Jury’s Comments: “A fantastic renovation of an existing school that interprets a new pedagogy for STEM curriculum with a new organization for this middle school. The result feels like a completely new institution that embraces open and transparent spaces for learning. New relationships are skillfully organized both in plan and section by providing places of learning for classes as well as small groups and individual spaces. The result is a unifying whole of existing spaces, materials, and structure with the new additions that create a complete translation for the school. Particular skill was demonstrated in the architectural treatments that unify existing structure, materials, and spaces with the new construction. The end result is both robust and delicate…elegant and durable.”
Read MoreEugene residents want a mix of urban and natural features in the planned Willamette riverfront park on the east edge of downtown.
City officials are soliciting ideas from the public to help create the park on a narrow stretch of the former Eugene Water & Electric Board utility yard next to the river. The 3-acre park, across the Willamette River from Alton Baker Park, is a key piece in the city’s plan to redevelop 16 acres of former EWEB property into a vibrant urban area.
Read More“At the southern base of Skinner Butte sits the historic Shelton-McMurphey-Johnson House, built in the 1880s, the Ya-Po-Ah Terrace senior living tower, built in the 1960s, and an apartment complex built in the 1970s.
Now a group of local developers hopes to add a touch of modern living to the base of the butte with the first new construction around the Eugene landmark in nearly a half-century.”
Read MoreWriting sometime around the year 30 B.C., the Roman architect Marcus Vitruvius Pollio — Vitruvius, to his friends — laid out, in his foundational work De Architectura, three principles that should inform all architecture: firmitas, utilitasand venustas.
More than 2,000 years later, Eugene architect Frank Visconti translates those Latin terms as “firmness,” meaning that a building is structurally sound; “commodity,” meaning that it’s functional; and “delight.”
“That’s the joy that one gets out of it,” Visconti says.
Read MoreFour women-owned businesses are about to bring life to a previously moribund part of Eugene’s signature street.
The businesses — Claim 52 Kitchen, Katie Brown clothing, Saucefly Market/Bar, and Blue Bird Flowers — are preparing to open during the next several weeks in the newly renovated building at 1203 Willamette St.
“The location on Willamette Street is ideal,” said Jeannine Parisi, co-owner of Claim 52 Brewing in Eugene, a craft brewer that is opening its first restaurant/taproom combination. “We are part of a project that will wake this whole block up.”
Read MoreUO President Michael H. Schill sent the following 'Open Mike' message to the campus community:
Dear colleagues and friends,
As I write this Open Mike, I feel the earth move under my feet. Before you get concerned that I am singing Carole King songs (she is one of my favorites) or having a nightmare about the Cascadia Subduction Zone, you should understand that just outside my office massive trucks and bulldozers are busy breaking ground for the new Willie and Donald Tykeson Hall, the college and careers building. Since the start of the term, construction crews have been diligently digging, hammering, and preparing the site for a stunning new building that will open in fall 2019. It is noisy; it is loud; and sometimes it feels like the earth really is moving, but it is all for a great and important cause.
Read MoreThe AIA-SWO annual People's Choice Awards results are in! This year there was a record 52 entries. Rowell Brokaw entered 5 boards and was pleased to win the Interiors Award and a Mayor's Choice Award. Check out the video of Eugene Mayor Lucy Vinis sharing her reasons for selecting 1203 Willamette among her award choices. Below is a list of the award winners in all 11 categories. To view all 52 boards, visit the AIA website.
Read MoreThe University of Oregon is preparing to build a major new student advising and career center at the heart of its campus. The $39 million building, named after the late Eugene businessman Don Tykeson and his wife, Willie, who contributed $10 million, also will include six classrooms and house the College of Arts and Sciences administrative offices on its upper floors.
Read MoreThe city of Eugene is aiming to complete construction for a park and other riverfront redevelopment by 2021. The future park is part of the city’s Riverfront Urban Renewal District, which includes 16 acres of riverfront property sold by the Eugene Water and Electric Board to the city for $5.75 million in 2016
Read MoreMark Young, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, principal at Rowell Brokaw, said this project stands apart from other projects the firm has done on the campus because of the unique and innovative program involved. “There isn’t much precedent to rely on, so programming has been very exploratory. There have been significant discoveries about the program that have come about through the design of the building,” he said. “In addition, the central location in the historic campus core brings a higher level of visibility and scrutiny to the project, much more than our previous work at the University of Oregon.”
Read MoreA new play area in Zelienople may look like a regular playground, but for the kids at Glade Run Lutheran Services it is so much more. The playground, which is scheduled to have its public grand opening on Tuesday, is one of less than a dozen playgrounds in the country designed specifically with autistic children in mind.
Read MoreA group of Eugene developers plans to add life to a downtown building they say now contributes to a dead zone in the heart of the city. Mark Miksis, John Rowell, Greg Brokaw, Kaz Oveissi and other investors intend to buy the vacant building on Willamette Street that formerly housed the Oregon Antique Mall and renovate it for use by several businesses, including a couple of their own.
Read MoreResidents have worked since 2009 to create a new library for this small town, and their efforts are finally paying off. A groundbreaking for the new Jefferson Public Library, which will be adjacent to City Hall, is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. March 23. “I’m giddy,” said Linda Baker, president of the Friends of the Jefferson Library. “This group has worked a long time.”
Read MoreBritni Jessup has brought a new focus on interior architecture to Rowell Brokaw in Eugene and shared her skills, in and out of architecture, as a volunteer in the community. Jessup is one of only three interior architects in Eugene accredited by the National Council of Interior Design Qualification, according to a letter nominating her for a 20 Under 40 award.
Read MoreArchitects Greg Brokaw and John Rowell and business owner Kaz Oveissi are close to breaking ground on a significant new building in downtown Eugene. But this isn’t the controversial on-hold proposal to build an apartment and retail building on Broadway Plaza, the city-owned public space known better as Kesey Square.
Read MoreRB's Frank Visconti, who lives in Crescent Village, snapped this photo from his balcony on Saturday at the start of the second annual Pacific Northwest Marathon. Starting and finishing at Crescent Village, the Pacific Northwest Marathon is one of the flattest marathons in Oregon. Race organizers say it's a good race for beginners and a chance to help runners qualify for the Boston Marathon. In 2015, more than 10% of the marathon finishers qualified for Boston.
Read MoreFred Kent, founder and president of Project for Public Spaces (PPS), visited Eugene last week as part of the AIA SWO Design Excellence Making Great CitiesLecture Series. He is known throughout the world as a dynamic speaker and prolific ideas man. A leading authority on revitalizing city spaces and one of the foremost thinkers in livability, smart growth and the future of the city, Fred shared his knowledge and wisdom to a 200+ audience at the Hult Center for the Performing Arts.
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