2007 Design Award Entries

 



2007 Design Award Winners

 

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Project Summary: Occupying 15,000 square feet within the University of Oregon's Casanova Center, the new Athletic Medicine Center is a state-of-the-art sports therapy and training facility for more than 400 student-athletes, as well as a showcase for the University of Oregon's rich athletic history. If features space for treadmills and exercise bikes; hydro-therapy tubs; a nutrition bar; custom-designed massage facility; and meeting rooms. The facility is intended to apply a holistic approach to student-athlete health, with the architecture and materials infused at every corner to capture the legacy and heritage of UO athletics.

Jury Comments: The jury found this to be extremely well executed with an interesting program. It is spatially rich and complex, which is difficult to do within a purely interior space. Jurors appreciated the transparency within the space and how it embraced the athletic history through colors, graphics and unique branding. This clearly was an expensive project, but the money was spent very, very well.

Project Summary: The Neal Creek residence is a modest weekend retreat, located in the fertile valley that connects the scenic Columbia Gorge and Mt. Hood. The design aspires to be both spatially, resource and energy efficient. It also takes a unique approach to its surroundings, sitting safely above a 100 year floodplain, while taking in the beautiful valley views. The project was completed in May 2007, after 11 months construction.

Jury Comments: The jury was taken by the way this building sits on the landscape and found it to be an example of elegant and innovative use of space on a very restrictive budget. They described the project as very humble in its concept - very tightin plan and beautifully executed with a vertical circulation for the meadow up into the house. The jurors particularly enjoyed the creation of outdoor space within the rectangular plan with no additive features on the outside.

 

Project Summary: The Olympic Mills Commerce Center was a purpose-built cereal mill, erected 1921-1927, with an 8-story concrete framed, tower/grain elevator and a full city block floor plate. Contained with the tower ends and the 12ft square concrete structural frame were wood grain crebs, extending up through multiple floors. The two story warehouse was located in the south 3/4 of the site. In 1950 the building was acquired by the Baggage & Omnibus Company giveing the building its familiar name, the B&O Warehouse. In 2005 the building was purchased by an ambitious developer/contractor ready to give the tired building a new life.

Adaptation became a formal vehicle. Careful consideration was given to the nature of the concrete frame and the wood liners that made up the historic grain towers. An architecture of discreet intervensions that would touch the historic building as lightly as possible was adopted. The building had to be adapted to accommodate smaller creative business tenants. Tenant suites were arranged with common areas to maintain views through the floor plate reminiscent of the original warehouse use.

Jury Comments: The jury applauded this very restrained and controlled response to a very common design challenge - the renovation of warehouse space. This was performed on an extremely tight budget and was accomplished through three basic elements: creation of interior courtyards to bring in light; stairwell systems composed of a seven-story harp structure; and exterior color. The jury liked the delicacy of the wood screens, which were reclaimed from the original structure and used to create very simple veils in the courtyards. The jury also found the bright industrial color to be perfect for the region and is quite noticeable in Portland's urban fabric as a way finding artifact.

Project Summary: Founded in 2006, NAU is a start-up apparel company based in Portland. NAU is a company with a deep focus on sustainability and its brand principles are defined by three important values: beauty, performance and sustainability. The NAU retail locations are called "webfronts," as they act as a three-dimensional realization of the company's primary sales channel - the internet. The architect was hired to bring NAU's defining principles and alternative retail strategies to life in the physical built world. In the design of the webfronts, the architect saw beauty as the concept, performance as the functionality and sustainability as an opportunity to pioneer a new type of retail environment. The concept executes as an organic landscape devolved from the grid of the surrounding urban fabric. The functionality of the store is created through a small footprint, limited backstock and the integration of technology. Sustainability is achieved through reuse of existing spatial attributes, and most importantly, a prefabricated environment built of eco-friendly materials and sustainable MDF fixtures. All fixtures are built in a controlled environment where waste is limited and recycled and manufacturing processes are refined.


Jury Comments: The jury was drawn to both the design and sustainable strategy of this project, which they felt couldn't be separated. The store represents a new retail strategy - a webfront - which looks at the issues of sustainability and conservation of resources from a new direction. The client's mission was clearly articulated in the design. It is all about flexibility, minimizing waste, and reuse of materials within modular components. The architect responded beautifully to the client's philosophy.

 

Project Summary: Simple gable-roofed structures rendered in natural stone, clear finished wood framing and siding, exposed concrete, and metal roofs convey a sense of permanence and quality and complement the rolling terrain with its backdrop of natural areas at this park in Wilsonville. An historic hand hewn barn was made functional and safe, while retaining its agricultural character, and preserving the primitive handcrafted details of the building for visitors to appreciate.

Jury Comments: While this project included several structures, it is the historic barn that most intrigued the jury. An adaptive reuse of an historic agricultural building, the architects have carefully reconstructed and preserved the structure and have provided visitors with a glimpse into its past.

 

Project Summary: The design for Split wine bar and restaurant sought to celebrate the craft of the vintners, distillers, and farmers responsible responsible for its fare. Rather than produce a bar environment mirroring the slick, glossy marketing campaigns of the finished products, the interior design references the simple origin and elements of the production itself. Direct use of materials, such as American white oak and copper are combined with structures and lighting inspired by the agrarian settings of the wineries and farms.

The central bar with its featured towers of wine and spirits focuses the room while distinct seating areas provide variety within the otherwise small space.

Jury Comments: The jury responded to this project's mood through its restrained use of copper, leather and wood to evoke the vintner's process of making wine. There was no glitz on display, but rather a refreshing modesty. The jurors declared this a very appropriate solution for its scale.

 

Project Summary: Encased Houses is the result of overlapping inquiries that at first glance appear contradictory: introversion and extroversion; transparency and opacity; industrial toughness and residential comfort. It is a case where there is no possibility of simple compromise. Instead, design solutions explore the tension between these paradoxical offerings, seeking added meanings present in competing ideas.

The proposal of opposite dwellings explores how two symbiotic but independently operating houses might develop along different paths. By dividing the house, a flexibility of use and ownership is addressed, while also developing a scale that appeals to the client.

Two houses emerge: one, cloistered and shielded, the other opening up to the street. Some facilities are shared, but the option of privacy remains intact. Like conjoined twins, the two houses are dependant on each other but have vastly different natures.

Jury Comments: This project uses an ingenious solution in terms of how the two residences are interlocked. The site plan is terrific, addressing the edge condition from an industrial to a residential neighborhood. It is a complex program that is quite elegant. The jury felt it was important in the unbuilt category to only award projects that provided a real clarity to their plans and images. This project included very well executed drawings and models, allowing the jury to really see the potential of the project.

 

Project Summary: The project speaks to the creation of discreet urban space in the context of continuity with the larger public realm. It is a ruptured courtyard prototype: more a cluster of anonymous, yet collaborative elements of urban fabric.

The project is a 120,000 square-foot, 109 residential, mixed use building. The 40,000 square-foot site is located in the center of a larger block, at the edge of the Northwest Portland industrial district, abutting an older residential area.

Jury Comments: The jury appreciated the tough site condition that this project works with by breaking up the building's bulk into four small buildings. The jury felt this to be an effective way of dealing with density, and rotating the plan afforded very nice corner views. The jurors also liked the double skin strategy that gives the building a veiled nature and provides a screen for the exterior space, allowing for an outdoor experience. The architects have provided a new idea for how this type of building can work.