The Green Loop shapes development
Image © Gerding Edlen
The Green Loop is set to not only change the dynamics of urban migration, but also reconfigure sidewalk and open space culture. Naturally, changes in diversifying transit options (expanding bike and pedestrian routes) and meeting the needs of concentrating urban density places new requirements on the streets and, in turn, those changes will necessitate a design response from the buildings and developments on the Green Loop. GBD architects and PLACE landscape architects along with the city’s design team are some of the first groups who have to solve these new challenges with BPM Real Estate Group’s Block 216 project. From top to bottom, Block 216 has sustainability and open space culture in mind. In the spirit of the Green Loop, Block 216 will treat stormwater on each of its terraces down the building and also irrigate cascading greenery on each level. GBD and the planning and sustainability bureaus have also been exploring ways to allow for automobile traffic, but slow down the pace of travel by proposing trees outside of the curb line on 9th Avenue to create a woonerf. By centrally locating the plants on the street, the area now allows for larger tree species that will make the immediate canopy of the area bigger and more natural. Festival lighting, communal seating for street retail, and abundant bike parking appropriate for Block 216’s parklets and open spaces will help create a destination with universal use. At street level, the design team has decided to change the profile of the street and go curb-less, thereby making it more bike and pedestrian friendly.
Bike parking, historically relegated to the realm of ‘design afterthought’ on a project has now moved front and center as buildings compete for tenants in North America’s number one bike city. Owners not only want to accommodate for riders of all ages, skill, and physical abilities, but also seek to create the ultimate user experience for the bike facilities themselves. Working for KBS Realty Advisors, LLC, Turner Construction has set new standards in Portland with the redevelopment of the Meier and Frank Building where bike parking is functional, highly aesthetic, and user friendly. Thus, KBS is able to provide user experience that goes beyond simply parking a bike.
Image courtesy Mayer Reed
Another development influenced by the Green Loop is the Moxy Portland project. The 6618-m2 (71,232-sf) hotel on 10th Avenue was designed by DLR Group to meet the ground in an engaging way with an open base featuring large, operable glass walls that open the building to Portland as well as enhance the alternative transportation experience both on the outside and inside the building.
Steve Cavanaugh, design leader for DLR Group’s contribution on the Moxy Portland project says, “As part of our design, we have taken great care to provide adequate bicycle parking, both for hotel staff and for the guests who choose to use this mode of transportation during their stay.”
This will certainly be an important precedent for how other buildings will likely interact within the larger framework of the Green Loop.
Conclusion
The Green Loop will take many years to complete, but is set to be master planning and place-making at its finest. Embraced by developers, designers, local government, and the people of Portland, it seeks to create new standards in sustainable construction, emergency planning, and healthier urban experiences for the whole city—all of this while tailoring design solutions for the character of the many neighborhoods and districts the Loop will touch. Successful design creates places rooted in local culture, while acting as a catalyst for socially sustainable urban transformation. Portlanders take sustainability and connectivity seriously. The increase of riders turning Portland into North America’s number one bike city and the love for outdoor spaces are manifesting in a greener, more sustainable downtown.
Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler believes “the Green Loop will be a 21st-century answer to these questions: how our community works, how it thrives, how we move through our city…to jobs, schools, activities, and back home – as well as for recreation and fun.”
Constructing the Green Loop will not always be smooth sailing. It will require emendations and adjustments of perspectives and sensitivities to the diverse cultural and practical needs, but it will likely be the precedent for future city planning connecting people with their youthful selves, to healthier, less restrained green days.
Serena Vescoso, CSI, is a construction consultant specializing in alternative transportation and sustainable, eco-friendly building technologies. She can be reached at serenavescoso@gmail.com.
Chris Bennett, CSI, is a construction consultant specializing in contractor training, specification writing, and building technology development for MasterFormat Divisions 03, 07, and 09. Bennett can be reached at chris@BennettBuild.US or via Twitter @BennettBuild.
