Mark your calendars: The evening of September 17, 2024, will
bring the local design community together to celebrate the work of one of
Eugene’s most notable 20th century architectural practices: Unthank Seder
Poticha Architects. Presented by the nascent Northwest Center for
Architecture, the event promises to be a joyous occasion, not only because it
will acknowledge the firm’s outsized impact on the local architectural scene,
but also because it will mark Otto Poticha, FAIA’s ninetieth birthday.
The Northwest Center for Architecture is the brainchild of Abraham Kelso, principal with Marinbow Design Services
and an adjunct instructor at the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture
& Environment. I had the pleasure of learning more from Abe about the
Center while meeting over coffee at Vero Espresso this past Friday. His vision for the institution is for it to become
akin to the internationally renowned Canadian Centre for Architecture (CCA) in Montreal, likewise producing original exhibitions and publications,
albeit with an Oregon focus and a far more modest mandate. Abe’s secondary goal
is that the Northwest Center for Architecture will one day have its own brick
& mortar home as a venue for exhibits and repository for archival-quality
drawings and documents.
Abe is currently preparing his manuscript for a monograph documenting
the work of Unthank Seder Poticha. Rather than primarily photo-documenting the constructed
projects, Abe’s added focus is upon the genesis and design process for each. As
an architect, I always find learning the inside story—the who, what, when,
where, why, and how—fascinating and informative. Being pretty alone does not
make a successful project; good architecture is much more. It is functional,
durable, contextual, sustainable, as well as aesthetically pleasing. My hope is
Abe will emphasize all these aspects in his assessments of the Unthank Seder
Poticha projects he chooses to present.
Alas, I will miss the September 17 celebration as coincidentally
I will be in Montreal on a trip I have had planned for months (one that
includes a visit to the CCA). There is no way I would otherwise not be on hand
to honor Otto’s milestone birthday and to listen to him recount his successful partnership
with De and Grant, a legacy that is unrivaled here in Lane County. I truly wish
I could be in two places at the same time.
Following is the Northwest Center for Architecture’s
announcement for the event:
You
are cordially invited to celebrate the life and work of three architects who
helped shape the Eugene we know and love today: DeNorval Unthank, Grant
Seder, and Otto Poticha, who from 1968-1986 practiced together as Unthank
Seder Poticha Architects.
They
designed, either individually or collaboratively, many iconic campus buildings:
McKenzie Hall, the Clinical Services Building, the Health Services Building,
and the Lew Romania dealership "potato chip" building, as well as the
Handball and Tennis Courts, which received a national energy award. On top of
that, their many years of teaching and reviewing student work left an
incalculable impact on the strength of our graduates.
In
Eugene at-large, they were single-handedly responsible for creating the
5th Avenue Special Area Zone, which dramatically reshaped civic and
commercial life in downtown Eugene. They designed or renovated many buildings
in the downtown core and developed successful experiments in dense urban living
(High Street Rowhouses, Lincoln Terrace). They designed the Lane County Public
Service Building (also the recipient of a national energy award), notable
professional services buildings (the Bus Barn, the High Street Office Building,
the Forum Building, among others), and the surrounding hills are dotted with
their innovative residential structures.
High Street Rowhouses (Google Street View)
In
Portland, they designed the magnet performing arts educational facility,
Harriet Tubman Middle School, as well as adapted an aging firehouse into the
beloved Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center, among other civic and residential
projects.
The
Albany Public Library, The Local Government Center in Salem, the list goes on!
The Willamette Valley is richer for their work . . . not to mention the coast,
the mountains, and the high plains to the east.
We
will be gathering for a night of celebration and stories about some truly
incredible practitioners, whose work made Oregon a better place, as well as
fundraising to support a permanent home for the Unthank Seder Poticha archive
and the publication of a comprehensive monograph of their work.
Please
join us.
The
Very Little Theatre, Eugene, OR
Doors at
6pm, Event at 7pm
September
17th, 2024
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