Architecture is Awesome: #31 Taking it All In

Pioneer Courthouse Square, Portland (photo by Cacophony - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=2335737)

This is another in my series of posts inspired by 1000 Awesome Things, the Webby Award-winning blog written by Neil Pasricha. The series is my meditation on the awesome reasons why I was and continue to be attracted to the art of architecture.
 
Certain buildings or spaces possess an extraordinary quality that gives us reason to pause and appreciate them in their entirety. In that moment, we take it all in as we realize why they strike us as special, illuminating, and complete. Genius, design, and serendipity play their parts, as do the interplay of wholeness, scale, identity, emotion, and inspiration. These buildings or spaces possess the special power to captivate and impress, perhaps no more so than upon our first encounter with them.
 
When we come upon a building or space that resonates with us, it often is because it contributes to a strong sense of place and identity. Whether it’s a historical site, a bustling urban square, or a serene natural landscape, these examples embody the essence of their surroundings. These places authentically embrace the local culture, materials, and context. When we take in the unique characteristics of a place, we appreciate how architecture can harmoniously merge with its environment and immerse us in a complete and meaningful experience.
 
A building or space that gives us reason to pause often carries symbolic importance and cultural significance. It may have become a repository of history, values, and aspirations, evoking a sense of collective identity and heritage. It can inspire a shared sense of belonging, inviting us to take it all in not only aesthetically but also intellectually and emotionally, encouraging a deeper appreciation for the cultural fabric from which it emerged.
 
The best architecture embodies a sense of wholeness, wherein every element, from the overall form to the minutest detail, contributes to the creation of a unified and harmonious design. Great architecture feels complete, coherent, and purposeful. Whether it’s the majestic sweep of a dome, the graceful curves of a bridge, or the symmetrical layout of a garden, the structure imparts a sense of unity that transcends its constituent components. Details reveal themselves upon closer inspection, drawing us deeper into the architectural narrative. As we take it all in, fractal patterns that repeat and evolve at varying scales may become evident. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, one that is in concert with our native desire for order and harmony.
 
Spatial choreography and our sensory experience within a place are also important. We live in a three-dimensional world. We move about it. The thoughtful arrangement of spaces and the transitions between them is a hallmark of memorable buildings and places. It can create a narrative and unveil different perspectives. A well-crafted sequence takes us on a journey, guiding our emotions and perceptions. We take it all in gradually, layer by layer, perhaps being surprised along the way. Natural light filtering through a series of interconnected spaces, the gentle sound of water cascading down a sculptural fountain, or the tactile sensation of running our hands along a meticulously finished surface may engage our senses.
 
The power of architecture fundamentally lies in its ability to enhance our lives. Spaces that strike us as special and complete have a transformative impact on our well-being, creativity, and overall quality of life. They provide us with opportunities for connection, contemplation, and self-discovery. Whether it’s a place of worship that inspires spiritual reflection or a vibrant public square that fosters social interaction, these architectural experiences leave us with a lasting impression.
 
An example of a transformative space is Pioneer Courthouse Square in Portland. Known as the city’s “living room,” its design promotes community engagement by including ample seating, performance areas, and public art installations. Scheduled events and gatherings curate shared experiences. Pioneer Courthouse Square embodies the best aspects of Portland’s unique culture, serving as a gathering place that celebrates the city’s history, arts, and community. The notion that architecture can shape and enhance public life is evident, especially to first-time visitors, who routinely pause to enjoy and take in the sense of connection Pioneer Courthouse Square fosters.
 
The moment of insight we experience when as we take it all in and contemplate exemplary built places and spaces can be profound. The AWESOME ability to appreciate great architecture is an innate characteristic we all share, one that is richly rewarded if we take full advantage and seize every opportunity to do so.
 
Next Architecture is Awesome:  #32 Every Building is a Prototype

AI and its Impact on the Design and Construction Industries

 
Photo by Mohamed Nohassi on Unsplash

If someone mentions free pizza is part of the deal, I tend to be a sucker and say “yes” to any request. Naturally then, I did exactly that when Kayla Bundy and Sydney Mills (CSI Willamette Valley Chapter president and president-elect, respectively) asked me to lead a discussion on the topic of artificial intelligence (AI) and its impact on the design and construction industries during last Thursday afternoon’s “Learning and Libations” CSI meeting at Roaring Rapids Pizza Co. 

I am by no means expert on the subject. On the other hand, I am fascinated by recent developments in AI. Indeed, I’ve written several blog posts about AI and its implications for the architectural profession in recent years. Speculation about the future is fun because it encourages me to explore the unknown, question my assumptions, and envision possibilities. 

There’s a lot of hype these days about artificial intelligence and how it is poised to radically transform our lives. This excitement is largely fueled by the emergence of natural language processing chatbots including ChatGPT and Bard, as well as text-to-image generators like MidJourney and Dall-E. While these applications showcase remarkable capabilities, I believe it’s important to temper our expectations and avoid the fear of machines overpowering and eradicating us pesky humans. Let’s be realistic.

The way AI is being practically applied today is still largely narrow and siloed. For example, a so-called “AI” application may assist in analyzing building envelope performance but fails to consider the full spectrum of design considerations. Similarly, another app might generate alternative apartment layouts based on programmed parameters but falls short in simultaneously optimizing window size and placement. In essence, today’s narrow AI applications offer specific functionalities rather than general intelligence.

Numerous startups have recently developed (narrow) AI tools intended to capitalize on the current AI buzz and become the next “killer app” for architects. The following is just a small sampling (I snagged the tagline that accompanies each from their respective websites):

• ARCHITEChTURES: Design better buildings faster with AI.
• ARK: The first AI platform for creating architectural schematic design.
• BricsCAD BIM: Where AI and BIM converge for a seamless, efficient architectural design process.
• Finch: The generative copilot for better buildings.
• Maket: Simplifying zoning compliance.
• SWAPP: Design to inspire.

I figure we’re still some years away before general AI becomes a reality and truly useful in comprehensive design and construction applications. Once we reach that milestone, AI will be capable of providing truly time-saving digital assistance to humans. The most valued human skillset will likely revolve around the ability to analyze AI outputs critically and effectively craft prompts to iteratively improve results. This underscores the enduring importance of critical thinking and the capacity to grasp the bigger picture. 

I do imagine AI’s ability to understand text and spoken words in much the same way human beings do will eventually transform the nature of architectural practice, relieving us of what today are often tedious and time-consuming processes. With increasing sophistication, AI apps will be able to tackle especially challenging tasks, such as helping architects with remodel/addition projects. Robots may become affordable and widespread enough to tirelessly handle field-verification tasks, utilizing LIDAR to digitize vast point clouds and autonomously distinguishing structural framing from ducts, pipes, or conduits.
 
The problem with the coming AI revolution may be the elimination of many current jobs in the design and construction fields. Why hire entry-level staff if a digital assistant is faster, more reliable, and comes out-of-the-box with a massive, comprehensive, and up-to-the-minute knowledge base? This raises the crucial question of where experienced, critical thinking humans will come from if there are no longer entry-level roles to foster their development. Everyone needs a starting point.
 
Speculating about the impact of AI on the design and construction industries allows us to better understand the transformative possibilities while considering the importance of human skills. While I began by saying we need to temper expectations, the fact is the pace of AI improvements is rapidly accelerating. As I said previously, AI promises to make the future work of architects better and easier so we can focus on what fundamentally distinguishes real architecture from mere building. We need to embrace its possibilities and proactively anticipate its disruptive potential.
 

Engage and Shape the Future

 

Downtown Eugene, Sunday, June 11, 2023 (my photo)

Here’s the latest on two significant City of Eugene initiatives: 1) The CFEC Parking Reform and 2) the proposed amendment to the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan. The City is making significant progress on both initiatives, considering the valuable insights gleaned from past discussions involving a broad spectrum of community interests. Critical meetings and further opportunities for public input are on the docket this coming week and later in the month:
 
CFEC Parking Reform
As I reported previously, the City of Eugene must comply with the Oregon Land Conservation and Development Commission’s mandate to follow the Climate-Friendly and Equitable Communities (CFEC) rules, which may include significant reforms to Eugene’s standards for off-street minimum motor vehicle parking requirements in new developments. The options on the table include entirely repealing parking mandates (Option 1) or reducing them in accordance with new, targeted parking reforms (Options 2A and 2B).  
 
This past spring, the City facilitated a series of interviews, small group conversations, tabling events, virtual information sessions, and an online survey to solicit initial input from a broad cross section of the population, including traditionally underrepresented constituencies, such as communities of color, persons with physical disabilities, and the LGBTQ+ community. Additionally, the City engaged groups affiliated with affordable housing, transportation, the environment, development, and more. A complete summary report of the public involvement is available here.
 
I was mildly surprised to see only 48% of survey respondents prefer Option 1, whereas 35% prefer Option 2, and 17% are undecided. I expected the strong consensus for Option 1 in the April 13 small group discussion I participated in would be mirrored by a similar, across-the-board preference for doing away with parking requirements altogether. Generally, housing, environmental, transportation, and development advocates prefer Option 1, whereas those involved in ADA and accessibility advocacy, historically marginalized communities, and others favored some variation of Option 2. My takeaway is to fully appreciate the importance of engaging a truly representative cross-section of the population in matters that impact everyone’s lives.  
 
The CFEC Parking Reform process is now entering the formal public hearing and adoption phase, starting with the Eugene Planning Commission. Here are the key dates to mark in your calendar:

• Tuesday, June 13 at 5:30 PM:  Planning Commission Work Session
• Tuesday, June 27 at 5:30 PM:  Planning Commission Public Hearing

You can participate in these sessions to stay informed and have your voice heard. The June 13 meeting agenda packet provides information on accessing the meeting and opportunities for public comment. If you prefer written testimony or have questions, you can email CFECParking@eugene-or.gov or mail your comments to Reid Verner, Land Use Supervisor at 99 W. 10^th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401.
 
Downtown Priorities & Projects
The Eugene City Council’s consideration of amendments to the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan is entering its next, critical stage. At the invitation of City staff, I participated last fall in a group conversation to brainstorm solutions to some of downtown Eugene’s most intractable problems. The City subsequently solicited input from the general public during a public open house and through an online survey. The City Council is now poised to direct staff to focus the amendments on opportunities for increasing housing, improving public safety and comfort, and more. Up to $50 million may be earmarked for investment in downtown projects.
 
The draft list of operational activities and physical improvements eligible for Urban Renewal funding includes the following, among others:

• Incentivizing market-rate and owner-occupied housing in the downtown core
• Incentivizing redevelopment of vacant offices into housing with ground-floor commercial
• Incentivizing redevelopment of underutilized or vacant privately-owned parcels
• Supporting the creation of incubator spaces
• Expanding convention facilities downtown
• Improving the user, pedestrian, and multi-modal experience
• Completing the Park Blocks renovation
• Improving Kesey Square
• Support relocation and development of museum(s) downtown
• Including signs, public art, and landscaping at downtown gateways

The City Council will discuss public comments and consider action on the possible amendments to the Downtown Urban Renewal Plan at two upcoming meetings. The first is a work session, which will take place tomorrow, Monday June 12. The Council will subsequently meet again on June 21 to finalize their decisions on the matter. For further details on the proposed amendments and urban renewal in Eugene, visit the City’s Public Webcasts and Meeting Materials website.
 

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Don’t miss these opportunities to become involved and make a difference in the future of Eugene. I’ve learned that everyone’s voice matters and our city leaders do listen. The key is to be informed and to participate. Let’s work together to create a thriving and inclusive community that reflects our shared aspirations.

Unearthing the Architectural Palimpsest

 

Bivalve mollusk fossils collected from the excavation for Phase 2 of Eugene Civic Park (my photo)

Phase 2 of the Civic Park project in Eugene is underway. Upon completion, the facility will add a 2,500-seat grandstand, an elevated concourse, lockers/showers/toilets, a press box, and storage to complement the existing KIDSPORTS fieldhouse, artificial turf field, ticket office, and parking. Chambers Construction is presently excavating the site. During this work, numerous ancient fossils of bivalve mollusks have revealed themselves. Long entombed within the shale deposits of the Eugene Formation, these fossils are evidence that the Willamette Valley was once ocean-covered, millions of years ago.

This aspect of the project’s site fascinates me and got me thinking about how layered and complex the history of any place we work with truly is. As an architect, I appreciate that our architectural heritage can be understood as an accumulation of layers, whether those layers are historical, cultural, or physical in character.

The term “palimpsest” has been appropriated by architectural theorists to describe a concept that draws inspiration from its original use in literary and historical contexts. In its traditional sense, a palimpsest refers to a manuscript or piece of writing that has been erased or partially erased, and then overwritten with new text, often resulting in a complex layering of different texts and meanings. 

In its architectural and urban interpretation, a palimpsest is a place or space that bears visible traces of its historical layers, revealing that accumulation of different periods, styles, and functions. The idea behind this appropriation is that cities and buildings can be seen as representing a dynamic and layered history that is physically manifested in their structures and forms. 

By considering the built environment as a palimpsest, architects can seek to understand and reconcile the tensions between preservation and transformation, tradition and innovation. The concept of the architectural palimpsest encourages a deeper understanding of the historical, cultural, and social dimensions of a place, as well as the relationships between its various architectural elements and the narratives they embody. By adopting such a mindset, we acknowledge that architecture exists within a continuum, where new interventions become part of an ongoing dialog with the existing built fabric. 

My professor Bill Kleinsasser wrote about how it is possible to see the entire history of a place recorded and presented in the built artifacts and spaces that form it. This, he said, is particularly true in the great cities of the world that have preserved and added to the contributions handed down by many generations. These cities have accumulated built forms, ideas, and principles that would be impossible to duplicate at a single moment in time. I learned from him to respect the historical, cultural, and social dimensions of any place, because all project sites provide us with a means to realize the continuity of human existence. 

There are plenty of examples of how contemporary architects and their projects have exhibited an appreciation for the palimpsest; here are just a few: 

• The High Line, New York City – The High Line is an adaptive reuse of an elevated railway into a vibrant linear park, one that has created a unique urban experience.
• Granville Island, Vancouver, B.C. – Granville Island is a repurposing of an inner-city warehousing and manufacturing backwater into a popular multiuse cultural and commercial destination that retains the bones of its industrial architecture. 
• Guggenheim Museum, Bilbao – The museum’s distinctive titanium-clad design and sculptural form have become an emblem of contemporary architecture, harmonizing with the industrial heritage of the city while revitalizing the waterfront.

The High Line, New York City (my photo)

But what about the history and culture of a place for which little in the way of records or a built legacy exists? Eugene is part of the indigenous homeland of the Kalapuya people. A tremendous amount of knowledge and culture was lost with the decimation of the Kalapuya population following the arrival of white settlers and the subsequent dispossession of the people’s traditional lands. We do bear a responsibility to recognize the entire history of the sites we design upon. At the least, we can inspire ongoing awareness and action, and collectively accept responsibility for understanding the continuing impact upon the descendants of the historical Kalapuya communities. This awareness can meaningfully contribute to our region’s palimpsest. 

Archaeological discoveries can likewise impact and influence contemporary design solutions. Investigations are often necessary when artifacts are encountered during excavations. Influenced by archaeological findings, architects can develop a more informed and nuanced understanding of a project site. A multidisciplinary approach incorporating such discoveries promotes a respectful and contextually sensitive engagement with the layers of history, fosters sustainable design practices, and preserves the integrity of the palimpsest for future generations. 

Expanding the use of the term palimpsest to additionally encompass pre-human interventions and their influence on architects and urban designers is an extension of the concept. While the traditional use of the palimpsest refers to the layering of human history and culture, applying it to pre-human interventions introduces an even broader perspective to the appreciation of a locality. 

When we consider pre-human interventions as part of the palimpsest, we acknowledge the significance of natural formations, geological processes, and ecological systems that have shaped a particular site over time. Furthermore, by doing so we recognize that the physical environment and its natural history are integral to understanding and designing within a specific context. 

Phase 2 work at the west side of Civic Park, May 30, 2023 (my photo) 

While the discovery of the marine fossils came too late for our team to incorporate an understanding of the significance of their presence into our design for Civic Park, it has enhanced my appreciation for the site. This moment is merely a tiny blip on the geologic timeline, so it’s humbling to consider human existence on a much vaster scale. Such knowledge is as powerful as the historical connections and evidence of continuous human effort are to the palimpsest. While this expanded use of the term may not align with its traditional literary or historical definition, it serves as a conceptual tool to explore the interplay between human and natural forces, broadening the discourse around the palimpsest and enriching our understanding of the complex layers that contribute to the identity of a place. 

Complexity really is the crux of the matter. The palimpsest and the notion of complexity are closely correlated. The palimpsest is a physical manifestation of complexity, where multiple layers, histories, and meanings may coexist within a single entity. Both concepts acknowledge and appreciate the intricate and multifaceted nature of the world, whether it is in the physical environment or within complex systems and structures. 

I’m glad the serendipitous unearthing of eons-old, mineralized mollusks prompted me to muse about the nature of change and how incorporating or preserving evidence of that change enriches our built environment. The concept of the palimpsest underscores how architecture is profoundly influenced by the complex stratigraphy of time and place.