2019 AIA College of Fellows Emerging Professionals Grant Award

(Business photo created by yanalya)

John Webster, AIA happily reports the AIA College of Fellows awarded one of twelve Emerging Professionals Component Grants for 2019 to AIA Oregon. John is the current Chair of the Emerging Professionals Committee for the Eugene section of AIA Oregon (and also one of my colleagues at Robertson/Sherwood/Architects) and was primarily responsible for submitting the grant application.

The $5,000 grant will assist with the development of a network of interconnected emerging professionals groups in each section of the newly formed statewide AIA chapter, and provide a uniform standard of resources available to emerging professionals within Oregon.

During an effort to connect recent architecture school graduates, designers seeking licensure, and young architects licensed less than 10 years, AIA Oregon board members discovered some local sections lacked formal EP programs, particularly outside of AIA Portland and AIA Eugene. Accordingly, the board identified several key goals:

• Establish EP groups in each section 
• Provide statewide resources for licensure preparation and Architectural Registration Examination (ARE) study
• Assist EP members with identifying mentoring opportunities
• Provide career-focused education programming tailored to emerging professionals
• Encourage diversity and the equitable practice of architecture

In response, John and EP representatives from the other sections developed a plan to implement the goals. The plan is organized in three phases:

1. Establish missing section EP committees, connect emerging professionals with one another, and educate about the benefits of AIA membership. This phase would include the establishment of a common online communication tool (AIA Oregon currently uses Slack). 
2. Provide equitable ARE study assistance in each state section. This means furnishing ARE 5.0 study materials to each of the five sections for use as a lending library, and offering scholarships for subscriptions to Black Spectacles (ARE exam prep software for those located far away the lending library locations). 
3. Provide emerging professionals with access to mentorship opportunities, and provide EP-focused continuing education content.

AIA Oregon sought the grant because the imperative exists to inspire professional growth and to support that growth by providing career-advancing resources and tools to new generations of Oregon architects.

The College of Fellows established the grants fund to assist AIA components in the development of programs which foster the mission of young architects and AIA Associate Members. A primary goal of the component grants program is to make emerging professionals groups a vital component activity. The application requirements include nomination by a component executive, a one-page summary of the proposal, and details of the proposal (purpose, expected audience, budget, amount of grant requested). A jury comprised of the COF Executive Committee and one representative each from the NAC Executive Committee and the YAF Advisory Committee reviewed the applications in June.

The jury fully funded the AIA Oregon application, a testament to its merit and the emphasis the College of Fellows accords to the development of emerging professionals. Thank you John for the work you and your fellow EP representatives are doing to advance the interests of EP groups throughout the state!

Eugene Town Square: Three Concepts

Eugene Town Square design concepts on display at the July 18, 2019 "Block Party" (my photo)

The City of Eugene and the design team led by Cameron McCarthy Landscape Architecture & Planning unveiled three concepts this past Thursday for Eugene Town Square in downtown Eugene. The big reveal took place as a festive outdoor "block party" on the Park Blocks at 8th Avenue and Oak Street. The event is part of an especially robust public involvement process, one the City hopes will continue to attract broad public representation and ultimately realize a new Town Square that fulfills the needs and aspirations of our community. 

The three concepts fall along a spectrum of change and cost ranging from independent blocks that can work together to a unified space with sub-areas that can work independently. You can find a bunch of information about the concepts on the project's website, but I'll provide a summary of each scheme here: 

Concept 1

CONCEPT 1: 

According to Cameron McCarthy, the first concept celebrates natural design shapes (using curving forms and lush plant beds) and creates smaller gathering spaces on each block. The scope of the proposed improvements is the smallest of the three concepts, maintaining the current feel of the Park Blocks while creating a new Farmers Market and City Hall block. The design allows each of the three blocks to function and feel independent while providing an opportunity for all to work together during large events. The limits of work on each block extends only to the curb line (street improvements are not included) and the amount of special paving is focused in key areas. Concept 1 provides a single small, covered stage on the east Park Block. The design does not include storage or public restrooms and the Farmers Market Pavilion is a simple, open-air structure. Concept 1 aims to meet the project budget, but if realized the interactive fountain and Farmers Market Pavilion as shown would exceed the available funding. 

Concept 2

CONCEPT 2: 

The second concept is a contemporary design comprised of rectangular shapes and trees lining the streets and the entry to the new City Hall. A narrowed Oak Street and a west-facing stage on the east side foster a strong connection between the two Park Blocks. The stage is larger than the one proposed as part of Concept 1, has a wood floor for performances, a large covering, and is connected to a medium-sized restroom and storage building. The Farmers Market block feels independent from the Park Blocks but can connect across 8th Ave for larger events. The Farmers Market Pavilion is open air, uses higher quality materials, blends architecturally with City Hall, and includes restrooms and storage. The amount of specialty paving is increased and West, South, and East Park Streets and Oak Street (between South Park and 8th Avenue) are at grade with adjacent sidewalks. This option exceeds the draft budget. 

Concept 3

CONCEPT 3: 

Concept Three creates a unified Town Square, wherein all the blocks act as one but can also be used independently. The tree planting pays tribute to the site’s history to a time when “Rest Park” was filled with groves of sycamore trees. Both Park Blocks have a large covered stage (one featuring a wood floor) and structures for restrooms, storage, and/or an information kiosk/park ambassador. The Farmers Market Pavilion is fully enclosed but will have folding or roll up doors allowing it to become open air. It will also include restrooms and storage. Concept 3 provides the largest amount of specialty paving and provides a unifying, interactive water feature on each block. Large lawn panels, coupled with the groves of trees provide ample space for visitors to gather, exercise, dine, and relax. Notably, Concept 3 reestablishes North Park Street between City Hall and the Farmers Market Pavilion. If fully realized, this option would be the most expensive of the three options. 

The concepts are only meant as “big ideas,” starting points for further conversations about how the new Eugene Town Square might take shape. Ultimately, the final design may combine elements from all three concepts. 

So, what do I think? Fundamentally, to be successful Eugene Town Square will need to generate its own life. This means people should want to be there because it pleases them of its own accord. It cannot rely solely upon persistent programming of events for its vitality. The quality of its design will be of paramount importance. So too will its appeal to historical continuity and perceived significance to our city’s sense of identity. 

Town Square’s character will be defined in part by the buildings that give it shape and by its color, texture, and complexity. The surrounding structures—the Wells Fargo Bank, Park Place Building, South Park Building, Lane County Courthouse, Smeede Hotel, Tiffany Building, the forthcoming development at 8th & Pearl, and the future Eugene City Hall—are or will be of sufficient proportions to visually contain Town Square. At the moment, those surrounding buildings mostly turn their backs toward the space. My hope is the addition of the Farmers Market pavilion and City Hall will generate a level of urban energy commensurate with Town Square’s civic importance and historic significance. That energy will in turn prompt surrounding property owners to make improvements to their buildings. Ideally, these improvements would liven the edges of Town Square and further cement it as downtown Eugene’s center of gravity. 

All three schemes appear primed to erase the last vestiges of the current Park Blocks once-distinctive mid-century Modern vocabulary, which would be a shame. The 1958 design by Wilmsen Endicott Architects and landscape architect Lloyd Bond drew its inspiration from modern art of the early 20th century, including that of painter Piet Mondrian (think Broadway Boogie Woogie). Public art in the park includes sculptures by Jan Zach and Tom Hardy, both well-known mid-century modern northwest artists. There were once two fountains in the east park block, now gone. 

I would likewise lament the loss of any of the existing trees on the site, particularly the largest specimens. All of the Town Square concepts suggest removal and replacement of some of the current foliage as necessary to achieve specific effects, such as enhanced connections across 8th Avenue to the Farmers Market and City Hall. I’m hopeful the ultimate design will minimize the removal of the most attractive trees. 

Concept 3 rendering

In my opinion, none of the concepts hits the mark yet. That said, I do think a composite plan comprised of selected features may hold promise. In no specific order, these are: 

• No curbs at 8^th Avenue, Oak Street south of 8th, or Park Street 
• Narrowed streets 
• Permanent stage on the SE Park Block with the potential for an expanded performance space 
• Enclosed Farmers Market Pavilion with heating, restrooms, and storage
• South-facing City Hall plaza with drop-off driveway and connection to Farmers Market Plaza
• Medium amount of lawn area

The City won’t be able to immediately realize a complete vision of the Town Square. Even Concept 1—the least expensive option on the table—would exceed the draft budget if the City chooses to execute all of the project components. Realistically then, what can we expect? I doubt the political will exists to ask Eugene voters to support project funding above and beyond what is presently earmarked for the project. 

Given this fiscal dilemma, I was surprised to see mention of below-grade parking options for the Town Square project. Constructing underground parking is not cheap. The estimated cost for one level accommodating 105 vehicle parking spaces is $10 million; two levels with 210 total spaces is $18 million. While too many of us today still drive everywhere and all the time, the future may be very different once autonomous vehicles become commonplace and more attractive public transit options exist. Literally sinking money into holes in the ground—holes that resist adaptation for other uses once today’s cars become obsolete—makes little sense to me. Tomorrow’s urban landscape is going to be different, so why design it as if our motoring ways will never end?

*    *    *    *    *    *

Cameron McCarthy and City staff recognize and value the diversity of thoughts that contribute toward the making of a great public space. They’re committed to giving any and all a voice in the process, and being responsive to ideas, critiques, comments, and praise. They will continue to seek input from the public and organizations associated with the arts, persons with disabilities, housing, public safety, sustainability, equity & inclusion, and public transportation. 

If you missed Thursday’s Block Party, opportunities to become involved in the Eugene Town Square design process still remain. You can share your opinion about the three current concepts by participating in the online survey. The next public event will take place sometime during September, when the team will present a single concept that incorporates everything learned from the feedback to the three current design options. That single concept will be further refined and along with a summary report then presented in a public hearing scheduled for October.

CSI’s Digital Badges

I received email notifications last week from the Construction Specifications Institute that I earned two “badges,” digital credentials available to all recipients of the CDT, CCCA, CCS, and CCPR certifications. CSI announced the advent of the badges with considerable fanfare, so of course I accepted the invitation and learned as much as I could about the new digital credentials program.

A primary purpose of the credentialing is to enhance the visibility of CSI’s certification programs within and beyond the design and construction industry. A secondary purpose is to provide certificants with an effective means to share their web-enabled credentials using a simple, trusted, and verifiable platform—a useful tool for an ever-expanding online marketplace. The badges provide concrete evidence to employers and peers of what was required to earn a particular CSI certification. Additionally, the badges help employers quickly and easily identify qualified job applicants. By accessing the badge information, an employer can confirm the skills it represents, when it was issued, who issued it, and when it expires.

CSI partnered with the company Credly to use its Acclaim platform—a leading digital credentialing solution for recognizing skills, capabilities, and achievements—to manage the badging program. Beyond the verification of certification it provides badge-holders, the program offers labor market insights, based on the certificant’s specific skillset, a substantial benefit to job-seekers. After setting up an Acclaim account, badge holders have access to a wealth of information, including listings of current professional opportunities exclusively available to individuals with the desired certification.

"Badges? We don't need no stinkin' badges!" (unless it's a CSI digital badge!) 

Ultimately, the benefits of the digital badging program to CSI should include increased engagement and improved member satisfaction. Industry associations like CSI have experienced widespread declines in their membership in recent years. Emerging professionals simply do not interact directly and network as much as older generations once preferred to do, choosing instead to virtually network and access educational content online. To stay relevant, CSI is rethinking its role and positioning itself to occupy an essential niche within tomorrow’s construction industry. Certainly, aggressively promoting the value CSI’s certification programs is one avenue toward building and sustaining relevance.

As the chair of the Willamette Valley Chapter’s Certification Committee, I’m a big cheerleader for the CSI certification programs. I’m happy anytime the Institute chooses to underscore their value and importance. I truly believe the programs are a fundamental part of the bedrock for CSI’s position of authority on construction communication and documentation.

If you’ve already earned any of the credentials offered by CSI, check your email account’s inbox. You should have received a message as I did for each of your certifications. Take the time to claim your badge(s), promote your accomplishment(s), and expand your personal brand. Unlock the benefits available to you by taking full advantage of the digital badging program.

For more information, check out CSI’s digital badges web page: https://www.csiresources.org/certification/certification-digital-badges

Sculpture and Architecture

Shortest Distance – sculpture by Cris Bruch (my photo)

 

Disclaimer: This has been a busy weekend for me, and I haven’t had the time to write a particularly thoughtful blog post, let alone a piece with any pretense of academic rigor on a topic that clearly demands it. So, consider the following as merely an off-the-cuff musing on a topic fraught with much more substance than I’m prepared to engage: the proper relationship between sculpture and the architecture it is meant to enhance. 

It is Cris Bruch’s sculpture Shortest Distance, which sits in front of the Wayne Lyman Morse United States Courthouse here in Eugene, that got me thinking. Bruch described his work as follows: 

“An interest in turbulence and flow prompted the initial concept for this sculpture. Friction and stress cause eddies, vortexes, counter-movements, and reversals of direction—an apt metaphor for how human institutions, such as the courts, develop in a democracy. Though progress may appear to have occurred in a straight line, this sculpture reminds us that the path is not always so direct.” 

Fair enough. Considered though against the backdrop of the Morphosis-designed courthouse—like the sculpture, itself shaped from brushed stainless steel—Shortest Distance resembles nothing if not a giant coiled shaving, an industrial byproduct of the courthouse’s manufacture. At least that’s where my mind goes first whenever I view it. In this respect, I don’t find it to be a particularly successful piece of art. I don’t immediately recognize Bruch’s metaphoric intent. And viewed through a lens focused upon form and composition, the sculpture’s relationship to light and the space around it, its materiality, and its scale and geometry are much too akin to the architecture of the courthouse. Most fundamentally, the artwork and the building do not enhance my appreciation for either. No meaning is evoked by their juxtaposition. Shortest Distance is an ineffective foil for the courthouse, and vice-versa. 

I do believe the design of the courthouse is much more successful in conveying meaning through its manifestly sculptural form than Shortest Distance is. I wasn’t immediately a fan of the building upon its completion in 2006. Since then, I’ve come to appreciate what Thom Mayne was able to achieve while employing Morphosis’ signature vocabulary of dynamic, edgy forms. The building does reflect his and his client’s (former U.S. District Judge Michael Hogan) contemporary understanding of law as fluid, interpretive, open-ended and responsive, while maintaining visceral and emotional connections to the symbols that clearly differentiate an institution of justice from any other. 

Would an entirely different sculpture be successful in ways I believe Shortest Distance is not? Perhaps, but what characteristics would it possess? 

A few pairings of modern sculpture and architecture immediately come to mind. The first is the setting of Georg Kolbe’s Alba (“Dawn”) in the small pond framed by the Barcelona Pavilion, designed by Ludwig Mies van der Rohe and Lili Reich. Another is Flamingo, created by Alexander Calder and located in the plaza in front of the Kluczynski Federal Building, coincidentally also designed by Mies. And finally, there is Henry Moore’s monumental bronze Knife Edge Mirror Two that stands like a sentinel next to the entrance of the I. M. Pei’s East Building of the National Gallery. In all three instances, the sculptures serve as counterpoints to the buildings they accompany. Through form, scale, color, and materials, these sculptures contrast with and enliven the space around and between them and the architecture. In the case of Calder's Flamingo and Moore's Knife Edge Mirror Two, historical accounts testify to the dialogue between the sculptors and the architects in the creation of intentionally unified compositions. 

Barcelona Pavilion; sculpture entitled "Alba" is at back (photo by Alexandru Ene [CC BY-SA 3.0 es (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/es/deed.en)]) 

The power of Kolbe’s Alba derives from its figurative expression. The statue contrasts curves of the female form with the rectilinear purity of the pavilion. The water in the pond and the building’s marble and glass ethereally reflect, refract, and repeat views of the sculpture. The effect is synergistic and timeless. 

Like Alba, the success of both Flamingo and Knife Edge Mirror Two is derived from the high degree of contrast with the structures they enfront. Though large and abstract in expression—the two sculptures' organic shapes appear animate and help us gauge the scale of the buildings. 

"Flamingo" by Alexander Calder, in front of the Federal Building in Chicago.

"Knife Edge Mirror Two" bronze by Henry Moore, at the entrance to the East Wing of the National Gallery of Art [https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.56664.html]

I firmly believe artwork meant to enrich a sense of place must be thought of as early as possible during a building’s design process. Merely assembling a collection of disparate, unrelated pieces of art and then attempting to identify the most suitable locations within which to display them assures a mediocre outcome. I contend Shortest Distance is a textbook example of “plop art,” a piece that is poorly integrated with the architecture it is intended to enhance. 

Many throughout history have regarded architecture to be the “mother of all arts” because master builders significantly employed the contributions of painters, sculptors, and decorative artists in their projects. These contributions enhanced architecture through the use of imagery, color, pattern, texture, and symbolism. Contemporary buildings can provide a supportive and sympathetic framework for the incorporation of visual art such as sculpture, even while adhering to tenets that may eschew direct ornamentation.