A Museum for Corvallis

The new Benton County Historical Society Museum will allow the Society to exhibit its diverse cultural and natural history collections, connect with a broader audience, and bring new life to a streetscape of shops, residences and historic buildings. (Unless noted otherwise, all images by Allied Works Architecture from the Benton County Historical Society & Museum website).

Museums are full of life! Despite old stereotypes to the contrary, museums are living, breathing institutions that evolve on a daily basis. The Benton County Historical Society & Museum is a case in point: In 2008, the BCHS acquired the Horner Collection from Oregon State University, a truly remarkable treasure trove of significant artifacts.

However, like the fascinating attic full of wonderful objects we explored as children in our grandparents’ house, the Horner Collection is largely hidden away. The majority of the artifacts is not on public display at the BCHS’ current home in the 1867 Philomath College Building, (restored and converted to use as a museum in 1980); rather, the bulk of the collection is housed next door in a spacious storage and curatorial facility. Only limited public access to the storage building’s contents is possible.

The need for additional display space is clear to the Historical Society, and it has embarked upon an ambitious campaign to build a new museum in downtown Corvallis. A new building will ensure that the artifacts in the Horner Collection are shared with as many Benton County residents and visitors as possible, including anthropologists, geologists, archaeologists, paleontologists, historians, genealogists, educators, students, and laypersons.

The proposed museum will be located at the corner of Second and Adams Streets in downtown Corvallis, Oregon.

The Bilbao Effect
Over the course of the past twenty years or so, institutions and entire communities have placed their faith in the development of new showcase museum buildings designed by “star” architects like Frank Gehry, Santiago Calatrava, Renzo Piano, and Daniel Liebeskind as a means to increase patronage and support. Gehry’s Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Spain, is particularly famous for the power of its dramatic architecture to revitalize an entire city and region.

While the BCHSM lacks the enormous financial endowment and support that institutions like the Guggenheim enjoy, it nevertheless aspires to develop an architecturally distinctive building in downtown Corvallis. Toward this end, it issued a Request for Qualifications following its acquisition of the Horner Collection, receiving 12 submissions.(1) The BCHSM ultimately selected Allied Works Architecture’s (AWA) Portland office to prepare a conceptual design.

Allied Works is well-known for its museum projects, which include the Contemporary Art Museum St. Louis, the expansion of the Seattle Art Museum, the Museum of Arts & Design in New York, and the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver (presently under construction).

Museum of Arts & Design, New York, by Allied Works Architecture (photo via Wikipedia)

Clyfford Still Museum, Denver, by Allied Works Architecture (model photo from website of the Clyfford Still Museum)

Born and raised in Portland, AWA’s principal, Brad Cloepfil, is a 1980 graduate of the UO School of Architecture and Allied Arts.(2) His profile has steadily risen since the success of AWA’s seminal Weiden + Kennedy adaptive reuse project.

I'm only starting to learn about Brad Cloepfil’s approach to creating architecture. He is sought after by museums because of his ability to craft buildings that shift your perception so that you are open to new experiences. He views each of his museums as a “vessel” whose purpose it is to prepare you to see something different.

Cloepfil often looks to art to inform his design process; in the past, he has taken inspiration from artists like Donald Judd and Richard Serra, whose works are overtly spatial in their genesis. He has also been profoundly influenced by the Oregon landscape, as well as the expressive potential of construction and structure. Museum directors appreciate that he searches for the right questions to ask in an attempt to gather in the forces of their institution – its dreams, as well as the spirit and history of the place.

His buildings are famously non-expressive, at least when compared to those of the more heralded “starchitects.” In a July 2007 piece for Metropolis, writer Andrew Blum characterized Cloepfil as an “elementalist,” the embodiment of a shift away from glib shape-making (a la Gehry or Libeskind) toward a more timeless and lasting architecture:

. . . the relative unrenderability(sic) of Cloepfil’s work is a remarkable change from most museum projects—undoubtedly a blessing and a curse. Not that the finished buildings suffer; if anything, they gain power for not pandering to the camera. But architecture is salesmanship, and Cloepfil doesn’t make it easy for himself. “There are at times frustrations with clients and boards because they always want to know what it looks like,” he admits. “And if you say, ‘We don’t know yet,’ rather than sit at the podium and do a watercolor and say, ‘Here it is’—that’s just not the way we work. It isn’t like I don’t care how a building communicates visually. It’s just not a beginning place.”

In some respects, I find Cloepfil’s design approach akin to that of Peter Zumthor and David Chipperfield, with their emphasis upon the sensory aspects of the architectural experience. I’m also reminded somewhat of the architecture of Herzog & de Meuron, particularly because of the focus upon materiality they share with Cloepfil.

I hope to learn more about Brad Cloepfil and the work of Allied Works Architecture. There appear to be two recently published monographs that showcase the work of AWA but I have yet to get my hands on either of them. I expect to eventually add one or the other to my bookshelf.

The first floor includes two courtyards, a museum store, spacious lobby, education/event space and a project gallery. The red line indicates a series of built-in wall cases.

The second floor includes three gallery spaces, two of which can be sub-divided.

Fundamental Issues
A museum is a dynamic operation with an ever-changing collection, and its architecture must be responsive to much more than just the functional demands associated with the display of artifacts. The architecture of a good museum will be in harmony with the type of museum and subject matter that it supports – neutral for the exhibits, but expressive and memorable in its own right where people access the museum and formulate first and last impressions.

The architecture ought to be compatible with its surroundings, reflective of community pride and values, and be inviting and accessible. In short, the architecture should seek to both draw its inspiration from and support the evolving, dynamic life of the museum.

Upper floor gallery spaces.

There are several other issues related to realizing a new museum for the Historical Society in downtown Corvallis. These include:

• Development of a broadly-appealing design that will attract the support of donors and friends of the Museum.
• Provision of flexible gallery spaces capable not only of optimally displaying the diverse pieces of the Horner Collection, but also accommodating the needs of varied traveling exhibits.
• Clear organization of a functional program and barrier-free building circulation on a site that, by necessity, requires arraying displays and other spaces across multiple floors.
• Creation of a building that contributes positively to the urban experience of a vibrant and revitalized area of downtown Corvallis.
• Implementation of appropriate sustainable design strategies to achieve LEED Gold certification as required by the RFQ’s project brief.

AWA’s concept addresses these issues with a two-story scheme that features high-ceilinged galleries, flexible exhibit space, a pair of courtyards, and a museum store rendered in the firm’s characteristically modernistic idiom. One measure of AWA’s success will be how successfully it assembles the desired complement of functional spaces on the relatively tight, urban site. The Historical Society’s charge to AWA is to ensure that the layout of spaces maximizes efficiencies to the greatest extent possible, while simultaneously providing a gracious experience for museum visitors.

Upper floor gallery spaces.

Ultimately, the new museum may or may not resemble the images shown here. AWA’s work is not conceived in scenographic terms; as Andrew Blum noted in Metropolis, the firm’s projects do not pander to the camera. Like everyone else, I will have to look forward to visiting the completed project before being able to render fair judgment about the design.

Second Street elevation.

By selecting Allied Works Architecture, the Benton County Historical Society has swung for the fences. It remains to be seen if it has hit a home run. Based on the promise of his past projects, Brad Cloepfil offers the Society good odds to deliver a one-of-a-kind facility that will bring to light the wonders of the Horner Collection.

(1) My firm – Robertson/Sherwood/Architects – coveted this project. Alas, we were not short-listed because a) on reputation alone, how could we compete with the likes of AWA?; and b) we could not boast a large portfolio of museum-related projects (our most relevant project is our 2009 addition to the Museum of Natural & Cultural History at the University of Oregon).

During our pursuit of the commission, I had the pleasure to speak with BCHSM Executive Director Irene Zenev several times. Irene “gets” architecture and recognizes the fact that the proposed museum will be a civic asset for downtown Corvallis. She understands that outstanding architecture will deliver added value to the display of the Horner Collection.

(2) Because Cloepfil graduated in 1980, he and I never crossed paths (I began my studies at the University of Oregon in the fall of 1980). He completed graduate studies at Columbia University in 1985 after a stint working with Mario Botta in Switzerland, with whom he shares an emphasis on craftsmanship and geometric order. Cloepfil founded Allied Works Architecture in 1994.

Invest in Yourself: Register Today!

An Emerald Vision: The 2010 American Institute of Architects Northwest & Pacific Region Conference

October 13-16, 2010

I blogged previously about how AIA-SWO’s 2010 Conference marketing committee, led by Barbara Harris, has assembled a promotional campaign for this fall's big event. That effort includes a series of email “blasts” to targeted audiences. With online registration now open, the committee is directing the next blast (below) to all AIA members and associates who attended past AIA Northwest & Pacific Region conferences in Spokane, Honolulu, and Anchorage:

You’ve atended the AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Conference before. You know how valuable it is. This year’s edition will be no exception. Give yourself the gift of An Emerald Vision: The 2010 American Institute of Architects Northwest & Pacific Region Conference, October 13-16, in Eugene, Oregon.

Want an asset that will never diminish in value? Invest in yourself. That’s a sure bet in this economy. Profit richly by networking and learning.

Coveting a guaranteed return on your investment? Receive all 18 continuing education units required for your annual AIA membership (including HSW and SD credits) at the Region conference.

Seeking value? Explore the power of good design in the widest possible context — consider transportation, civic leadership, land-use planning, even the effect of natural disasters on place-making. We'll push beyond the green bandwagon and ask “what’s next?” We’ll look at genius loci and the vision of futurists.

Looking to diversify your conference experience? Select from our broad portfolio of educational sessions: lectures by distinguished speakers, intriguing panel discussions, or tours of outstanding local projects. We’ll spend a day on the University of Oregon campus, drawing upon a new generation of design leadership throughout the Region. We’re arranging alumni get-togethers, and time with professors and students.

Space is limited. Tell everyone what we have planned and have them sign up before summer slips away.

No other AIA component is as geographically and culturally diverse as the Northwest & Pacific Region. That’s why you value the exchange of ideas, networking, and the company of your Region colleagues. You know how rewarding an investment in every AIA Northwest & Pacific Region conference can be.

Invest in a commodity that will pay real dividends. It's a gem: An Emerald Vision.

Make your 2010 AIA Northwest & Pacific Region Conference plans now!

Register online at http://www.emeraldvision2010.com/.

SW Oregon Architect v2.0

You’ve probably noticed that SW Oregon Architect has a new look. I hadn’t changed my blog’s appearance since its debut 2½ years ago. That’s an eternity in blog years. It was time for a change.

I prefer simplicity and legibility, so I’ve arranged the page components and selected the font style and colors accordingly. My emphasis will always be on my blog’s content, so I’m keeping things uncluttered with a minimal use of widgets and no advertising. Though the bones of the layout belong to one of Blogger’s standard templates (called “Awesome”), there is plenty of customization possible. I even used one of the standard iStockphoto background images offered with the Blogger Template Designer.

Other changes:

• I dropped Life Without Buildings from my blog roll. As I wrote in my June 6 post, one of the criteria for inclusion on my list is that a blog must post with regularity. The most recent Life Without Buildings post was on March 17.
• I moved the RSS web feed links closer to the top of my blog layout, “above the fold” in newspaper parlance, so that they’re easy to find.
• I consolidated some of the labels to reduce the size of that list.
• I removed the AIA-SWO monthly program sponsor widget. I'm no longer in charge of finding sponsors and consequently am not always aware of who the sponsor is in advance of each chapter meeting.

Ultimately, I’d like to learn more about how to increase traffic to my site. However, I always intended SW Oregon Architect to be read by a small and focused audience. This gives my blog a purpose and distinguishes it from the countless other blogs about architecture out there in the blogging universe.

This will be the last meta-blogging (blogging about blogging) post for the foreseeable future. Most readers of blogs are not bloggers themselves, so it stands to reason that they are not amused, entertained, or informed by a stream of blog entries about blogging. I simply felt it was necessary to acknowledge the obvious changes to my blog and explain my reasons for making them.(1)

I welcome any comments that you may have about my blog’s new appearance. Let me know how I can further improve SW Oregon Architect so that you’ll want to come back regularly.

(1) Jeff Atwood compiled a list of thirteen blogging clichés on his blog, Coding Horror, effectively a set of rules for what not to do with your blog; the number 10 cliché was “Blogging about Blogging.” Ironically, Jeff’s list of clichés stands as an example of what not to do: his cliché number 12 is “Top (n) Lists.”

Emergent Urbanism

The Emergent Urbanism Network is a very interesting web portal intended to serve the online community of planners, designers, builders, thinkers and others who are enthusiastic about urbanism. It was created by Mathieu Helie, a Canadian urbanist with a Masters degree in Urban Planning from Université Paris/Panthéon-Sorbonne and Institut d’Urbanisme de Paris, and a B.A. in Economics and Computer Science from Concordia University.

Helie has engineered the Network to be a social media portal for an online community of planners, designers, builders, thinkers and others who are enthusiastic about urbanism. Any member may post nodes or vote on them. The best nodes selected by the community float up to the top of their channel before decaying away to be replaced by new nodes. This makes the network at once a forum, portal, community, and social network.

Helie’s thesis is that previous websites on the subject of urbanism have relied on the central planning model of editors choosing what does or does not deserve attention. The Emergent Urbanism Network recognizes that urban complexity is generated from the bottom up, not by top-down planners, and relies on its members to decide what is relevant by providing a simple and clear process through which the network is grown.

The morphology of the Emergent Urbanism Network is thus consistent with Helie’s interest in the sciences of emergence and complexity, which together have given rise to a new paradigm that has triggered a revolution in mathematics, physics, biology and architecture. His blog, Emergent Urbanism, provides succinct definitions of emergence, complexity, and urbanism, which I have excerpted here:

"What is emergence?
Emergence is the creation of systems of greater dimension than the elements that create it, sometimes also called self-organization, through the application of localized rules of action. The most elementary emergent systems are the binary, one-dimensional cellular automata studied by Stephen Wolfram that create complex fractals when shown in two dimensions. Emergence is also behind all forms of multicellular life, the cells of a plant or an animal following the instructions coded in their DNA to organize themselves into a much bigger organism. Those organisms will then also create emergent structures by following simple rules of action, like the termite cathedrals often used as an icon for emergence. Emergence is also behind human societies, from the invisible hand of economics (invisible because it is a dimension greater than any one of us) to the astonishing growth of the Internet and later of Wikipedia.

"Studying the rules that enable emergence will allow us to build the systems to deal with the complexity of the universe.

"What is complexity?
Complexity is the physical fact of problems existing at multiple scales simultaneously. Complex systems solve these problems by adopting geometric structures that have structure at multiple scales simultaneously, that is to say fractal geometry. The pioneer of fractal geometry, Benoit Mandelbrot, was able to identify fractals everywhere in nature, resolving the complexity of physical chaos by creating complex ordering of mountains, rivers and coasts. The architectural scientist Christopher Alexander elaborated on the link between fractal geometry and life by defining the theory of centres, which are parts or features that are distinguishable from the whole and cooperate with the whole to survive in the complexity of the universe. Because centers are themselves made of centers, they fit the recursive definition of fractals. Most important of all, complex structures can only be made through generative processes that draw from a previous step, repeated infinitely. The science of complexity is thus focused on discovering how things are produced, their final form being far too complex for one mind to fully grasp.

"What is urbanism?
Since the dawn of civilization, humans have made cities to support their societies. These cities, although they have been the source of progress, have never been fully understood, relying on traditions and trial-and-error processes for their growth. The reason for this is because they occur in the emergent dimension, and later attempts to plan them and bring them under the control of a central planner have resulted not in ordered cities, but disordered emergence. Today the phenomenon of suburban sprawl is being fought on multiple fronts, all meeting little success, while the disasters of million-people shantytowns have become accepted as normal. These are the outcome of a bad scientific choice, of applying linear sciences to urbanism.

"Urbanity is the cooperation and mutual-support of large numbers of people in close proximity. It is inevitably emergent, and to understand the science of emergence is the key to inventing the first fully emergent urbanism, capable of resolving all the complexities of a 21st century, sustainable city."

I was drawn to Mathieu Helie’s blog and the Emergent Urbanism Network because of my own budding interest in emergence and complexity. That interest arose from casual curiosity about the subjects, further stirred by my contact with Alder Stone Fuller and his (now closed) Euglena Academy. Several of my previous posts (here, here, and here) hint at my appreciation of the concepts of systems sciences, including self-organization, emergence, and the nature of complex systems. Helie’s presentation to the Complex Systems Laboratory of the University of Montreal entitled Urban Complexity in the Practice of Urbanism is an easily digested primer on the topic.

Fractal geometry

I’ve added a link to the Emergent Urbanism Network to my Sites of Interest list on the sidebar. Mathieu Helie’s hope is that the Network will acquire a life of its own and that the early structure its members provide to the network will shape its future. I’m keen on seeing how the Network will take form. It is a community, a virtual analog of a real-world urban structure. Check it out and consider joining others like me who share an interest in urban complexity and emergence.

June AIA-SWO Chapter Meeting Recap

The recently completed John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes is a lightning rod in the escalating debate that has pitted athletics against academics on the University of Oregon campus. The building’s expense, over-the-top luxury, and exclusivity further contribute to the perception of many faculty and students that the priorities of the University and its well-heeled donors are misplaced, particularly since Oregon has slipped to 46th in the nation for per capita public spending on higher education. Given this backdrop, it’s no surprise that the exceptional architecture of the Jaqua Center is itself controversial.

The controversy is why I eagerly anticipated the June AIA-SWO chapter meeting. I wanted to understand the motivations that led to a non-contextual response fraught with symbolism, intended or otherwise. Our speaker, Robert Snyder of ZGF Architects, conducted tours of the Jaqua Center and described the project’s design process. As project architect, Robert provided an insider’s perspective that enhanced my understanding of the building and its genesis.(1)

Robert Snyder of ZGF Architects leads a tour of the Jaqua Center (my photo)

Particularly noteworthy was the extent of the client’s involvement in the design of the Jaqua Center. Like many others, I assumed that Nike founder Phil Knight was the project’s primary patron and overseer. In fact, it was Knight’s confidant and Nike special assistant Howard Slusher who played the commanding role in shaping and approving design decisions for the building. He asked for and the Department of Athletics received a place where “learning is cool.” He worked closely with ZGF and its team on the concept of a “library in a garden” and the selection of the Center’s prominent site along Franklin Boulevard. The project bears Slusher's stamp and not Phil Knight's.(2)

ZGF rewarded Slusher’s confidence with a masterfully detailed, state-of-the-art academic services building for the University’s 520 student athletes. The Center’s first-class amenities include a 114-seat auditorium (the Harrington 3 Auditorium), 35 tutor rooms, 25 faculty/advising offices, a conference room, a flexible classroom, a computer lab, a graphics lab, 3D teaching labs, a library, a student lounge, a tutor lounge, a staff lounge, study carrels for all freshmen athletes, and dedicated parking. The facility is unrivaled among its NCAA Division 1-A peers.

Jaqua Center: View toward southeast from Agate Street (my photo)

Architecturally speaking, the Jaqua Center is a coolly elegant exercise in minimalist abstraction, an exquisite, 3-story, 40,000 square foot glass cube. Its undifferentiated facades of remarkably flat, clear glass respond, chameleon-like, to the subtleties of the changing light at different times of the day. The reflecting pool that surrounds the Center furthers the impression of an ethereal, dematerializing pavilion.

The glass and stainless steel scrim sandwich (my photo)

The building’s envelope is actually a ventilated double skin. The façade comprises two layers of glass separated by a 5-foot gap. Between the planes of glass is a scrim of stainless steel mesh. The double skin is a thermal blanket that insulates during cold weather and helps to cool (via stack-effect ventilation) when it is warm. The layered facade is also an effective noise insulator: the din of heavy traffic along Franklin Boulevard is barely perceptible inside the building.

Social hour in the University of Oregon's John E. Jaqua Center for Student Athletes (photo by Paul Dustrud, AIA)

The interior spaces of the Jaqua Center are light-filled, dynamic, and hip. Tributes to athletes who excelled on the field of competition, in the classroom, and beyond adorn the floor and walls of a spacious, 3-story atrium. These embellishments include etched oak blocks celebrating the achievements of former student athletes ("A Few Who Just Did It") and a huge Albert Einstein mosaic made from hundreds of pictures of faculty, classroom activities, sporting events, and campus scenery.

Other graphic features include:

• 
  
  A stairwell containing the names of over 5,000 letter winners who graduated from the University of Oregon between 1945 and 2010
• 
  
  The Distinguished Professor Wall in the Harrington 3 Auditorium, a backlit, water jet-cut frieze bearing the names of notable professors
• 
  
  Etched caricatures of Phil and Penny Knight on the mirrors of the women’s and men’s second-floor restrooms, respectively (creepy!)
• 
  
  The Coaches Intake Grate, an air intake at the south entrance that includes the names of all the head coaches from the beginning of the University of Oregon’s history of athletic competition

(L-R) Kristina Lang, Jean Duffett, Michael Fifield, me, and Paul Edlund (photo by Paul Dustrud, AIA)

Robert Snyder commented on the opportunity afforded by a sympathetic and generous client to reach deep into the well of inspiration to create a singular piece of architecture. ZGF was able to thoroughly explore the integration of craft, messages, and storytelling into the design of the Jaqua Center. Robert noted that the extraordinary level of craftsmanship evident in the building was largely the product of Willamette Valley artisans. The bar was set very high, but in Robert's opinion everyone involved with the project exceeded expectations.

Fireplace seating next to Allan Bros. "Camp 13" coffee shop (photo by Paul Dustrud, AIA)

As 2010 AIA-SWO President Michael Fifield observed, Robert’s presentation was an occasion to consider a variety of issues regarding campus design, the role of object buildings in the landscape versus regionalism and/or more contextual responses. There are lessons here that are applicable to other projects in the city and on the University of Oregon campus.

Michael takes exception to the fact that the Jaqua Center (together with the Matthew Knight Arena) will henceforth occupy one of the few prominent “gateway” sites announcing the presence of the University of Oregon. He has no quarrel with ZGF over the internal logic of the design itself; like me, he admires the Center as a piece of architecture on its own terms. His issue is with whether it adequately fulfills the obligations of a University building sited at a crucial threshold between the campus and the surrounding city.(3)

A rapt audience listens to ZGF's Robert Snyder in the Harrington 3 Room (photo by Paul Dustrud, AIA)

ZGF clearly envisioned the Jaqua Center as an object building, a freestanding pavilion cloistered in a garden. The Center pays no heed to the campus morphology; genuflection is not in its DNA. Its response to its immediate context is to pretend it does not exist. The building is aloof, indifferent to its surroundings. Worse yet, the design of the Jaqua Center suggests that its patron and design team were unsympathetic to another context: the sociocultural dynamic of the athletics versus academics debate.

The Jaqua Center is burdened with unfortunate symbolism. It speaks an architectural language foreign to the rest of the campus. The building is at once undeniably beautiful and redolent with arrogance. Its elevation on a raised (albeit squat) plinth sets apart a realm of the sacred (an athletics acropolis) from that of the profane (the messy vitality and mundane concerns of the rest of the University). It’s too easy to read the reflecting pool as a moat that further isolates and protects the Center from the hoi polloi. No wonder many on campus are at times resentful of the largesse lavished by Nike upon the privileged student-athlete caste.

What was ZGF thinking? This is a fair question to ask. It’s clear that the design choices were deliberate and made without apology.

Penny Knight looks on as you wash your hands in the men's restroom (my photo)

In an opinion piece published in the Register Guard at the time of the Jaqua Center’s opening, Otto Poticha, FAIA lamented the gnashing of teeth over the building’s benefactor, its excesses, and its purpose:

"A comparison could be made to the efforts of the Medici family, the church, the monarchy and the early industrialists. They shared their creativity, influence and resources to give the world some of the best art, architecture and sculpture ever made. They supported the artists and set the bar high for future generations.

"Those who didn’t support religion, power or industrial development could argue that the uses of those palaces, offices and cathedrals were excessive and inappropriate. But these gifts mattered, and what we learned from them and experienced from them mattered more than who inhabited them.

"If these benefactors and artists had listened to critics or feared controversy, what a loss to the world it would have been."

I love Otto but I’m not sure that I can agree with him. I find it difficult to divorce a project from the culture within which it arose, no matter how commendable its architecture might be. I can make a case that the Medici family, the church, the monarchy, and early industrialists had little reason to fear controversy because they possessed the wealth and power to suppress criticism. Is great architecture truly so if it was achieved at the expense of those under the thumb of its patrons?

Today’s Medici – the Phil Knights and Howard Slushers of the world – cannot so easily avoid the scrutiny of stakeholders, whose numbers often extend well beyond a project’s direct beneficiaries. Incessant criticism during the design process may indeed frustrate or discourage clients and their architects from pursuing excellence. Regardless, successful navigation of the gantlet of obstacles that any substantial project must confront is a necessary prerequisite to greatness. A future computation of the Jaqua Center’s success will always take into account its proud flouting of campus conventions and the rancor of its critics.

Jaqua Center: South elevation (my photo)

If it’s not apparent already, I have mixed feelings about the project. Being a huge Duck fan, I am happy to see Oregon’s student athletes receive the facilities and support necessary to help them excel both in the classroom and on the competitive field. Robert Snyder and the rest of the ZGF design team have crafted a gem.(4) We’re fortunate to have it here in Eugene as an inspired example of architecture. On the other hand, the John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes betrays a lack of sensitivity that assures it a place at the center of the athletics versus academics tussle.

*  *  *  *  *  *  *

I wasn’t the only AIA-SWO member that wanted to learn more about the Jaqua Center: 80 members and associates attended the June meeting. Once again, Michael Fifield hit a home run by organizing a provocative, design-focused program for which there was an enthusiastic audience.

Continuing the UO athletics theme, the July AIA-SWO chapter meeting will take place at PK Park, the new home of the resurrected Ducks baseball team. The July 14 event – a home game for the Eugene Emeralds, PK Park’s co-tenants – is our annual joint picnic with members of the Willamette Valley Chapter of the Construction Specifications Institute and the Willamette Valley Section of the American Society of Landscape Architects. I hope to see you all there. Play ball!

(1) Eugene Sandoval was ZGF’s partner in charge of design for the Jaqua Center. He is widely regarded as one of contemporary Portland’s foremost design talents.

(2) Further evidence of Howard Slusher’s influence upon the design: Slusher reportedly visited Apple’s flagship Fifth Avenue store in New York City and was immediately enamored of the elegantly detailed, transparent cube designed by Bohlin Cywinski Jackson. Lo and behold, ZGF subsequently drew up plans for a geometrically precise, iconic glass cube.

(3) Michael was chair of the University’s Campus Planning Committee when the project’s proponents first advanced the idea of placing the Jaqua Center where it stands today. Michael objected to the absence of effective mechanisms in the Campus Plan to govern and shape the design of the Agate Street gateway to the University at Franklin Boulevard.

(4) In addition to the Jaqua Center, Robert described several other current or recently-completed ZGF projects. These were the Indigo Tower in Portland, the Port of Portland headquarters, and The Cascade, a mixed-use development in Salt Lake City.