t e r r a . f l u x u s

28th Apr2011

MTH Apartments – Vertical Wetland Concept

by Jason King

As part of the work on the innovative features for the Move the House project (previously featured here), one of which involves design of a ‘Vertical Wetland’ that provides a vegetated cascade of roof water from the building through a series of cells that contain soil and plantings. The 12 foot tall features spirals from above grade to outlet in a drain, where it is conveyed to a larger flow-through planter for additional quantity and quality control. The functional art piece provides visible expression of water and will be visible from Division Street pedestrians and vehicles.

Some additional detail shows the configuration of cells radiating out from a compact base. Clearance from higher planters extend out over pedestrian zones, and lower ones are within planting zones, which also makes them visible from within the storefront windows.

The abstraction of natural features in a urban context is vital to connect people to the underlying processes surrounding them. The Vertical Wetland will provide an educational opportunity and activate the adjacent plaza area and streetscape. And thanks to Michael Yun for the great sketchup work on this complex geometry.

Category : art, details, environmental, graphics, habitat, installations, landscape, materials, planting, portland, projects, rain gardens, stormwater, sustainability, vegitecture, water, wetlands

1 Comm

17th Apr2011

Move the House Apartments – Sustainable Sites

by Jason King

Under development is a project along 38th & Division in Portland, Oregon – an infill mixed-use apartment complex developed by Urban Development Partners and designed by Francis Dardis with a range of sustainable features. A few renderings of the proposed project gives you a feel for the style, which provides a modern twist along this southeast Portland street. The major features include moving an existing house to the back of the property, and a split building that spans overtop a community courtyard that drifts through the property.

The project includes permeable paving and flow-through planters to accommodate stormwater management, which is beneficial as the project is within a combined sewer overflow (CSO) area, so additional measures were taken to relieve the pressure on the City infrastructure through this development as part of the Stormwater Management Manual. The challenge in meeting all of these requirements is to avoid stormwater becoming a problem and to treat it as an opportunity. A view of the site plan shows additional features that add to the vibrancy of the project, including artwork and landscape beds integrated through the site. In addition, the project is getting additional funding from Metro to provide innovative development approaches, which added some great ideas to an already cool project.

The canopies around the perimeter of the project will include vegetated planters to soften the building edges and provide an amenity from street level as well as from units. The following sheet shows the configuration of these ‘Green Canopies’ along with their detailed specifications and locations.

Another feature is a living wall that will surround the trash enclosure area, turning what could be a difficult area into an amenity. The design will use a custom metal fabricated system of vertical trays that will hold growing media and a number of perennials and herbs to provide color and texture throughout the seasons.

On the south portion of the property, we are incorporating a number of habitat art elements, including areas for mason bees, hummingbirds and songbirds, micro-invertebrate habitat areas, and a bird-bath feature, along with interpretive information.

The habitat is closely aligned with the site plantings, which is densely configured along the south of the property and includes screening and a large flow-through planter which will include a number of habitat-friendly species that provide shelter, food, water, and other inputs to a range of insects, birds, mammals, and potentially amphibians or other species. For a small site, this concentration of planting area creates a significant patch, especially due to its adjacency to the Ivon Community Garden.

A visual matrix of species associations shows the benefits that come from the site features, and it is interesting to note how particular species are beneficial to multiple different types of habitat from invertebrates to birds and mammals. It will be fun to see the the success of the site in attracting wildlife through art and landscape as it matures.

The site is currently under construction, and additional features are being developed, so stay tuned for updates.

Category : art, community, details, ecoroofs, environmental, graphics, habitat, images, landscape, living walls, planning, planting, portland, projects, rain gardens, stormwater, sustainability, vegitecture, water, wetlands

3 Comm

11th Apr2011

Hopes Conference Green Roof Panel

by Jason King

Jason King from TERRA.fluxus participated this weekend in a panel discussion on Green Roofs at the 2011 Hopes Conference at University of Oregon. Fellow panelists included Tom Liptan (City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services), Steve Koch (Koch Landscape Architecture), and Sarah Whitney (formerly of Habitats Inc in Eugene). Topics varied from techniques, costs, benefits, and innovative design/build partnerships. Hopefully it was entertaining and educational for all in attendance. Thanks to Holly Workman and Alexandria Donati (both 4th Year BLA students at UO) for organizing the event!

Category : ecoroofs, landscape, portland, presentations, projects, roof gardens, stormwater, sustainability, vegitecture

0 Comm

04th Apr2011

Kohler Pavilion Green Screen Rehab

by Jason King

An exciting project that is currently getting ready for construction phase is the rehabilitation of the green screen planters at the OHSU Kohler Pavilion. This project is driven by requirements to screen the structure, which is located at the foot of the aerial tram, from view from adjacent areas. The original structure was completed in the early 2000′s, with plantings installed in around the perimeter of the structure – growing from small planters to the large screen panels offset from the parking structure walls. As you see from this photo, the plantings have never thrived, and currently offer minimal coverage of the structure.

The problems with getting vegetation established were manifold. The planters were undersized, and also suffered from drainage issues – compounded by the uppermost planters draining down into the next level, creating super-saturated conditions that did not promote good growth. Furthermore, there was a significant ‘jump’ from the planters to the metal screen (up to 24″) which meant plantings needed to grow sideways (and also be helped) from the planter prior to growing vertical. This tended to inhibit good growth, opened plants to potential damage, as well as localized plants towards the center of the planter – only covering a small strip of the exterior screen.

CONCEPT DEVELOPMENT

TERRA.fluxus was brought in to develop a retrofit of plantings with a goal of achieving significant screening coverage for the entire perimeter of the structure. The overall scale of the project was important, as though each planter was small scale, there were three levels with 21 planters on each level – making over 60 planters for the entire project. Thus a solution had to be functional, but also simple enough to be scaled and meet budget constraints.

The drainage issues were being addressed by OHUS through a retrofit to provide diversion of the existing drainage to the side of the planters – which was an important first step. Rather than merely replace plantings in these new scenario, we looked at a combination of factors to come up with a comprehensive solution that would aid in long-term project success. The main design concept became development of a ‘jump point’ to allow vegetation to easily grow from the planter and spread vertically and horizontally along the exterior screen panels. The preliminary version of the jump point used a custom-cable system and provided a 10′ wide span from each planter, significantly improving the overall coverage potential.

With the jump point in place, the vegetation was the next focal point. While there are a number of vines that are hardy in our region, many of these are deciduous varieties that would not work for this application. In addition to providing a wide span, the plants in these planters were required to climb up to 30 feet to cover each level of the structure – so vigorous evergreen materials were chosen. Clematis armandii (Evergreen Clematis) was a first choice, providing the foundation of plantings. Rather than rely on one species, we added three additional evergreen vines to each planter, including Holboellia coriacea (China Blue Vine), Gelsenium sempervirens (Carolina Jessamine), and Akebia quintana (Fiveleaf Akebia) to round out the planters, providing diversity of color, flower, and texture.

FINAL SOLUTION

The concept evolved somewhat as pricing for the cable system was too expensive when multiplied by 60+ planters, so the ‘jump point’ detail was reworked using a simpler assembly. The foundation of this concept is use of an off-the-shelf nursery product – loop-end nursery stakes – fabricated by local company Oregon Wire. These offered a hooked end, various lenghts, and were rigid enough to span distances – and were also easily anchored in the planter soil (versus having to attached to a new bracket). This reduced installation and labor costs significantly, and also provide an easy fix for future maintenance, if needed.

As construction begins, the hope is to realize the full potential of this green screen to mitigate the visual impact of the parking structure, and maximize the amount of coverage that can be attained. Due to small planters, it is unlikely that these screens will ever achieve 100% coverage, so our aim is to provide evergreen vegetation covering 60-70% of the area year round, while offering low-maintenance and a variety of colors and textures – as shown in the rendering below.

More to come as I will update progress in coming weeks.

Category : details, graphics, images, installations, landscape, living walls, materials, planting, portland, projects, vegitecture

2 Comm

02nd Apr2011

Women’s Health Center of Southern Oregon

by Jason King

The schematic design was recently completed for the Women’s Health Center of Southern Oregon in Grants Pass, a new medical office building adjacent to the Three Rivers Community Hospital campus that is a collaboration between a collection of local physicians and Asante Health System. The project architect is TVA Architects, working with medical facility planning specialists from the Estime Group. TERRA.fluxus is excited to be working with an interdisciplinary team of designers and continuing a great history of work with Asante on this exciting project.

The scope of the project includes a 15 acre portion of a larger site (slated for more medical office development). Services include site planning, layout, public space design, stormwater management, planting design, and irrigation for the site – working within the codes of Grants Pass while also realizing the aesthetic and functional goals of the client group. Key to this is a strong landscape integration from building to site. A view of the site plan schematic shows the extent of the site, which is the northwest tip of the larger site, providing the arrival to this future complex. The buildings are set close to the street with parking and services tucked behind. Rather than manage stormwater in a traditional manner, this vegetated infrastructure is brought to the forefront, in a linear swale along the entire frontage of the building. Working with KPFF Civil, these stormwater areas are planned to be year-long amenities rather than merely functional systems.

A closer look at the front corner of the site shows the swales connecting to a larger rain garden that doubles as amenity area for the Women’s Health Center staff through an adjacent seating area, and through a curving pathway that allows for seating and viewpoints. This feature will ebb and flow with rainfall while being designed to give a different aesthetic through the varied seasons of the southern Oregon climate. Stormwater facilities will be relatively shallow due to high groundwater, which will make them moist depressions of greenery instead of the typical large wet ponds.

The major aesthetic move comes in the entry court, a public space near the front entrance to the building. This are provides a welcoming view to new visitors, as well as offering a range of seating options, and a water feature that is fed and replenished by captured rainwater. A simple geometric arrangement of spaces opens to the south, and connects to parking area, service, and the adjacent raingarde. There are a variety of planters break the section into more intimate outdoor rooms. The materials and vegetation are more formal at the building perimeter edges, transitioning through this wide, flat plane into a mix of native and adapted vegetation, which softens the geometry, provides screening, and provides a connection to the Southern Cascade ecosystem.

The building by TVA is designed to provide a seamless integration from outdoors to inside, and also makes use of a wide array of local materials. The project is aiming to achieve LEED certification as well, which is aided through many of these choices. It also brings a high level of design sophistication to the region, as evidenced in the renderings of the building form.