Committing to Long-Term Success

Photo by Michael Krahn on Unsplash

As the American Institute of Architects website emphasizes, the practice of architecture is an intensely personal undertaking. My firm—Robertson/Sherwood/Architects—is no exception. Since 1986, RSA’s identity has inextricably been tied to its current senior partners, Jim Robertson, FAIA, FCSI and Carl Sherwood, AIA. Thanks to their exemplary leadership and commitment to always doing what is in the best interest of the projects we undertake, the communities and clients we serve have rewarded us with their unwavering confidence. The time has come to likewise consider what is in RSA’s best interest as Jim and Carl look forward to transitioning ownership in the coming years to a new generation of firm leaders.(1)

First among this new leadership is Scott Stolarczyk, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, who joins Jim, Carl, and me as a principal and shareholder in the firm. It has been my pleasure to work alongside Scott since 1999. He has amply demonstrated his immense design talent on many notable projects, among them the headquarters for Lone Rock Resources, the ongoing execution of the master plan for The Shedd Institute for the Arts, numerous recreation and aquatic facilities, and Planned Parenthood’s Regional Health & Education Center. Our clients unreservedly trust Scott because they know his follow-through is assured and his judgment is beyond reproach. Scott’s vision and guidance will largely shape the future of the firm.

Additionally, we have promoted both Lana Sadler, AIA, LEED Green Associate, and Becky Thomas, AIA to Associate status to acknowledge their significant contributions. Both joined RSA as freshly minted graduates from architecture school; since then, they have grown professionally and more than proven their mettle in managing some of our most challenging recent projects. Their readiness and capacity to assume greater and greater levels of responsibility bodes well for RSA. By promoting Lana and Becky, we believe we have placed them in the best position to continue to succeed and pursue firm ownership if they choose to.

One benefit of contemplating ownership transition is that it does prompt reconsideration of old paradigms, especially if they are overdue for reexamination. I expect Robertson/Sherwood/Architects will always retain elements of the successful culture and attributes instilled by Jim and Carl. That said, I also envision exciting changes ahead. I look forward to seeing Scott, Lana, and Becky blossom in their new roles and boldly position our firm for continued success in the decades ahead.

It is my pleasure to present this news as my final blog post of 2020, a most unprecedented and challenging year for everyone. I have been and will always be abundantly grateful for the opportunity to work with my RSA colleagues through thick and thin. Here’s to 2021, to new beginnings, and with them the opportunities and promise they bring!

(1)    Even though I only became a shareholder in 2017, I don’t consider myself to be part of the “new generation.” The fact is as a fellow baby-boomer, I anticipate relinquishing my portion of ownership at the same time as or shortly following when Jim and Carl do. One of my roles in the coming years will be to help ensure the success of the transition process.

 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Robertson/Sherwood/Architects Announces New Promotions

Eugene architectural firm Robertson/Sherwood/Architects PC (RSA) is pleased to announce the promotion of three of its key professional staff.

Scott Stolarczyk, AIA, LEED AP BC+C is the firm’s newest principal and shareholder. A University of Oregon graduate, Mr. Stolarczyk joined RSA in 1999. Since then, he has demonstrated superior design and project management abilities for the firm’s most longstanding clients. He is RSA’s designated sustainability specialist in the office, providing leadership in the incorporation of green design principles and serving as a repository of knowledge on sustainable and resilient design solution.

Lana Sadler, AIA, LEED Green Associate, has been promoted to Associate, acknowledging her significant contributions to many of the firm’s largest projects. A 2002 graduate from Kansas State University, her outstanding technical skills, broad knowledge base, and aptitude for managing design teams have been critical to sustaining the firm’s legacy of service excellence.

Becky Thomas, AIA, has been promoted to Associate. Ms. Thomas joined RSA in 2005 upon graduation from the University of Oregon. Since then, she has worked on a wide range of building types, with an emphasis on public and institutional projects. She is particularly skilled in helping diverse user groups move their projects forward toward the best possible outcomes.

“Scott, Lana, and Becky have been essential players in our ability to provide the highest levels of design and project management in service to our clients. We are thrilled to announce their promotion to positions of leadership in the firm,” said RSA president Jim Robertson, FAIA, FCSI.

About Robertson/Sherwood/Architects PC (www.robertsonsherwood.com)

Robertson/Sherwood/Architects PC (RSA) is a general architectural practice offering comprehensive services to clients throughout Oregon. The firm’s success is a result of its commitment to quality architectural design, personal service to its clients, and user involvement in the planning process. RSA’s projects range from modest remodels to prominent and award-winning institutional and public facilities.

Silver Linings: Reasons for Optimism

As 2020 (good riddance!) winds down, our thoughts naturally turn to prognostications for the coming year. COVID-19 will be with us for a while longer but, fingers-crossed, the tide is now turning as effective vaccines increasingly become available. Though construction in the Eugene/Springfield marketplace during the pandemic proved to be remarkably robust, many economists do expect the volume of work will decline during 2021. They cite the tendency of construction spending to lag the overall economy by as much as two years. Nevertheless, there is also hope the far-sightedness of those whose job it is to boldly imagine the future will pay dividends as the dark clouds of 2020 dissipate.

A significant example of prescient thinking may prove to be the City of Eugene’s investment in the transformation of the former EWEB operations property fronting the south bank of the Willamette River. I have not taken the opportunity recently to see the progress in person, so I was pleasantly surprised when I received an update from the City of Eugene about the transformations currently underway. The report (link here) documented a December 10 riverfront tour led by COE project managers Emily Proudfoot and Scott Gillespie for the benefit of Oregon legislative Representative Nancy Nathanson. The photos from the tour depict the significant changes since work started in 2019.

The City anticipates completion of the initial phase of site improvements—including the Riverfront Park elements—will occur sometime next spring or early summer. At the time of this writing, the underground utilities are installed, the riverbank’s steepness has been lessened, removal of non-native invasive plants and replanting with native species is largely complete, concrete work for the river overlooks is in place, and curbs & gutters defining the 5^th Avenue extension, Annie Mims Lane, Wiley Griffon Way, and Nak Nak Avenue are set. Many of these improvements are evident in the photograph above. Looking ahead, the Downtown Riverfront will continue to hum once construction of the proposed mixed-use development begins in earnest.

I previously mentioned my faith in Eugene’s resilience, provident positioning, and its stature as a mid-sized city as reasons for optimism. I also predicted people will value access to parks and open spaces more than ever. I now fully anticipate Eugene’s Downtown Riverfront will become a treasured centerpiece of our urban experience, more than justifying the City of Eugene’s investment in its development. Similarly, I expect the City’s plans for the Eugene Town Square project will provide the community with an enhanced center for public gatherings. I believe these investments will prove themselves critical to the health of our urban core in the wake of the lasting changes to how we work, live, and play wrought by the pandemic.

I am hopeful that from the turmoil, travails, and toxic polarization of the cursed year we have just endured we will emerge chastened. The only tenable course forward is to act with wisdom and in the best interests of our fellow citizens and the planet we all share. 2020’s silver lining may be the catharsis its traumas induced. If we are fortunate, the outcomes will be greater openness to constructive change, a waning of reactionary behavior, reconsideration of what it is we truly value, increased appreciation for our interdependency, and restoration of public respect for science, critical thinking, and logic. 2020 be damned. I’m bullish on Eugene’s long-term future.

Philosophy and the Metaphysics of Architecture

The School of Athens, by Raphael

During the past nine months of COVID-induced isolation, a friend and I have continued our regular series of biweekly conversations on a wide-ranging assortment of topics. During normal times, we’d meet over breakfast at The Original Pancake House here in Eugene, but we now do so virtually. We don’t always know where our tête-à-têtes will lead us, but that is one reason why we find them so appealing. Additionally, both of us are very catholic in our interests. It is far from unusual for our discussions to begin with our thoughts about the latest from the world of sports and effortlessly shift to nattering on about politics, science, world history, religion, culture—or as we did yesterday—the nature of philosophy.

Examining the general and fundamental questions humans have asked for millennia is fascinating. That said, I have never been a diligent student of philosophy. As an undergraduate at the University of Oregon I did enroll in an introductory course about 20th century existential thought and literature, but my primary motivation for doing so was the fact my girlfriend at the time (now my wife) was taking the class. Since then, bafflement is most often the outcome whenever I have tried to learn more about any of the various branches of philosophy.

Inscrutability is the common thread that binds most philosophical treatises. Until the day the perpetual fog my brain resides in lifts, I suspect I will have difficulty truly grasping the principles underlying how humans study the nature of knowledge, reality, and existence. Studying philosophy requires more mental focus and assiduousness than I have so far been able to exercise.

I have always believed certain bases of belief underlie how humans experience and appreciate architecture, regardless of whether the factors prompting the development of our built environment were backed by intentionality. After all, architecture shapes much about our here and now and how it is ordered, and architects do design buildings purposefully to address needs and solve problems. What I am curious about though is the extent to which architecture reflects deep-seated ontologies and the meaning of being.

Proving I have retained a smidgeon of what I learned in PHIL 211: Existentialism, I recall it was the German philosopher Martin Heidegger who distinguished human being as existence from the being of things in the world. For Heidegger, being-in-the-world was a phenomenological construct, so it was the study of consciousness as experienced from the first-person point of view that mattered to him. The study of phenomenology has been an influential strain within architecture due in no small part to Heidegger’s famous 1951 essay Building Dwelling Thinking. In it, he posed the question of what it means to dwell, and how a building “belongs” to dwelling. He regarded our “being-in-the-world” as essentially a problem of dwelling, and that dwelling goes beyond merely providing shelter or satisfying another functional need. Instead, dwelling is tied to place and situated in a relationship with existence. For Heidegger, dwelling also necessitated an understanding of the aesthetics of public spaces and buildings, and how aesthetics can open our thinking about place and the nature of dwelling on this earth, under the sky, and how it impacts our relations with one another. Heidegger argued architecture’s defining role is to structure how we experience the world around us. Architects loosely grouped under the banner of phenomenology have included Juhani Pallasmaa, Peter Zumthor, Steven Holl, and Charles W. Moore.

Another German philosopher, Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, enthusiastically regarded architecture as an expression of the progressive development of history and a metaphorical communication of spirit. In this regard, Hegel anticipated the early modernists, who upheld the primacy of designs reflecting the spirt of the times.

Before Heidegger and Hegel, Immanuel Kant claimed aesthetic judgments of form should be universal, unequivocally categorizing architecture as art. Kant distinguished the functional, social, and other benefits of architecture from consideration of its formal beauty; however, he also asserted that there should be no large disassociation between a building’s form and function because if there were, we would not find it beautiful. Kant also believed it is important for architecture to express profound ideas and possess a deeper meaning.

Like Heidegger, the French philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre focused upon a phenomenological ontology to explain how architecture is experienced beyond mere perception or recollection from memory. For Sartre, imagination is a critical dimension of architecture—that is, he believed the extent to which a building or place triggers a consciousness of imagination influences how we perceive it, especially if our experience upon encountering it goes beyond its material qualities. In this sense, architecture may address our immaterial needs, giving meaning to our experiences through the application of our imaginations.

More recently, the concept of language as an analogue for architecture held some sway among philosophers, linguists, and contemporary architecture theorists. I learned from my early exposure to the work of Peter Eisenman and Michael Graves and their respective application of the linguistic constructs of syntax (the rules, principles, and processes which determine sentence structure in human languages) and semantics (the relationships between words, phrases, or sentences and what these elements mean or stand for) that how architecture may be understood has parallels in systems of communication. Similarly, the work of Christopher Alexander and his colleagues and the application of an evolved vocabulary of culturally adaptive building and design patterns serves as a model for a philosophy of architecture. The use of language distinguishes humans from most other animals. Architecture likewise sets us apart in its use of systems demonstrating a syntactic rigor that are elaborated through the application of meaning and symbolism.

My appreciation of philosophy is far too limited by my education and upbringing, which was heavily prejudiced by a predominantly Western perspective. Being of Japanese descent there is no small amount of irony in this. I do owe it to myself to learn much more about how other, very different cultures perceive their world—how those cultures have studied or explained basic principles about reality and the essential nature of our existence, and in turn applied those principles to the creation of their architecture.

Though I most likely approach architecture from a phenomenological perspective, I would like to further distill my philosophy about what architecture is and what its role should be. I want to be able to question and answer the bases of my beliefs, and then apply that understanding to both my work and my appreciation of everything I encounter. Architects are distracted by a myriad of considerations—sustainability & resilience, social justice & equity, constructability, rapid developments in building technology, and much more—but we should not lose sight of a primary duty of architecture, which is to help us understand our place in the world and the societies of which we are a part.  

Early-Bird Rates for the 2021 CSI Certification Classes end this Thursday!

The 2021 editions of the Construction Specifications Institute-Willamette Valley Chapter certification classes are rapidly approaching. As I described previously, while the principal purpose of the courses is to assist those planning to take one or more of the CSI-sponsored certification examinations, they’re also beneficial to anyone in the AEC industry seeking foundational training in the preparation and use of construction documents.

As the saying goes, knowledge is power. Knowledge provides a competitive edge. Architecture and construction are increasingly dependent upon the effective conveyance of design intent. They are likewise dependent upon the clear definition of project responsibilities and roles detailed by the forms of agreement most widely used in construction projects. It’s important and necessary for everyone—owners, architects, engineers, specifiers, general contractors, subcontractors, construction materials suppliers, and others—to understand project delivery options, standard forms of agreement, means for organizing drawings and specifications, etc. 

Knowledgeable employers highly value those who understand the language of construction, its underlying principles and terminology, and the critical relationships between all the participants in any design and construction undertaking. Employees who thoroughly understand this language not only survive but are more likely to thrive. They are the winners in today’s challenging and constantly changing environment. 

So, if you haven’t already done so, sign up now for either the Construction Documents or the Construction Contract Administration series of classes, both of which start in January. The deadline for the discounted early bird registration fees is this coming Thursday, December 17. This year’s registration fees—having been reduced to acknowledge the limitations of virtual rather than in-person classes—are already a bargain but why not save a few dollars more?

Click on the following links to locate detailed information about the classes, dates, fees, and registration: 

Construction Contract Documents (CDT) Classes:

https://app.box.com/s/6e7aa92vlwt9c2g71ekxetbe306o8sxm

Construction Contract Administration (CCA) Classes:   

https://app.box.com/s/1ztg67o1gzfxsiq815a1e4f6aktupagy

If you have any questions, please send me an email at rnishimura@robertsonsherwood.com.  

Opening the Doors (Virtually!)

The much-anticipated grand opening of the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact took place this past Thursday evening. Of course, given the health risks posed by COVID-19, the celebration was primarily virtual in nature. Undaunted, the University of Oregon presented a very well-produced video celebrating the completion of the ambitious project’s first phase. This grand opening showcase is accompanied by a series of six breakout discussions that each focus in greater detail upon how a particular aspect of the Knight Campus contributes toward the goal of elevating the University of Oregon’s stature as a major research institution.

The new facility clearly signals the university’s ambitions. Additionally, it reflects the Knight’s unapologetic penchant for a contemporary architectural expression, as the products of their largesse for the Athletics Department bear witness to. Fundamentally, the Knight Campus is a manifest symbol of the university’s forward-thinking and determined mission to tackle some of society’s toughest challenges. A more unassuming design by the architects—the team of Ennead Architects of New York with Bora Architects of Portland—would not have symbolized these ambitions as well. As I mentioned upon the unveiling of the design in 2017, the Knight Campus is expressly intended to be part of a rebranding for the university and an asset for use in attracting world-class scientists. 

As completed, the design appears very much true to its initial renderings by Ennead/Bora. It retains its diagrammatic quality, which is relieved by the meticulousness and precision of its detailing. Gathering from the videos, the interiors appear agreeably bright, open, and conducive to collaboration. With luck, I’ll get an opportunity to experience the building firsthand one day. We’ll see whether the building’s aesthetic wears well over the years and continues to serve effectively as an emblem for cutting-edge research. And time will tell if the design becomes as treasured as many of the older campus buildings are today or if it will eventually lose its luster and appeal. 

Importantly, the completed first phase of the Knight Campus is a precedent for how the University of Oregon’s physical facilities will grow and mature in the future—a future that is more uncertain and unpredictable than anyone may have envisioned when the project was first announced a few short years ago. 2020 may have forever changed how universities operate, just as it has affected all our daily lives and sense of security and community. Regardless, the opening of the Knight Campus is undeniably an occasion to celebrate. This addition of what promises to be a truly impactful asset is poised to offer incalculable returns on the substantial investments by the University of Oregon, Phil and Penny Knight, and its many other generous supporters.