All Things Portland

Welcome to our community

Be a part of something great, join today!

Register Log in

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 1 (members: 0, guests: 1)
BrianFromWA said:
One of you urban design guys please help me out...

I remember reading (and being quite interested in) a Popular Science article from summer 2008 that talks about towers that are self-sustained and grow their own food, process their own waste, and have first-level grocery stores. Things like koi ponds recycling water, aerodynamic cooling, etc. Anyone heard of this stuff?

I mean, with the amount of sun and rain Portland gets (and its green reputation) you'd think that would be a slam dunk for some investor.
Click to expand...

There's actually quite a few concept buildings out there that have something along the lines of terrafarming on each level. It's interesting but I don't know how realistic it is. On the other hand there are plenty of buildings that could completely sustain their water and energy consumption with either solar or wind power and rain collection. There's a building in China that's especially cool in how it harnesses wind to power all of its electric needs.
 
The Pearl has many buildings with Green Roofs......
 
What's going on just south of the Marquem (sp) Bridge? Is that the beginning of the new pedestrian/MAX bridge?
 
HCP said:
What's going on just south of the Marquem (sp) Bridge? Is that the beginning of the new pedestrian/MAX bridge?
Click to expand...

Yes it is.

barfo
 
193792075_236498690d_b.jpg


Palms in Portland.
 
I believe that's NW Portland. It's colder and wetter in Seattle but palms seem to do okay with the temps in the upper Cascadia range.
 
New IBM program: Build smarter planned cities, like Portland:

The aim of IBM's System Dynamics for Smarter Cities model is to help mayors and other municipal officials understand the possible consequences of municipal actions, the company said Monday. IBM said it was designed to break up information silos that so far have hampered an integrated view of how an action in one policy area can affect other areas. According to IBM, predictions up to 25 years in advance will be possible.

The project began in April 2010. In the beginning, IBM and Portland's city government held talks with more than 75 subject-matter experts from the Portland area to learn about interconnections among the systems of the city, such as transportation, housing and public safety. "We involved 18 government agencies," said Joe Zehnder, Portland's chief city planner.
Click to expand...

By overcoming silos in the way we think, we are able to better visualize how our city systems work together and develop policies that achieve multiple objectives to help realize the full potential of our city.
Click to expand...

Afterward, together with researchers at Portland State University and systems software company Forio Business Simulations, the city and IBM collected data from across the city, dating back almost 10 years. This resulted in a computer model of Portland that could show how changes in one system would affect other systems. "The aim was to look over the boundaries of the traditional information silos," Zehnder said. Authorities had been in close communication even before the project, but the integration of data offered "more depth," he said.
Click to expand...


LINK​
 
It wasn't easy, took more than two years and it didn't please everyone, but a plan to shape the next 50 years of development and preservation in the tri-county Portland area was approved Friday by the state Land Conservation and Development Commission
Click to expand...

The unprecedented plan designates 28,256 acres of urban reserves, which will be considered first when the urban growth boundary is expanded for houses, stores and industries. Another 266,628 acres is designated as rural reserves, meaning it will remain as farms, forests or natural areas until 2060.
Click to expand...

"The purpose of all this is the long-term protection of the best farmland, yet still allow the metro area to grow in a way that allows them to become great communities," he said.
Click to expand...

 
As we continue to settle into a long term depression and associated unemployment, don't you think the landscape of urban growth will change drastically in a place like Portland?
 
Some movement down at OHSU's SoWA campus -- first building should begin this year.

For reference, here are detailed renderings of the campus:

OHSU8.png

.
.
OHSU7.png

.
.
OHSU6.png

.
.
OHSU9.png

.
.
OHSU4.png

.
.
OHSU1.png

.
.
OHSU3.png

.
.
OHSU10.png

.
.
image001.jpg

.
.​
 
Last edited:
I figured they were gonna do something like that. Now where will cirque du soleil perform?!
 
I love these types of projects -- upgrading/modernizing early 1900's buildings and bringing them up to LEED status:

A group of local investors plans to breathe new life into the Commerce Building, a 1906-built office building located in downtown Portland.
Click to expand...

The group plans on putting the building through an extensive renovation that includes a full façade modernization, as well as new elevator cabs, new restrooms with showers, a new gym, a new common conference room and a 75-stall secured bike parking facility. The project is also pursuing a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design rating for existing buildings.
Click to expand...

0930bxb1_commerce_building_downtown2.jpg


LINK​

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

SoWa ICE facility put on hold ...again

Dozens of opponents attended a hearing this morning to speak against the proposal to create a facility for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Safety, traffic and design concerns were expressed during the nearly three-hour meeting, and the neighborhood organization received a seven-day extension to provide more testimony. But the extension could result in a conflict with the 120-day deadline for the city to make a decision on the project.
Click to expand...

0708_ICE_gsa_macadam_property_rendering_gbd.jpg


LINK​
 
Last edited:
Fez did you see the new Fred Meyers out in Wilsonville? The roof is covered in solar panels. Freddy's has been going for LEED status. The store near my house was projected to be a Gold LEEDs.
 
Natebishop3 said:
Fez did you see the new Fred Meyers out in Wilsonville? The roof is covered in solar panels. Freddy's has been going for LEED status. The store near my house was projected to be a Gold LEEDs.
Click to expand...

I've heard about this project a while back. The design took a long time because they wanted to achieve LEED status but also wanted to go with a certain architectural theme:

ShowImage.aspx

.
ShowImage.aspx

.
5141.jpg

^I like how McMenamins incorporated the church structure^​
 
The Portland-Milwaukie light rail bridge is well underway:

6090026968_5e3528783f_b.jpg

[image:flickr]​
 
All that money for a rickety old wood bridge!!!!!!??
 
HCP said:
All that money for a rickety old wood bridge!!!!!!??
Click to expand...

I think it's good that we are going back to building bridges out of wood. It's renewable, very Portland. They should consider making it a covered bridge, to make it last longer.

barfo
 
barfo said:
I think it's good that we are going back to building bridges out of wood. It's renewable, very Portland. They should consider making it a covered bridge, to make it last longer.

barfo
Click to expand...

Unless a tropical storm comes along and washes it away :MARIS61:
 
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - A fire broke out in a building that's part of an upscale condominium complex along Portland's south waterfront and firefighters quickly got the blaze knocked down.

The fire erupted just before 4 p.m. on Thursday at a complex on Southwest Harbor Drive.

Using a crane, firefighters trained water on flames that were shooting from the top of the building.

There was no immediate word on injuries or damage.
Click to expand...
.
110901_fire1.jpg

.
110901_fire7.jpg

.
110901_fire5.jpg

.
110901_fire4.jpg

-KATU​
 
Much smaller but it's not original and obviously inspired by the Fremont Bridge -- Port Mann Bridge (Vancouver, BC) ~

252512429_bb156cf5af.jpg
 
Last edited:
Except for the last one (of the bridge) those renderings are depressingly ugly.

barfo
 
Fez Hammersticks said:
Some movement down at OHSU's SoWA campus -- first building should begin this year.


OHSU7.png

​
Click to expand...


what the hell are they going to do to the Ross Island bridge there?​
 
julius said:
what the hell are they going to do to the Ross Island bridge there?
Click to expand...

Nothing so far as I know, but what do you mean?

barfo
 
I think the city should clean up and/or paint the Fremont bridge.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top