|
YGH Designs Silver Project for Humboldt State University
Portland
The new 90,000-sq.-ft. Physical Education Complex will provide recreational, educational and social space for Humboldt State University. When completed, the facility will house a natatorium, gymnasium for competition basketball and volleyball and a dance studio along with athletic office suites and Health and Physical Education instructional space. An outdoor plaza can accommodate a variety of activities and events for small to large groups. Designed to receive a LEED® Silver Certification, the building boasts sustainable features such as natural light, rainwater harvesting, materials selected for a healthy indoor environment and natural ventilation. Estimated completion is January 2008.
Cabinet Maker Third-Party Certified as Green Supplier
Springfield, Ore.
Timber Products, Springfield, Ore. announced that its hardwood plywood and particleboard plants are now third-party certified to meet the Kitchen Cabinet Manufacturers Association (KCMA) Environmental Stewardship Program (ESP) standards.
Last month Timber Products' Medford, Ore., particleboard plant achieved Environmentally Preferable Product certification from the Composite Panel Association, thus qualifying the facility for KCMA recognition as well.
The Medford particleboard plant joins the company's hardwood plywood facilities in Grants Pass, Ore., Medford, Ore., and Corinth, Miss., as ESP-approved manufacturing sites.
To be recognized under ESP, particleboard, MDF and hardwood plywood manufacturers must show third-party certification that verifies air quality (low-formaldehyde-emitting composite wood), resource management and environmental stewardship standards. Timber Products facilities are third-party certified by the Composite Panel Association and the Hardwood Plywood Veneer Association.
New Columbia Buildings Achieve LEED Certification
Seattle
Mithun, a Seattle architecture firm, announced that Portland's New Columbia neighborhood is the first Hope VI redevelopment to earn LEED ratings from the U.S. Green Building Council. Mithun created the master plan and provided housing architecture for New Columbia, which was redeveloped by its owner, the Housing Authority of Portland (HAP).
The two New Columbia buildings that received LEED certification are the Trenton North and Trenton South buildings. Both are mixed-use buildings consisting of a combined 74 units of rental housing. HAP's leasing office, as well as a community center, is located in Trenton North. A coffee shop, small neighborhood grocer, and community education and employment programs through Portland Community College are located on the first floor of Trenton South.
Mithun and HAP achieved LEED certification through a variety of changes made during the redevelopment process such as the use of salvaged materials from the demolished buildings. In addition, Trenton North and Trenton South are now 30 percent more energy efficient by utilizing an improved thermal envelope, exterior shading and high efficiency HVAC equipment. Both buildings feature storm water systems with on-site filtration. Low-flow hot water fixtures, including showers and sinks, have reduced indoor water usage by 35 percent and also contribute to the overall energy efficiency of the building.
Architects Win Commuter Biking Challenge
Portland
Group Mackenzie, a Portland-based multi- discipline architecture and engineering firm, took first place in the Carefree Commuter Challenge in the category of mid-sized companies. Last year, with Group Mackenzie’s office being located on Southwest Bancroft and Macadam, the firm had seven participants. This year, fifty-one employees participated in the challenge. City of Portland Commissioner Sam Adams presented Group Mackenzie with the Award of Excellence at the Carefree Commuter awards ceremony.
Part of the reason for the company’s success is its newly renovated building. Coupled with the building’s sustainable design is the addition of enclosed bike lockers, employee showers, and alternate transportation incentives to all employees. Centrally located in Portland’s Central Eastside Industrial District, employees are encouraged to utilize the mass transit system as well as walking, biking, and carpooling.
This year marked the tenth annual Carefree Commuter Challenge sponsored by West Side Transportation Alliance.
PGE Opens More Efficient Generation Plant
Clatskanie, Ore.
Portland General Electric Company (PGE), celebrated completion of the gas-fired Port Westward Generating Plant, which came on line just in time to meet peak summer demand.
Port Westward is the company’s first plant to be brought online in more than 10 years. With a generating capacity of 400 megawatts, Port Westward produces enough electricity to power the homes of more than 300,000 PGE customers.
Powered by a new breed of Mitsubishi G1-class combustion turbine, the combined-cycle, natural gas-fired plant is one of the most efficient generators of its type in the United States today.
Port Westward also has low levels of emissions for nitrous oxide and carbon monoxide. Levels measured at the plant since it began operation are below the strict levels permitted by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. PGE contributed about $5.4 million to the Oregon Climate Trust to fund projects that offset the plant’s carbon dioxide emissions.
Bagley Lofts Wins International Commendation
Seattle
Weber + Thompson, a full-service architecture, interior design and planning firm won an International Making Cities Livable Council Commendation for Bagley Lofts, a successful mixed-use residential project in Seattle’s Wallingford neighborhood.
Weber + Thompson was the architect and interior designer for Bagley Lofts, which includes 43 condominiums and 3,300 sq ft of retail.
The International Making Cities Livable jury commended the strong integration of the project’s commercial and residential components. Bagley Lofts also won praise for its successful parking solution and finely detailed façades.
“The project design appropriately reflects the scale shift between adjacent structures,” said Suzanne H. Crowhurst Lennard, Ph.D., and the director of International Making Cities Livable Conferences. “The jury commented that the design helps to restore the urban fabric, and that is an important principle of true urbanism.”
The award was presented at the council’s conference this summer in Portland, Ore. The council – an interdisciplinary network of individuals and cities – holds semiannual conferences, with one occurring in North America and the other in Europe.
To connect these incongruous parts of the neighborhood, Weber + Thompson designed a commercial façade of brick on 45th Street. Along Bagley Avenue, the team took advantage of the site’s generous width and created traditional residential stoops and yards.
The stoops and yards are complemented by landscaping that helps connect the building with the rest of the street and the smaller homes next door, said Project Manager Mindy Black LEED AP, a Weber + Thompson senior associate.
Homes on the east side of Bagley Lofts also have their own stoops. In this way, Weber + Thompson avoided creating a large blank wall that would have been visible to westbound traffic. The stoops activate the alley, providing visual interest on all sides of the project. Wrought-iron screens provide an attractive buffer between the residential units and the neighboring retail space.
In lieu of a deep excavation and multiple levels of sub-grade parking, Weber + Thompson took advantage of the site’s slope.
The Weber + Thompson interiors team – led by Senior Associate Laura Greenamyer – designed the lofts as contemporary spaces with spare lines and innovative space concepts.
All but two of the lofts were sold before construction was completed in the summer of 2006.
|
print this page
e-mail this page
