talks Portland and why dictators don’t necessarily build better.

Published Dec 1, 2014, 8:00am
By Randy Gragg



When it comes to architecture, Portland usually buys local. But late last year Portland State University hired Germany’s Stefan Behnisch to design its new School of Business Administration. His brief: expand the school’s current digs—a dreary, brutalist-lite 1970s fort—into a fitting home for the largest business school in the state, next to the region’s busiest transit hub. (Construction begins next July.) A pioneer in the quest for more sustainable buildings, the 57-year-old Stuttgart native is known for his mix of technology, humanism, and pragmatism, in buildings ranging from the Institute for Forestry and Nature Research in the Netherlands to a colorful parking garage in Santa Monica. We spoke with him on a recent visit.

What’s your impression of Portland?
I like the city, but whenever I am here I always hear, “Oh, we don’t need outsiders.” I disagree. In Bavaria, a lot of our buildings are built by international architects. It puts us in a different league.

...continues at Portland Monthly.

[babs]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

This article is from December, but I didn't see it at the time:



...continues at Portland Monthly.

Hooray if this gets built! PSU is home to some of the most brutal buildings in the city. All you need to do is look across Montgomery at the USB building. Possibly the worst building in the downtown core.

[maccoinnich]

Architecture students design public parklet, funds underway

WRITTEN BY RACHEL POWERS | JANUARY 19, 2015



Michael Coon is a PSU School of Architecture graduate and the lead student designer for the parklet project. Coon created this rendition of the SoMa Parklet on March 9, 2014. Photo illustration courtesy of Michael Coon
Portland State architecture students are developing Portland’s first public parklet.

Under the guidance of Assistant Professor of Architecture B.D. Wortham-Galvin, the tiny park will be built in the spring of 2015 if enough funds are raised. The South of Market (SoMa) Parklet Project has raised over $10,000 according to their official crowdfunding campaign page.

Situated on 4th Avenue right outside the food cart pod, the project will have a variety of seating using sustainable materials, landscaping and plants.

...continues at the PSU Vanguard.

[davehogan]

The seating should be great news for the food carts. I can't count the number of times I've decided to eat somewhere else because there was nowhere nearby to sit down and relax with a burrito.

[maccoinnich]

LEARNING FOR THE FUTURE



Portland State University’s urban campus, highlighting the Park Blocks, Montgomery Street, and the proposed renovation and expansion of the School of Business Administration (Behnisch Architekten/SRG)

Portland State University has transformed dramatically over the last two decades, what was once the State of Oregon’s third largest university has now leapfrogged both Oregon State University and University of Oregon in student enrollment. The school’s existing classroom space, student housing, and other facilities have been strained by this growth, and PSU’s downtown location makes expansion both difficult and costly. THA Architecture’s Urban Center and Plaza, completed in 2000, is one of the urban school’s most dramatic additions, not necessarily the great architecture of the building, but the influence the project has had on the entire campus itself. Previously, PSU was naturally focused toward the Park Blocks, usurping the city-owned parkway in the absence of a traditional Jeffersonian green space, but the addition of the Urban Plaza has reoriented the entire school further to the east to its actual geographic center. This new urban node is now framed by Yost Grube Hall’s Recreation Center and by the intersection of Trimet’s light rail extension and Portland Streetcar lines. Due to this reorientation, Mongomery Street has become the cross-Park Blocks axis of the campus, stretching from the athletic fields to the Urban Plaza and beyond to the Lawrence Halprin fountains and pedestrian network. Future plans already call for Montgomery to be completely pedestrianized, envisioned as the central ‘green’ promenade, showcasing the school’s dedication to sustainability.

...continues at Places over Time.

[Nunya]

The PSU Pavilion project has secured enough funds now, due to a commitment from OHSU of $7.5 million, to move ahead to construction. Construction is slated to start Jan. 2016.

http://www.pdx.edu/insidepsu/new-viking-pavilion

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by Nunya

The PSU Pavilion project has secured enough funds now, due to a commitment from OHSU of $7.5 million, to move ahead to construction. Construction is slated to start Jan. 2016.

http://www.pdx.edu/insidepsu/new-viking-pavilion

That is awesome news for the university, with all the improvements they have made to this college, it is long overdue to get an arena like this.

[maccoinnich]

Notice of a Public Hearing [PDF] for the School of Business Administration.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Notice of a Public Hearing [PDF] for the School of Business Administration.

I am really liking this new building/renovation. It is gonna be a great addition to the campus.

[maccoinnich]

Staff report for School of business administration, which recommends denial.

http://www.portlandoregon.gov/index....42259&a=530481

[maccoinnich]

University project designs not set yet



Two SRG Partnership projects designed for university clients will need a few tweaks to gain city approval.

...continues at the DJC ($).

[maccoinnich]

I don't recall seeing this in the press, but the State of Oregon has allocated $60 million of the $70 million PSU needs for a major renovation of Neuberger Hall. From the PSU 2015-2017 Capital Project Construction Request [PDF]:

Option 1 is a $70 million project to eliminate all life safety issues, major system needs, and deferred maintenance in the building. Significant structural improvements are included in this option as well as improvements to make the entire building accessible to all students, faculty, and staff. Classrooms, offices, and the exterior envelope of the building are modernized to meet the needs of PSU’s students and reduce operational costs. Replacement of the building façade and creation of a new entrance will create a more functional and welcoming “front door” for incoming PSU students. A modernized film and video studio will support students training to join the state’s growing film industry. The functionality of the interior space of the building is improved to create room for student centers at the heart of campus that are focused on the unique needs of transfer and underrepresented students. Since 2010, Hispanic enrollment at PSU has grown 35% and PSU has significantly more transfer students than any other Oregon university. PSU needs additional space and resources to focus on the unique needs of these two student populations.

The State also allocated money for the university buy the land underneath the University Center Building and for them to buy the Broadway Housing building, which they currently lease. Both will save considerable amounts of money in ongoing lease payments, but don't result in any immediate construction projects.

[zilfondel]

Wow, so both Neuberger Hall and Smith will eventually be redone. They only need to renovate Cramer Hall next and that should about do it.

[urbanlife]

Originally Posted by zilfondel

Wow, so both Neuberger Hall and Smith will eventually be redone. They only need to renovate Cramer Hall next and that should about do it.

Makes me just a little bit jealous, PSU is turning into such a great university in the city and the Arch program has taken some serious leaps and bounds since getting a grad program, kind of makes me wish I was 25, bright eyed, and wanting to stay up all night working on architecture models.

[maccoinnich]

Revised Staff Report and Recommendation to the Design Commission [PDF]. Doesn't yet recommend approval.

[GreenbyDesign]

Has anyone heard anything about the University Place Hotel's future. I had read up on charettes that happened previously, looking into development options beyond the current use. Then, at an AARP conference, there was additional mention of a potential housing community there. I have actually called the Hotel to ask, for academic reasons and naturally there has been little to no comment and stiff arming. No one wants to talk.

[davehogan]

Originally Posted by GreenbyDesign

Has anyone heard anything about the University Place Hotel's future. I had read up on charettes that happened previously, looking into development options beyond the current use. Then, at an AARP conference, there was additional mention of a potential housing community there. I have actually called the Hotel to ask, for academic reasons and naturally there has been little to no comment and stiff arming. No one wants to talk.

Best I can find quickly:

https://www.pdx.edu/planning-sustain...pment-strategy

It appears to be still in the planning stage. I couldn't find anything significantly newer with an actual plan.

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by maccoinnich

Revised Staff Report and Recommendation to the Design Commission [PDF]. Doesn't yet recommend approval.

Applicant presentation [PDF -14MB] for the School of Business Administration. Wasn't approved yesterday, but from listening to the last couple minutes of the audio it sounds like they will be back in just a couple weeks with minor revisions.

[maccoinnich]