Tag Archives: portland

Five Questions with PMA Intern Madison Irwin

PMA’s internship program provides students and recent graduates the opportunity to gain hands-on experience working in the dynamic fields of architecture and historic preservation. Our firm is dedicated to reinvesting into our existing built environment, with a focus on building material science and historic preservation. Since March 2021, Madison Irwin has been an intern with PMA. Her internship has focused on the intersection of net-zero research, approaches to sustainability, and historic preservation. Madison holds a Masters of Architecture from the University of Kansas and is currently completing her Masters of Science, Historic Preservation from the University of Oregon.

PMA intern Madison Irwin

Describe the focus of your internship at PMA. What aspects of your internship opportunity have you enjoyed most?
I enjoyed researching materials and how they relate to new and existing buildings. I learned how old materials could be used in new ways and vice versa. How we should apply an old material in a new space brings up a lot of discussion about preservation theory and my philosophy. At PMA, I was able to learn more about this tension between old and new, and how people view them differently. Tricia, Preservation Planner, and Peter, Principal-in-Charge, made these conversations interesting. They placed these conversations within the context of Portland, Oregon.

Working with Hali, Associate, and Halla, Associate-Principal, provided more of an architectural experience, especially in the realm of sustainability. The most exciting thing I researched was embodied carbon. It places the importance of using old spaces, especially if there is no reason not to use these existing spaces. It was inspirational and helped me narrow down a thesis topic for school.

Has your internship changed your perspective on historic preservation, or working with existing resources?
Yes, most definitely! It has made me more motivated to use existing places and even existing materials. There will always be a layer of history and meaning to materials, regardless of people’s care. It’s sad but true. Knowing this, I feel inspired to try and save as much as possible.

While working at PMA, I was able to work with architects and preservationists who care, very deeply, for these places that have layers of history and meaning, and there is an extra layer of sustainability and affordability that PMA advocates for. If a building means nothing to one person, the amount of carbon that was saved from being emitted or the low construction cost might be more meaningful to that person. Preservation in architecture is a way of retaining as much history as possible while making sure the resource is reused in an impactful way for the community it continues to serve.

There is more than one way to save a building and there is more than one reason to save it. It gave me a sense of opportunity.

How has your internship experience influenced your studies as you return to school to complete your thesis?
My time at PMA impacted my writing skills and how I will ultimately approach my thesis. My writing has always been something I’ve struggled with, and while I had to work through a lot of writing revisions, I also learned that it’s a forever struggle. I will always be working to improve my writing.

My thesis will look at the overlap of preservation, sustainability, and affordability, with embodied carbon being the ultimate argument to save old places. This evolved from research that I conducted at PMA.

Do you have a favorite aspect about architecture or historic preservation?
I especially love the tension between old buildings and new buildings. To see a house built in 1912 next to an ADU built in 2018 is a much more complex story. I find it more compelling than a neighborhood where everything is perfect like it was frozen in time. A layered history is more accurate to how people live their lives. Our own homes are made up of hand-me-downs from parents, grandparents; as well as the latest technologies, fashions, and books.

It sounds eclectic, it might be messy, and some people might be upset to see this new 2018 ADU in the backyard of a historic home. Some people might say, tear down the historic home! I think it comes from our society thinking that there’s no way for the two to live together. The mentality of purity is so dangerous and erases the unique, the different, the excluded.

Exploring this concept has helped me better understand how communities develop and reflect the whole history of an individual lot or a whole neighborhood. Resistance or encouragement to the ebbs and flows of developments also helps to understand the people who live in that community.

As a Kansas City native, we have to ask, what is your favorite style of BBQ?
I am unfortunately a vegetarian at the moment so I don’t get to eat my favorite, which is baby back ribs (with lots of sauce and pickles). But the grillers in KC are coming up with fun substitutes for us veggies. My favorite is a pulled jackfruit sandwich. It tastes like its own thing but is also a great replacement if you ever crave a pulled pork sandwich, with a lot of sauce, of course!

Belgian Blocks, Portland’s Historic Streetscapes

Portland’s historic streetscapes were composed of Belgian Blocks, more commonly referred to as cobblestones. From 1885 to the 1900s, the City of Portland used Belgian Blocks as the primary paving surface, bridging the gap between mud roads and asphalt pavement. When asphalt replaced the blocks as the primary road surface, the asphalt was applied directly over the blocks essentially hiding the blocks from the public domain. During street repair projects, the Belgian Blocks are often rediscovered under the asphalt. Per city ordinance, when blocks are exhumed, they are stockpiled for potential future redeployment.

Belgian Block streetscape in Portland, Oregon, 1928.

To better understand how the City of Portland might redeploy the existing Belgian Blocks, we completed a research report on the Belgian Blocks for the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, and facilitated two listening sessions with the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission to gather perspective. The report provides the Portland Historic Landmarks Commission (PHLC) and the Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) with background information and technical data for consideration of how best the city might utilize the redeployment of its Belgian Blocks.

UNDERSTANDING STONE PETROGRAPHY
Background information on stone petrography is necessary to understand durability, chemical composition, and other factors affecting use of stone in the built environment. When it comes to stone found across the Pacific Northwest, when in doubt, guess basalt. The two quarries that the Belgian Blocks of Portland originate from are the St. Helens and Ridgefield quarries, located in the Columbia Plateau Region.

Ridgefield Quarry, 2011.

In 1931, Harold Fisk produced a history and petrography of Oregon basalts, providing microscopic imaging of different basalts. The work that Fisk did resulted in a comprehensive analysis and categorization of basalt types in Oregon, meaning that comparable basalt types and the locations in Oregon can easily be found and used.[i]

NEOLITE AND LEATHERED
An US Geological survey from 1976 compared the Columbia Plateau basalt flows to the Oregon and Washington coastal basalt flows, giving specific chemical composition of the samples taken.[ii] To further identify the Belgian Block’s thru petrographic differences, a report from 1983 tests the characteristics of two different types of stone blocks at Lewis and Clark college. The types are referred to as “Neolite” and “Leathered,” the latter a common name that may have been derived by the supplier of the stone at the time of installation.

Belgian Blocks at Lewis and Clark College. Lyn Topkina, 2014.

REDEPLOYMENT OF BELGIAN BLOCKS
During the 1970s, with renewed interest in saving Portland’s historic character, the City of Portland passed ordinances no. 139670 and no. 141548 in 1975 providing guidance for redeployment of Belgian Blocks removed during street repair projects. At the time of adoption, these ordinances were primarily focused on salvaging characteristics of Portland’s original street scape. As a result, the ordinances did not address the practical aspects of re-deployment and could not anticipate the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) requirements mandating accessibility for all citizens.

Re-deployment of Belgian Blocks within the public right-of-way must meet modern building and land use codes like ADA and historic review. As a part of any re-deployment of Belgian blocks in public spaces, understanding how the blocks meet, or could be modified to meet, current accessibility codes are critical. Specifically related to the use as walking and biking surfaces, two primary concerns arise: tripping and slipping.

Belgian Block, Lyn Topinka, 2014.

Our report demonstrates that it is possible through manipulation of the stone surface, use of setting means and methods, and testing, to modify the Belgian Blocks to allow for reuse as horizontal surfaces. Modifying the physical characteristics of the blocks to meet tripping and slipping standards for re-deployment is possible. Many modification techniques exist for both shop and field modifications. The report focuses on two: cutting and dressing surfaces.

NEXT STEPS
In review of the primary issues raised regarding resistance to redeployment of the Belgian Blocks, the research performed and presented in the Belgian Block Report provide data and ideas by which both the PHLC and PBOT are able to reconsider polices and from which more alignment with similar goals for redeployment may be met. Our recommendations include:
1. The historic ordinances need to be updated to reflect more deployment options;
2. Design details for deployment are in need of updating and reflect various methodologies;
3. Provide objective criteria for linear deployment of Belgian Blocks within the Public Right of Way;
4. Provide clarity that streetcar and light rail stops are to use Belgian Block in linear patterns;
5. Allow modification of the block surfaces to increase slip resistance and promote textural variations.

Read the full: Belgian Block Report

[i] Harold Fisk, “The History and Petrography of the Basalts of Oregon,” Masters of Art and Science Diss. (1931), University of Oregon, Eugene, OR. University of Oregon Library, 461. F57.
[ii] Allan B. Griggs, and Donald A. Swanson, The Columbia River Basalt Group in the Spokane Quadrangle Washington, Idaho, and Montana, with a Section on Petrography, Geological Survey Bulletin 1413, US Geological Survey (1976).

A Design Concept for an Aging Facility within a Historic District

Extending the operational life cycle of historic and existing architecture is a gratifying aspect of our practice. It connects our core values of integrity, leadership, balance, and stewardship. Renovation and repair work for our existing and historic built infrastructure provides public investment and a more sustainable approach to architecture. It helps create a lasting connection to the evolving communities that use and inhabit the building, and the surrounding communities that interact with the structure.

From minor updates to full-scale renovations the constraints of the built infrastructure push us to reenvision existing architecture while maintaining a connection to the surrounding fabric and context of the resource. Recently we had the opportunity to create a design concept for a six-story structure built in the 1980s composed of reinforced concrete masonry units, with an exterior skin of stucco. The multi-story building also resides in a prominent historic district.
Existing multi-story housing building
The concept removes a false wall over the entry and concrete walls along the sidewalk. Eliminating these elements reduces the visual clutter and floods the entry with daylight, creating a more inviting space with views of the streetscape. Better visibility from the entry to the streetscape also enhances the security of the entry sequence. We also added a visual focal point by reimagining the blank three-story wall above the entry with a hand-painted mural. Beyond a grounding, visual focal point, murals are a cost-effective way to connect communities to local or visiting artists. Additional openings were introduced to the façade to maintain a uniform pattern and bring more natural light to the interior spaces. The final exterior modification includes a new rainscreen consisting of wood, metal, and cement panels to creatively reflect modernization. 1980s stucco façades are not typically energy efficient and modernizing the facade will improve energy and functional performance.
facade design concept for a multi-story housing building
Our approach to this concept draws upon the neighborhood context and the existing building to create a unique, meaningful place rich in architectural character. The proposed alterations balance the need for modernizing the building and improving the envelope’s performance while being conscious of cost and future maintainability.

For us, investing in our existing, recent-past, and historic built infrastructure connects historic preservation and building material science through the sustainable management of materials, identifying next use, and minimizing landfill waste from demolitions.

Written by Kate Kearney and Halla Hofer, AIA, Assoc. DBIA

Project Update: Fountain Place Apartments

Progress photos from our Fountain Place Apartments project for Home Forward

Part of extending the operational life of this existing and historic building is a seismic upgrade. Pictured is the opening up of the floor structure on Levels 1 through 5 to facilitate the installation of a new central egress stair and elevator, which will support accessibility to all levels of the building and provide additional means of egress. Two of the six proposed braced frames will be installed adjacent to this elevator and stair. The braced frames are supported by piles at the foundation and will be tied to a new plywood diaphragm at each floor and the roof which will provide most of the seismic stability required for the building, affording structural safety to future occupants and ensuring the life-cycle of this historic building is extended for another 50+ years.
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SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR STANDARDS
The project is meeting the secretary of the interior’s standards for redevelopment, reviewed and approved by the Oregon State Historic Preservation Office and the National Park Service. Federal tax incentives were used, and as part of the process the building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT THIS HISTORIC AND SEISMIC UPGRADE PROJECT
To learn more about how our team is reviving a historic building by providing critical infrastructure for current residents and new arrivals, please visit: Fountain Place Apartments.

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Written by Kate Kearney, Associate, Marketing Manger

A Practical Guide to Preservation Terminology

Lovejoy Pavillion 001

There are some instances when the English language enjoys sparking debate, confusion, and often apathy, look no further than the “10 items or less” vs. “10 items or fewer” conversation around the grocery check-out aisle. In the preservation field, we have our own niche conversation – the difference between the terms: preservation, rehabilitation, restoration, and reconstruction. Like with grocery store grammar, these four preservation terms hold undoubtedly different definitions and should be used correctly, but even when used incorrectly, we all still understand what you mean.

Let’s take a second a clarify what these four words do mean. As a preservationist, I turn to the source for these terms, the United States Department of the Interior.

Preservation is defined as the act or process of applying measures necessary to sustain the existing form, integrity, and materials of an historic property. Preservation, keeping a building at a particular moment in time.

Rehabilitation is defined as the act or process of making possible a compatible use for a property through repair, alterations, and additions while preserving those portions or features which convey its historical, cultural, or architectural values.

Restoration is defined as the act or process of accurately depicting the form, features, and character of a property as it appeared at a particular period of time by means of the removal of features from other periods in its history and reconstruction of missing features from the restoration period. Restoration, pin points a time in the building’s history and is accurate to only that time.

Reconstruction is defined as the act or process of depicting, by means of new construction, the form, features, and detailing of a non-surviving site, landscape, building, structure, or object for the purpose of replicating its appearance at a specific period of time and in its historic location. Reconstruction, recreates missing parts of a property through interpretation with plenty of research to back-up the choices.
Mercy Corps North Facade (Viewing Southeast)
PRACTICAL APPLICATION
I’ve found that the most common error is using preservation or restoration when the person almost always means rehabilitation. For me, much of my work focuses on rehabilitation, especially when a project seeks funding through local, state, or federal incentives like Historic Tax Credits. Aside from the definitions above, the most defining difference between preservation, restoration, and rehabilitation comes down to creative license.

When it comes to creativity and executing an artistic or architectural vision, rehabilitation is essentially synonymous with adaptive-reuse or repositioning. Rehabilitation, retains character but acknowledges a need for alterations in order to keep the property in use. When a building that was historically a school but is converted into a hotel or an office building becomes apartments, that’s rehabilitation. Even improving an existing use can be a rehabilitation project.

In the end, I like to associate each of these terms with what they will mean for their respective scope of work on a project. As mentioned, rehabilitation means a creative process that balances the historic character with modern needs. Preservation is essentially thoughtful maintenance so that the existing resource does not get wholly improved, but also is prevented from falling apart. Restoration and reconstruction are the most technically and scientifically involved requiring sufficient historic research and materials knowledge to justify the choices of retaining or rebuilding a resource. Unfortunately I don’t know of any mnemonic devise or other short cut to help clarify these four words, but hopefully a better understanding of their meaning will lead to fewer instances of their misuse.

Written by Tricia Forsi, Preservation Planner

Mentoring with Your Street, Your Voice (YSYV)

When it comes to after-school programs, Your Street, Your Voice (YSYV) is a trailblazer for Oregon “high school students of targeted identities to learn about careers in the built environment, and use design as a tool for social and environmental justice”. [1] The program asks students to consider how they might redesign their neighborhoods through the lens of equity and inclusion activism, and uses the context of a design studio as a catalyst for conversations. YSYV not only empowers students by connecting them directly with design professionals from a variety of backgrounds, it pays them for their participation as a testament to the value of their voice in shaping the built environment.

PMA preservation at PPS Madison High School, 2019.

MENTOR EXPERIENCE
Participating in YSYV as a mentor was important to me because, as an architectural designer, my goal is to provide long-term solutions to challenges for clients and the communities they serve. Providing solutions is increasingly difficult when we as designers do not have the personal lived experience(s) of the persons we are designing for. Empathy for the end user is integral to successful design. Mentoring with YSYV provided me an opportunity to see design challenges from different perspectives. As I grow in my career, I want to encourage a more diverse incoming generation of designers in any way that I can, and I want them to know that I have just as much to learn from them as they do from me.

As I worked with students to develop their projects and listened at their final presentations, I was so impressed with the scope of their consideration for current issues. For instance, some students who chose to redevelop a park accounted for the safety and security of protestors who might use that space to gather. It was inspiring to see how individuals lived experiences were reflected in their projects, and how they chose to address issues that directly affect them. Many of the proposals were also realistic and attainable for the communities they targeted, an extremely important facet of making design accessible to everyone. Many students carried out this work despite technology-related hinderances that were out of their control. For instance, poor internet connections prevented several students from turning on their video during Zoom sessions, which directly impacted their ability to share and develop their projects with their peers and mentors. Despite the obstacles created and exacerbated by the pandemic, and subsequently remote learning, the students were able to create an extremely supportive, safe, and open virtual environment in which to share their opinions and ideas. It gives me incredible hope and anticipation for the near future of the AEC industry.

HOW TO SUPPORT YOUR STREET, YOUR VOICE
If you are interested in supporting Your Street, Your Voice and other associated programs, visit their website to sign up as a mentor or make a donation. I plan to participate in future sessions, and I am beyond excited to see where this experience takes these young, talented designers. If nothing else, I hope I can be a resource to students who are considering and have questions about the fields of architecture and historic preservation.

1. About. (n.d.). Retrieved December 24, 2020, from https://www.yourstreetyourvoice.com/about

Written by Skyla Leavitt, architectural designer.

Leaping into the New Year

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THIS YEAR. We could not have navigated 2020 without you and we thank you for your patience, trust, and partnership. We wish you a holiday season filled with warmth and rest, and look forward to collaborating with you in 2021.

Air hugs and elbow bumps,

Peter Meijer Architect, PC
Kate, Skyla, Peter, Tricia, Halla, Hali, and Julia

2020 Community Outreach
As we come to the end of an unprecedented year, we must continue to support our communities in need. In 2020 we supported organizations that provide vital resources for some of Oregon’s most vulnerable community members, including the Giving Tree, Rose Haven, the Oregon Food Bank, Renovate PDX, Your Street Your Voice/ Camp ELSO, Self Enhancement, Inc. (SEI), and Designing Justice + Designing Spaces.

2020 Project Highlights
In 2020 we continued collaborating with Home Forward on the historic renovation and seismic update of Fountain Place Apartments, partnering with Lorentz Bruun Construction. 2020 also brought another important affordable housing project with Home Forward, Dahlke Manor, with the opportunity to partner with WALSH. We performed a window assessment of a converted industrial warehouse, and assessed 612 steel windows on-site by drone! Our office was honored to be part of project teams that won AIA Oregon Architecture Awards and a Restore Oregon, DeMuro Award. 2020 wrapped up with winning an exciting survey & inventory project of mid-century modern resources in Clark County, Washington.

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Storefront Improvements in a Historic District

Located in the 13th Avenue Historic District, PMA was retained to review the compatibility of new storefront improvements to the proposed ground floor retail space, loading dock, and sidewalk of the historic Crane Building.

We guided the property managers and design team through a series of design critiques, meetings, and discussions with the City historic review staff. The building was constructed in 1909 and designed by Portland-based architect William C. Knighton.

Façade Design Concepts For A Storefront Renovation

We generated design concepts for the exterior and interior renovation, and façade development studies of a previous car showroom along Sandy boulevard in Portland, OR. A goal of the renovated space was to facilitate innovation and support for small business owners.

Initial concept studies created for the client removed the awnings that disrupt the façade, while relocating the prominent skylight below the current parapet line. Detailed tile patterning in an art deco motif was used to emphasize the columns and provide a connection to the height of the building. Additional signage was designed into the façade and integrated into the column details. Structural supports for a shaded louver system protrude two-thirds up the columns, with a heavy added ledge under the windows, was created to provide seating and visually grounds the storefront façade.

Fountain Place Apartments Seismic Renovation

Constructed in two distinct phases in 1911, the Fountain Place Apartments were originally named the Wheeldon Annex. The building occupies a quarter-block lot in downtown Portland, Oregon, at the corner of SW Salmon Street and SW 10th Avenue. Fountain Place is one of the earliest surviving examples of a U-shaped residential apartment/hotel in downtown Portland. It is a 5-story brick structure with intact Italian Renaissance Revival features such as a decorative bracketed cornice, buff brick body with corbeled details and rusticated base, and an upper level treated as a paneled frieze. The property is owned by Home Forward. There are 80 total units, with studio, one and two bedroom homes. The residents it serves have incomes of 30% of the area median income.

Working with Lorentz Bruun Construction, we are delivering a design-build project to improve the life safety of Fountain Place Apartments, while retaining its historic character. To learn about how the redevelopment of Fountain Place Apartments revives a historic building by providing critical infrastructure for current residents and new arrivals, please visit: Fountain Place Apartments PDX