While many people were commemorating the anniversary of St Helen’s volcanic eruption thirty years ago, May 18, 2010 was also the big celebration and ribbon cutting ceremony for the new Portland Archives & Records Center (PARC) facility!

After 28 years in its North Portland location, PARC has exchanged the old City incinerator on N. Columbia Boulevard for a centrally located facility just a few blocks from City Hall. PARC is the official repository for city records and its mission is to preserve these records for future generations while providing access for today’s citizens and city employees. From the original city ordinances, to the plans and maps of your favorite park, to photos of the City establishing its infrastructure, these records provide insight into the City’s development from 1851 to the present.

Randy Leonard with Diana Banning

This has been a wonderful and unique project since 2006, when Oh was hired to provide an assessment of the old archives facility (the Stanley Parr Archives & Records Center at Chimney Park) and forecast their needs for the coming 20 years.  The conclusion was that the existing space did not meet those needs and Archives had to either move or expand.

Detail of artist Keiko Hara's installation. The light is wonderful!

Ultimately the decision was made to locate in the the PSU Student Recreation Center building on 5^th and Harrison. Oh was hired to plan Archive’s space and coordinate their program requirements with the design-build team.  Another contract award allowed our team to facilitate the move plan, which was complicated as every box and archived material has a specific address.  These records are in a specific environmental set at 63 degrees and 40% relative humidity to preserve the documents.

The staff area with the reading room beyond.

The City archives is an interesting resource with documents and historic records that you can access with the assistance of an archivist.  The City of Portland Auditor’s Office also has online resources that are fascinating. Anyone who loves history or their city should check out the resources available to their citizens.

Special thank yous to Diana Banning, Archivist and Jim Coker, City of Portland Project Manager. We are so fortunate to have delightful clients.

Archives!

(The glass art is the work of Northwest artist Keiko Hara.)

Congratulations to everyone involved in the project, including the city!

“Sometimes your only available transportation is a leap of faith.”
author Margaret Shephard

I am certain that many of us can identify with this statement, especially after the past year. If you have not been directly impacted by the economy then you are close to someone who has been.

I took a leap of faith in 2009 on many levels, and I appreciate that I can thank many people who also took a leap of faith on us. Today I was able to enjoy the celebration of those experiences. Here is a brief update on our celebrations. This is a sample of why we are grateful to provide service to our special clients. This is truly a small sampling of the many special people who make projects work.

Gladys McCoy Building

Multnomah County McCoy Building

The Gladys McCoy Building is still encapsulated in its white plastic wrapper but underneath is a delightful transformation. The unveiling is scheduled for early June 2010 and you will want to see this one! Beautiful details will be visible again.  Thank you Gail Hochhalter for your excellent project management.

MHCC Master Plan

Mt Hood Community College

The MHCC Board approved the 2020 master plan. Congratulations to MHCC for taking this first step to an exciting future.  Thank you President John “Ski” Sygielski for your visionary leadership.  Thank you Richard Byers for your care of the campus.

OSU Energy Center

Oregon State University Energy Center
The OSU Energy Center is the first LEED Platinum power plant in the country. Couple that with the renewable energy technology and you have a campus that is providing leadership for the nation.  Thank you Larrie Easterly for your tireless project management and thank you Bob Simonton for your faith in Oregon as a leader in renewable energy.

PGE Park Renovations

The Beavers and the Timbers are hard at work bringing favorite past times to our City. Look for another phase of construction in the fall when the stadium renovations are completed for the 2011 Major League Soccer transformation!  Thank you Terry Shugrue for keeping the construction on track.

Deb France with Randall Stuart

Cerimon House

This is a new exciting project and one that I will save for more detail. If you are interested in the Cerimon House then please visit their web site at
http://cerimonhouse.org/.  Thank you Randall Stuart for your superb vision of a home for the humanities in Portland.

DVA Prosthetics Suite

Department of Veterans Affairs
We are very fortunate to be working with the DVA on the Portland Medical Center Prosthetics Suite renovations. The renovations will begin soon and a transformation of this very important service will welcome our service men and women in a warm patient centered space.  Thank you Brian Orlowski for your project management.  Special thanks to Robert Kolln and Stan Hockett for your great work in contracting with woman owned small business.

Portland loves Soccer!

Zach Hilleson on site

On March 20, 2009, Major League Soccer Commissioner Don Garber announced that Portland will be the home of the League’s 18th team! Thank you Merritt Paulson and his family for your love of the game and providing a world-class soccer environment for Portland’s soccer fans.

So here we go soccer fans in the City of Roses – bring on MLS in 2011! I can almost hear the fans chanting for the Portland Timbers now. The PGE Park improvements include several state-of-the-art amenities with new permanent seats and concessions on the east side fronting 18th Street. The field will be sized to meet MLS regulations. Player facilities will also see improvements.

This project comes at a time when Portland’s economic development can use a boost. Oh planning+design, architecture is one of the many businesses in town who appreciate the opportunity to work on this exciting project and add jobs to our fragile economy. Working in association with prime architect AECOM Ellerbe Becket and Turner Construction on this fast paced multi-phased plan to reach the GOL!

The Oh planning+design team has been so fortunate to work with the visionary leaders, employees and students at Mt Hood Community College (MHCC). MHCC has been doing great work in the East County region for over 40 years. Serving Gresham, Troutdale, Fairview, Wood Village, Rockwood and Sandy communities. The campus provides vital services to the community and a place for people to learn, teach, meet, grow, stretch and thrive.

The campus President, Dr. Ski, the Board and President’s Cabinet began the process of developing a master plan in June 2009 that will serve as a guide map to the future of the campus. This is an exciting time for MHCC and you can view the video on the campus master plan web site. A good campus master plan is always a work in motion that receives new input and forms the needs to fit the campus culture and programs and technologies. This process will continue to evolve over time as ideas are implemented and new thinking emerges. Visit www.ohpd.net/projects/mhcc/.

Looks like we’re not the only ones enjoying our new office space!

Tying in with the post below, our good friends and colleagues over at BNK Construction were kind enough to put together a photo book detailing the construction process for our new office from their perspective.  Check it out online or feel free to come by and flip through a copy in our  lobby…while you’re there you can get a better look at that Chris Haberman mural!

Below is an excerpt from a recent email newsletter sent out by the Portland Development Commission that showcases our new office and highlights several of the great new features of the space.  Enjoy!

Oh planning+design

In balance with nature, Oh Planning+Design created its own earth-friendly workspace

before                                                                                   after

Founded by architect Deb France, Oh Planning+Design provides a full range of planning and architectural design services with special emphasis on sustainability: the “Oh” of the company title represents both optimism and health.

The carpet tile flooring, by Interface Flooring, is a non-petroleum, recycled-content product. Interface is a leader in achieving high standards for reducing waste and energy use in the manufacturing and removal of flooring at the end of its useful life.

The firm pays special attention to the selection of materials with low environmental impact, consistent with its mission to reduce the impact of the built environment on the planet so that humanity can live in balance with nature. The firm’s clients are academic institutions, public, healthcare, hospitality and corporate offices; recent major projects include Peace Health, a hospital in Eugene applying for LEED Gold, and an Energy Center at Oregon State University, applying for LEED Platinum.

The common kitchen area has a bar-height group table made from a recycled bowling alley lane from Sunset Lanes in Bellingham, discovered at the Eco-House on NE Interstate and built to be used as a table.

In November 2008, Oh moved from southwest Portland to Old Town, nearly doubling their office space to 7000 square feet in the Fleischner Mayer Building at NW 1st and Couch in the Downtown Waterfront Urban Renewal Area.

A cozy touch: the fuel efficient ethanol ventless EcoSmart fireplace from Bravado Home in NW Portland.

PDC provided financial assistance for green tenant improvements in the new location, using the Quality Jobs Program and Economic Opportunity Fund, a package of programs that reward high-paying jobs and investment in urban renewal areas. The improvements, designed to meet LEED Silver certification, emphasized creative, earth-friendly solutions provided by local trades and suppliers for minimum environmental impact.

A visual anchor for the space is local artist Chris Haberman’s colorful mural in the entry, the story of Oh’s relocation and commitment to Portland told through layers of bright colors, words and faces.

Daylighting, open spaces, recycled and non-toxic materials and energy efficient lighting are key components of the remodeled space. “Oh designs spaces where people want to be,” says France. Clearly, the company’s own workplace fits that description.

The exposed wood was painted a light reflective color, using Miller Green Seal paint, to enhance the daylighting effect. Dimming controls provide customized response to available daylight, and private meeting/supply rooms have occupancy sensors.  The lighting design was modeled to conserve 78% of the energy, and both the Business Energy Tax Credit program and Energy Trust of Oregon supported Oh’s design strategy. Signs and banners are made from a recycled screen fabric and printed at NW Printing Solutions.

Find out more about Oh at www.ohpd.net.

Please contact Terri Morgan at PDC, 503-823-3442 or morgant@pdc.us for information about PDC business finance programs and resources.

Exciting news!  The Oregon University System has issued a news brief announcing the completion of Oh planning+design’s latest completed project: Oregon State University’s Energy Center.

OSU’s Energy Center is on track to become the first power facility to ever be rated LEED Platinum by the United States Green Building Council.  The Energy Center replaces the University’s 100 year old steam boiler plant and its five antiquated boilers (only three of which were actually functioning) with two high-efficiency turbines and two new boilers.

The new system will generate half of the University’s needed electricity and capture the waste-heat generated in the process, turning it into steam heat for the campus…an innovative way of reducing both the University’s energy bill and carbon footprint in one fell swoop.  Just another example of how our design approach can reduce the impact of the built environment on the planet and help humanity live in balance with nature…and turn out a nice little building at the same time!

Read more about the Energy Center’s other sustainable design features in the full announcement right here.