16th Jan2012

Two New Projects to Start the New Year

by Jason King

Starting off 2012 with a bang, TERRA.fluxus is proud to announce two new projects, working with some of our great existing clients.  First, we’re continuing work with the great folks at Asante Health System, this time building on the work at the Women’s Center and the masterplan for the Three Rivers Community Hospital (TRCH) in Grant’s Pass, in addition to the Genesis Campus Master Plan in Central Point, and the Asante Court Park in Medford.  After working on a small parking lot expansion at TRCH last year, we are beginning the next phase in the overall campus building, working on a new Outpatient Center (with TVA Architects leading the efforts, and continuing work on site issues with KPFF Civil Engineers) which will include in addition to the new building a parking expansion, stormwater facilities, and artwork.  Some preliminary rendering of the building can be seen below:

   

Following up the successful endeavor at Move the House Apartments, we will be working with the great team at Urban Development Partners again, moving down the block at bit to another location along Southeast Division street at 33rd Avenue.  The project has a different configuration and architecture, and we’re happy to be collaborating with the talented designers at THA Architecture to make this project a reality.  A quick snapshot of the concept plan shows some of the interesting features, including stormwater planters, permeable paving, green screens, and vegetated green roof areas.

The project will certainly evolve, so more on both of these projects as they progress.

Category : announcements, ecoroofs, environmental, graphics, heathcare, landscape, portland, projects, southern oregon, sustainability, vegitecture, water
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12th Jan2012

Landscape Urbanism + The Agency of Mapping

by Jason King

I am excited to be teaching again at University of Oregon in the White Stag Building in Portland, this time a seminar entitled ‘Landscape Urbanism + The Agency of Mapping’.

In this class, a combination of architecture and landscape architecture students are going to blend theory with on the ground techniques related to large-scale, landscape-focused urban analysis, planning and design.  The major technical components will focus on GIS mapping and using this as a tool for multidisciplinary design, as well as studying the agency of mapping (a major tenet of landscape urbanism theory) as a tool for communication and organization of complex spatial information.

The focus area will be the Cully Neighborhood in NE Portland and their plans for an eco-district, being initiated by Verde (www.verdenw.org) , a social justice nonprofit, as both a viable model of district strategies and as an alternative approach to the more mainstream ecodistricts planning happening in other areas throughout the city by POSI.  Students will do case studies and critiques of local and global district planning, determine community needs and collect data, then use mapping to elaborate and provide urban visions of Cully that focus on bottom-up scenarios for development of social justice, food security, job creation and community connectivity and less on top-down solutions.”

See more past classes here.

Category : announcements, community, landscape, landscape urbanism, mapping, planning, policy, portland, research, sustainability, teaching, theory, urbanism
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11th Jan2012

Cully Community Garden – Design Process

by Jason King

TERRA.fluxus is providing guidance and pro-bono services in support of a new community garden that will be located in Cully Neighborhood in Northeast Portland.  This area is currently under-served with both parks and garden opportunities, so a new park is being designed with the support of  the Let Us Build Cully Park, “a collaboration of 15 community-based organizations, including the Columbia Slough Watershed Council, the Cully Association of Neighbors, Hacienda CDC, Latino Network, Native American Youth & Family Center, Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives, and Verde.”   The project was also planned to be supported with a group of students from Harvey Scott School, led by their teacher Patrick Mangan.

Rather than design the park and present this to the group, Jason King from TERRA.fluxus, along with Tony DeFalco from Verde brainstormed ideas to include both students and stakeholders in the design process.  The community members would act as the clients, and the students would design the park, incorporating feedback from the larger group.  We held our first brainstorming session in mid-December with a group of stakeholders and students, with a focus on brainstorming ideas and an overall vision for the garden.  Students and community members wrote many ideas on large sheets of paper, and presented these to the rest of the group for discussion.

Photo Credit: Tony DeFalco

Photo Credit: Tony DeFalco

Following this initial brainstorm, we had another session this week which began the design process with the students.  Looking at ideas like distance and scale, along with what components are required in a garden, how people will use spaces, access from park and the community, entrances, and other design considerations.   A few photos from the session, showing the measuring and plot design process, along with the beginnings of spatial arrangement.  Following sessions will incorporate more development of ideas, and creation of three concepts for review with stakeholders in late January.

   

The process has also been aided by a number of great volunteers, including landscape designer Sandra Koike and community volunteers Ross Kenney and Bryan Coorlim – all of whom are donating their time and energy to making the project a reality.  As you seen below, the initial output is somewhat rough but is a great start and will evolve over time.  It is starting to take shape in the form of a community garden, accessible to all, and most importantly, designed and built by the community!

All photos © TERRA.fluxus/Jason King unless otherwise credited

Category : agriculture, announcements, brownfields, community, food, gardens, landscape, planning, portland, presentations, projects, teaching, urban voids
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15th Dec2011

Visualizing OHSU’s Casey Eye Institute

by Jason King

TERRA.fluxus was asked by OHSU to provide a visualization for a potential project on their campus.  Casey Eye Institute offers the potential for a visual ‘sustainable roof’ that includes a number of features.  The site is visible from many locations on campus, as well as viewable from the aerial tram – where it is viewed by 1.5 million visitors annually.

       

The project description includes:

“A dynamic concept featuring concentric rings of vegetation that work with the architecture of the building.  Bands define microclimates and allow for different soil depths that support a  variety of species for aesthetics and biological habitat potential.  The circular penthouse is ringed with vertical axis wind turbines and the south edge is lined with photovoltaic panels to supplement building energy usage and provide visible elements of OHSU’s commitment to green development.”

A rendering of the planned roof is found below, with additional detail.  There will be more information to come as this project evolves.

 

Category : announcements, ecoroofs, environmental, graphics, habitat, heathcare, landscape, planning, planting, portland, projects, roof gardens, stormwater, sustainability, vegitecture
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08th Dec2011

BES Calendar features two projects from TERRA.fluxus

by Jason King

Just in time for 2012, the new calendars are available from the City of Portland, Bureau of Environmental Services and their Sustainable Stormwater Management program.  This annual publication shows off some of the interesting new projects built around Portland, and it was a nice surprise to see two months that included some of the recent work of TERRA.fluxus.  April features a couple of recent works – in particular the Vertical Wetland project completed at Move the House, project for Urban Development Partners, with art feature by Ivan McLean and funded by Metro, that funnels roof water through Corten sculpture visible from SE Division Street.

As mentioned in the calendar:

“Disconnecting a downspout is a simple way to remove roof runoff from the combined sewer system and protect water quality, and it offers opportunities for creative ways to disconnect.”

Also in June, a nice shot of the newly planted living wall at the same project, Move the House- showcasing the idea of vegetated walls, which contribute to sustainable site design – in this case screening the very prominent trash enclosure in the center of the outdoor plaza area – adding a burst of greenery to an item that is often considered an eyesore.   As mentioned in the calendar:

“Green Walls use vertical surfaces to green and beautify our cities.  Green walls can help reduce a building’s energy use and outdoor air temperatures, capture stormwater, or be used for urban agriculture “

Category : announcements, environmental, images, infrastructure, installations, living walls, planting, portland, press, projects, publications, rain gardens, stormwater, sustainability, vegitecture, water, wetlands
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05th Dec2011

New Space, More Space

by Jason King

I am happy to announce that beginning on December 5, 2011 – TERRA.fluxus will be relocating our office space from the Tenpod on E. Burnside, to a larger space at the other Tenpod located in the Ode to Rose’s Building at NE Fremont and 45th Avenue.  This awesome spot houses some great folks and will also allow our humble little firm to grow – including the potential for adding more staff – something that is part of the plans for 2012.   A plus is also the great variety of options for food, drink and entertainment in the Beaumont-Wilshire neighborhood along Fremont.


Drop by anytime and say hello.

New Address:

TERRA.fluxus LLC

3435 NE 45th Avenue – Suite ‘E’

Portland, Oregon 97213

phone, web, and email all the same or contact us via this form.

Category : announcements, business, portland
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12th Nov2011

Green Roofs featured on Design*Sponge

by Jason King

Surfing the web lately, I stumbled on a post from popular blog Design*Sponge offered some interesting images of a familiar green roof or two.   Some of the work I collaborated on with the non-profit iteration of Ecoroofs Everywhere between 2002-2005.  Another, seen below, is the Elgert/Sweeney Residence from 2008, the green roof designed by Jason King and installed by E2 in their new incarnation as a for-profit installation firm.  The project was designed by Brian Sweeney (BPS Architecture) and the green roof was used to fulfill Portland stormwater management manual guidelines.

Elgert/Sweeney Residence Green Roof

As Design*Sponge founder and columnist Grace Bonney reflected on a trip to Portland:

“One of ideas I wish Brooklyn would adopt is Portland’s love of living and edible roof gardens.  I’ve seen roof gardens in New York before, but I’ve never seen them used so frequently as I have here in Oregon. They’re on residential homes, commercial buildings and growing naturally on park buildings around town.”

The post included a number of other projects from Portland, and a few that I worked on with Ecoroofs Everywhere as a non-profit, including the Hawthorne Condominiums and the Orpinela Guesthouse, photos of which are found below.

Hawthorne Condominiums

Orpinela Guesthouse

Thanks to Ecoroofs Everywhere for the collaborations over the years as a non- and for-profit company, and for Design*Sponge for the info for reminder and coverage of these great projects.

Category : announcements, ecoroofs, environmental, landscape, planting, portland, press, projects, publications, REWIND, stormwater, sustainability, vegitecture
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02nd Oct2011

European Vacation

by Jason King

The office was closed the second half of September to accommodate some long-awaited travels in Europe.  Journeys included London, Barcelona, Rome, and travels through Tuscany including Siena, Florence, Orvieto, and Assisi.   Regular posting to resume in October!

LONDON

BARCELONA

ROME


 

SIENA

 

ROME

Category : announcements, europe, history, images, thoughts, tours, travel, urbanism
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02nd Sep2011

Forest Grove WWTF

by Jason King

The bids have been received and construction will begin to mobilize in the next few weeks for an exciting infrastructure project in Forest Grove, Oregon to provide landscape improvements for the Clean Water Services (CWS) Wastewater Treatment Facility.  The facility improvements are being led by Black & Veatch through their Oregon office, with significant changes to overall facility configuration, circulation (entries and streets), and a number of other site upgrades.   The total size of the facility covered more than 10 acres, which created significant areas to be landscaped and woven into the existing landscaping and buffers and connecting to existing irrigation in areas throughout the facility – keeping in tone with the functional aspects of the site and it’s industrial character.

This character is evident in some of the current site photos.

The site also involved planning for future expansion, with permanent landscape areas to be retained near structures moving out into more open landscaping that will provide erosion control and minimal impact for future build-out of critical treatment facility elements.    Also, certain structures were in the process of being demolished, and restoration of new landscape areas became part of the overall strategy.

In a short period of time, the drawings and specifications were fast-tracked in order to maintain a 2011 construction window.  This accelerated timeline involved  TERRA.fluxus assisting Black & Veatch and CWS with completing construction drawing planting and irrigation plans for the Forest Grove WWTF.  TERRA.fluxus – working closely with the client and team was able to meet a very aggressive schedule to send the project out to bid according to a revised schedule by CWS – keeping a critical path window open to ensure the project would happen before winter and be completed in a timely manner.   Thanks to all the great folks at Black & Veatch & CWS for the great communication, which was paramount on such a short timeline, in getting the project documents finished.

A snapshot of on the planting plans shows the various zones on this site to aid in a variety of site and soil prep, irrigation, and planting activities and the distinction between more dense areas and the outlying future expansion.  A number of stormwater facilities, including a rain garden, LIDA swale, and stormwater swale were also incorporated into the site for management and to provide examples of Clean Water Services overall sustainable stormwater management strategies.   Construction is slated to begin in early October including landscaping and irrigation – stay tuned for more updates.

Category : announcements, environmental, infrastructure, landscape, planting, projects, rain gardens, stormwater, sustainability, water
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31st Aug2011

Celebrating CAPACES Leadership Institute

by Jason King

A wonderful celebration last night in support of the CAPACES Leadership Institute, an amazing project underway in Woodburn, Oregon which is on track to be the first office building in the US designed and built to Passivhaus standards.   The event took place at the fantastic Bamboo Revolution in Portland, and featured some brief comments from Governor Kitzhaber, and emceeing by Oregon’s First Lady, Cylvia Hayes.  The pair was joined by a group of leaders in green building and farmworker rights to raise funds and celebrate this project and its progress.

The project has gathered steam in recent days, since getting the building permit and starting to erect walls – as shown in this photo from The Selective Omnivore, which is part of a great interview with Green Hammer‘s Gene Wixson, whom is acting as construction manager for the project.  Progress of the project is seen below.

TERRA.fluxus has been happy to contribute to the project through consulting with the green roof – including providing planting starts for propagation of the sedums on-site as well as providing consultation on the green roof integration.  We are currently working on finalizing irrigation design for the roof and site in order to look for donated materials and labor.

A few photos of the event as well – from Jerry Atkins (check out the whole set here)…

(Project rendering by Communitecture, Inc.)

(Governor & First Lady Chatting with PCUN’s Ramon Ramirez)

(Volunteers appreciative of being appreciated)

See more images and find out how you can contribute to the project at their website and stay tuned for more info.  Also find out how to donate to the project, or to volunteer contact Javier Lara (javierl@pcun.org)  or via phone at 503-997-4387.

 

Category : agriculture, announcements, community, ecoroofs, environmental, planting, projects, stormwater, sustainability, vegitecture
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