22nd Sep2010

Vegitecture Visualizations 2

by Jason King

Following up on the work at Washington Medical Center in Oakland – more Vegitectural Visualizations to provide clients with ideas of what green roof installations will look like.  Working again with Tremco Sustainable Solutions, these images depict the simple installation of extensive ecoroof on one of the buildings at the Cedars-Sinai Hospital in Los Angeles.  The views below show the entire building roof with extensive sedum vegetation – taking from a taller adjacent building – in a set of before and after shots.  The difference is dramatic, and would have a huge impact in the heat of southern California, where the green roof would reduce ambient temperatures, reduce reflectivity, and provide additional cooling for the building.

A large factor in this project was views from adjacent patient rooms, so an additional image showed the difference between the existing views down onto the gray roof and the proposed installations.  By utilizing these views of nature, the design taps into deeply rooted connections to nature, the cornerstone of Biophilic Design.  This is vital to medical facilities in urban areas, as views of nature have been proven to reduce stress, lessen recovery times, reduce demand for medication, and improve health outcomes.

Category : biophilic design, ecoroofs, environmental, graphics, heathcare, images, landscape, los angeles, presentations, projects, sustainability, vegitecture
1 Comm
24th Aug2010

Vegitecture Visualizations

by Jason King

A vital aspect of many projects is the ability to quickly visualize the impact of certain design strategies.  TERRA.fluxus recently had the opportunity to pursue some creative visualizations, working with Tremco Roofing on a pair of projects in California.  The first project is for Washington Hospital Healthcare System (WHHS)  in the bay area of Central California.

PATIENT ROOM

BEFORE:  As you can see, the existing roof condition shows a view from a patient room, focused on the myriad rooftop piping and other equipment which steals the impact of the distant vegetation and mountains.

AFTER:  Inclusion of extensive green roof in the foreground, coupled with a vegetated screen panel, offers the opportunity for improved views and to direct the eye towards the distant view.  This implementation of biophilic principles is even more important for medical contexts, where studies have shown improvement in healthcare outcomes due to views of nature.

EXTERIOR WALL

BEFORE: The second visual was for an existing building, containing a blank facade which will front a new building.  Any monolithic wall, with minimal windows or other fenestration, is a great opportunity for an easily improved view.

AFTER: The visual incorporated an image of an existing living wall (in this case, Patrick Blanc’s Tacoma Goodwill Wall) to show what the transformation would be from the relatively sterile view.  While not expressly aimed at showing an actual product or direction, these ‘designs without a design’ are just simple ways of putting strategies within the site context of a clients property.

There are obviously many ways to provide a snapshot of a design to a potential client.  This variety is simple and easy – relying less on photo-realism than on collage to represent possible visions of the site.

Category : biophilic design, ecoroofs, environmental, graphics, heathcare, images, landscape, living walls, planting, presentations, projects, roof gardens, vegitecture
2 Comm
15th Aug2010

NCNM Healing Garden Design

by Jason King

TERRA.fluxus was fortunate to have the opportunity to submit a proposal  for the Minn Zidell Garden at the National College of Natural Medicine a 10,000 s.f. healing and botanical herb garden blending natural and chinese medical plantings along with sculpture, and usable park space.   While the selection panel ultimately chose another firm to provide design services, it was a great opportunity for this young firm to have the chance to be part of this process.  The RFP process was a bit different, as it involved developing a preliminary plan that was part of the determining factor for determining the selected team.  In that regard, our team developed a great plan incorporating both campuswide and site specific ideas – and we wanted to show it off – as seen below in the concept design graphic.

Our team, although unsuccessful in this endeavor, wishes to thank NCNM for the opportunity, and wish them the best on their development of the Minn Zidell Garden.  Look forward to seeing it come to life.

Category : competitions, graphics, heathcare, images, landscape, portland, presentations, projects
0 Comm
12th Jul2010

Chicken Cube Gets Its Closeup

by Jason King

Had a fun morning with the folks from local TV show Garden Time as they interviewed myself and the chickens – and featured some details on the coop design – for some upcoming coverage on the Tour de Coops (happening July 24th).  The Chicken Cube will be one of the 30 or so featured coops this year, and should be a fun time to discuss urban chicken-keeping and ecoroofs as an added bonus.  Not sure exactly what order, but episodes will air the next two Saturday mornings (July 17 and 24 at 8:30 am on KATU Channel 6 locally) and other locales around the state (check listings).

Also, you should be able to see snippets of the videos online at their YouTube page (I’ll post them as well once they are up).  Here’s snapshot of them filming some promos.

This weekend offered some time to make some long-awaited upgrades to the coop, including a reconfigured nest box, widened access for cleaning, and the beginnings of the chicken run (framing seen in the photo above).  To see the finished product, check out the Tour de Coops - taking place on Saturday, July 24th, from 11am to 3pm.  The event offers an opportunity to visit a range of coops in Southeast, Northeast and North Portland.  Check out the link to find out where to purchase guide booklets ($15) and get more info from and about great local group Growing Gardens.

Category : agriculture, ecoroofs, food, installations, landscape, planting, portland, presentations, projects, tours, vegitecture
1 Comm
17th Jun2010

Oregon Sustainability Experience

by Jason King

TERRA.fluxus is happy to be part of the growing Oregon Sustainability Experience, now in it’s third year.   The collaborative multi-day event is convened by The Oregon Business Council, The Oregon University System and E3: Employers for Education Excellence.  In past years, Jason King has helped to lead a downtown tours of the Pearl district and discussed the integration of landscape into the urban realm.  He also has contributed presentations on stormwater, green infrastructure, and veg.itecture (ecoroofs and roof terraces) to round out discussions of sustainability locally and abroad.  This year offers the chance to be involved in a larger section of the 5 day events, which should be rewarding as the interaction with participants has been one of the highlights.

The two tracks cover a pair of elements that fit into the work of TERRA.fluxus – now I just wish I could clone myself to work on both the urban environments and sustainable agriculture tracks.  Some information on the program below:

“Oregon has earned a reputation of leadership in sustainability and is a living laboratory of successes, challenges, and on-going experiments.  The Oregon Sustainability Experience allows participants to explore this rich environment, with hands-on learning from innovators in sustainability in four sectors: business, university, government, and not-for-profit.  The 2010 program offers two distinct tracks: Sustainable Agriculture & Food Systems and Sustainable Urban Built Environments.

With an emphasis on field exploration and hands-on discovery, participants will meet and interact with nationally recognized business leaders and experts who have put sustainability at the forefront of their work.  For professionals, the five-day program offers a shortcut to months of expensive training – providing knowledge that can deliver an immediate return in setting the direction for new programs and strategies, benchmarking best practices and the latest methods, and building a direct connection with fellow leaders.  For graduate students, the program accelerates their research and provides real-world advancement on these topics—along with building a network within their industry.”

To register for the Oregon Sustainability Experience and see for yourself, please visit their website for more details.

Category : agriculture, announcements, community, environmental, planning, portland, presentations, sustainability, tours, urbanism
1 Comm
12th May2010

ASLA Sustainable PPN on Urban Agriculture

by Jason King

A recent post on the ASLA Sustainable Design and Development Blog by Deb Guenther recapped the great panel discussion and charrette.  The feature “Seattle has declared 2010 the Year of Urban Agriculture gives a snapshot of the speakers, including Jeff Hou, the chair of the UW landscape architecture department, along with Keith McPeters, a principal at Gustafson Guthrie Nichol in Seattle, and Guenther, a principal at Mithun.  The panel was moderated by Thaisa Way, the UW landscape architecture professor of history and also included student work integrating urban farming with housing redevelopment in Seattle.

An excerpt from the post:

“Jason’s presentation revealed Portland’s long-time commitment to urban farming along with a series of five principles: 1.  Utilize a hierarchy of urban spaces, 2.    Work through policy barriers, 3.  Reframe permaculture in a new lens, 4.    Maximize Efficiency per square foot, and 5. Develop orderly frames. I found his comprehensive list of the wide range of urban farming typologies to be immensely interesting as it captured the wide range of ways we are beginning to integrate a “new” , old land use into our cities.”

Another aspect of the presentation mentioned was an ongoing list of ‘urban agriculture typologies’ that was started within the Oregon Solutions Community Garden process last fall, and has continued through further exploration in Portland and beyond.  The various elements of what encompasses urban agriculture and food production is wide-ranging, and it was a treat to see these in action through the work of Mithun and the research from Hou, to heed the call for design excellence as laid out by McPeters, and to see it wrapped up in the student work.  I’m excited to see the results that came from the charrette the following day to generate ideas for a range of urban spaces infused with food production.

Thanks to Deb for the mention – Read the entire post here – and check out the other activities from the ASLA Sustainable Design & Development PPN here.

Category : agriculture, announcements, community, landscape, portland, presentations, press, publications, seattle, sustainability, thoughts
0 Comm
07th May2010

Real Good Food

by Jason King

An on-going project with Urban Development Partners NW (UD+P)  is a food cart hub located at 43rd & Belmont (read more about food carts here).  TERRA.fluxus has been working with UD+P to develop this interim use for the currently vacant lot in Southeast Portland as a multi-cart hub with associated amenities such as seating, tents, restrooms, landscaping, storage, and other site elements.  The site is located on an existing parking lot that has not been used for some time – adjacent to this commercial and mixed-use neighborhood.

A few close-ups of the existing site.

The site plan shows the relationship of elements, including the potential for approximately twenty carts.  Routing of water, electrical, and sewer was included to minimize conflicts with site users.  The site also benefits from a number of adjacent parking stalls.

To show the relationship, TERRA.fluxus created a simple SketchUp model to give a feel for the spaces. A birdseye perspective shows the entire site.

The following vignettes show a number of the site elements.

VIEW FROM BELMONT STREET

CENTRAL SEATING AREA

CENTRAL SEATING AREA W/ SHADE TENT

PATHWAY FROM PARKING AREA AND GARDEN SEATING

Finally, watch a video ‘walk-through’ of the site model to get a feel for the spaces.

Real Good Food from Jason King on Vimeo.
Category : community, food, graphics, images, landscape, planning, portland, presentations, projects, urban voids, urbanism
1 Comm
06th May2010

Jason King featured on LANDCAST

by Jason King
Bernard Tschumi, Downsview Park patterning illustration – image via Animal Architecture

Victoria, British Columbia-based Landscape Architect and blogger Christian Barnard was kind enough to include TERRA.fluxus Principal Jason King on episode #2 of his new series LANDCAST – a podcast format addressing ”the voice of contemporary landscape culture”.   The discussion was light and fun, and topics ranged from the origins of the firm name from James Corners seminal essay, to social media and landscape architecture, a dream tour of sustainable Portland sites, and the local food cart phenomenon – to name a few highlights.  Thanks Christian… it was a blast.

Hear the entire podcast here.

Category : announcements, landscape, presentations, press, publications, thoughts, urbanism
0 Comm
12th Apr2010

Coop Competition for PICA

by Jason King

A recent post on Landscape+Urbanism outlined the great work done by designers at SERA Architects for the chicken coop design competition to benefit local arts organization PICA.  I was happy to help out with coop consultation and serve on the jury to judge the four outstanding entries that pushed the limits of poultry-specific architecture.  We were happy to award the grand prize to Gary Gola + Jeanie Lai for their ‘Hen Hedge’ (see images below of the winning entry and all of the entries here).

You can own this bad boy by bidding at the upcoming auction for PICAs TADA 2010 Annual Gala.

'Hen Hedge' Winning Entry by Gary Gola + Jeanie Lai

'Hen Hedge' Winning Entry by Gary Gola + Jeanie Lai

An excerpt of the specifics:

“Based on the work from last year to create the Chicken Cube – I was recently asked to serve on a design competition jury put on by SERA Architects to design the perfect chicken coop. The competition was aimed at benefitting the Portland Institute of Contemporary Art (PICA) for their upcoming TADA 2010 Annual Gala by creating an auction item. SERA donated the design time and $500 for materials and Bremik Construction agreed to donate the construction of the coop at the home of the winner of the auction.”

And a thank you to Eric Philips at SERA for the invite.

Category : agriculture, community, ecoroofs, portland, presentations, projects, teaching
0 Comm
06th Apr2010

Designing for Urban Food

by Jason King

I’m happy to be part of a great event happening up in Seattle next week, exploring the role of design in urban agriculture.  Sponsored by the UW College of Built Environments, the first portion of the evening (6-9pm at Gould Hall) will include a number of landscape architecture and design professionals in a session ‘Exploring the Role of Design in the Urban Food Movement’.

“The panel will bring together Jason King, blog author and landscape architect from Portland, Deb Guenther from Mithun, and Keith McPeeters from GGN, with Jeff Hou (author of the recent book Greening Cities, Growing Communities, and chair of landscape architecture) as moderator. Introducing the panel presentation will be faculty members Branden Born, Ken Yocom, and Gundula Proksch who will discuss a crossdisciplinary studio on vertical farms in urban settings (specifically for a housing project in Seattle – Yesler Terrace).”

The panel is a kickoff to a charrette being held the following day to explore a range of urban typologies for food production.  Those up in Seattle should drop in Friday between 10am and 5:30 pm to participate or stop by the  Celebration and Close from 5:30pm – 7:00pm (both at Gould Hall) .  More info on the CBE website.

“The charrette will be organized around 10 categories of design constraints/opportunities (such as alley space, rooftop space, abandoned lot, etc.), to provide a structure for charrette participants and a means of indexing and organizing design ideas for use by the public. The design ideas will be available to the public via a CBE-hosted website and also displayed in Gould Court for a portion of the term. Momentum will hopefully call on further distillation and development of design ideas and additional sharing mechanisms will be developed once target audiences are clarified.”

Category : agriculture, community, presentations, seattle, thoughts
1 Comm
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