Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities has captured the imagination of many architects, including RB’s Mark Young and Nicola Fucigna. When Mark was studying abroad in Copenhagen as an undergrad, he illustrated all 55 cities. A collection of these illustrations are featured in Construction, a quarterly online literary magazine, where Nicola runs an architecture column on the poetics of real and imagined spaces.
Read MoreDuring Head Start of Lane County’s All Staff Event, Lorri Nelson was recognized as one of a handful of “community members who have given, supported, and are champions of Head Start.” Lorri is honored to receive this award. She has loved working with the Head Start staff to integrate natural play areas into various school sites.
Read MoreRowell Brokaw, deChase Miksis, Trifoia, Watkinson Laird Rubenstein Attorneys, & Claim 52 held an open house at 1203 Willamette. The event was catered by Saucefly. The whole building was opened up for visitors to explore all the offices in the newly remodeled building. It was fascinating to see the various ways that each office has developed its workspace in the exposed timber structure.
Read MoreThis summer Julia Chou joined us for an internship. Julia grew up in Eugene and as part of her senior project in high school she completed her job shadow at Rowell Brokaw’s old office. She is now entering her second year in the architecture department at Syracuse University.
Julia worked on several projects in the office: renderings of 1235 Willamette, a Revit model of the Steam Plant (formerly owned by EWEB), and signage for Rowell Brokaw’s office. She worked closely with John Rowell and Patrick Hannah.
Read MoreProject Manager Tricia Berg and Project Architect Austin Bailey met with Principal Investigators Anthony Koppers and Joseph Stoner at Oregon State University’s new Marine and Geology Repository. The researchers are cataloguing and organizing the recently arrived Antarctic Core Collection in the new facility.
Read MoreProject Manager Tricia Berg stepped into the −13°C ice core freezer as part of her punch list for the OSU Marine and Geology Repository. In order to ensure the perfect temperature for ice cores collected around the world, this room is equipped with evaporators, insulated sandwich panels, and an insulated concrete slab. Tricia also inspected the sediment sample rooms where sediments will be placed within the 23' tall space on 19' racks. A specialized sprinkler system with high pressure water serves as a back-up emergency system for the space. In the coming weeks, precious ice and sediment cores, acquired from Florida State under a national grant program, will be stored in OSU's new repository facility.
Read MoreUnder the mentorship of Frank Visconti, University of Oregon student Steven Liang completed a Spring practicum with Rowell Brokaw. The purpose of the practicum is for the student to gain exposure to the many facets of real-life projects at an architecture firm. Among other experiences, Steven went on site visits and attended OAC meetings at Pacific Hall, Amazon Corner, and the South Hills House. He also gained knowledge of the latest architectural practices used in offices.
Read MoreOperated through the Architecture Foundation of Oregon (AFO) organization, Architects in Schools (AIS) is a statewide, six-week residency program for elementary and middle schools where students and classroom teachers work directly with practicing architects and other design professionals with the goal of developing awareness and understanding of the designed and built environment.
Read MoreStaff visited the South Hills House for a tour. Though the finishes are still going in, the drama of the I-beams, skylights, and the views is already apparent. Project Architect Frank Visconti is currently completing the construction administration for the project.
Read MoreAfter finishing the move to our new office, we walked downstairs to Claim 52 Brewing for their soft opening. When Rowell Brokaw was deciding whether to develop and renovate the building, we saw Capstone Apartments, which is situated directly across the street, as this project’s biggest liability. But in the end, we decided to go forward with the project. From an architectural and urban design perspective, Capstone is a sad and sorry example, but it has, on a positive note, brought a large number of residents to this part of downtown. Ultimately, we must move on, repair the damage, renew, and move forward. We think 1203 Willamette is a step in the right direction.
Read MoreWe are excited to announce that we have moved! The Rowell Brokaw office is now at the following address: 1203 Willamette, Suite 220, Eugene, Oregon 97401.
We are still settling into our new space, but we will let you know should we have a formal or informal party. There is an exciting mix of tenants in the building: Claim 52, Katie Brown, Saucefly, deChase Miksis, Q. Sterry Inspired Architecture, and Watkinson Laird Rubenstein, P.C. The ground floor has a series of garage doors that open onto Willamette. The outdoor sidewalk area is intentionally deep to allow for outdoor seating and retail opportunities.
Read MoreThroughout the year, Rowell Brokaw has Lunch 'n Learns, in which reps come from various building industries to educate the firm on their latest products and services. Recently reps from E.B. Bradley Company of Portland showed us the Blum product line. They also brought along Blum’s Age Explorer Suit, which simulates aging 30+ years. Blum developed this suit to aid in their designs: their engineers experience firsthand what a 70+ year old goes through with something as simple as opening a cabinet. This understanding informs the function, motion and technology in their hardware. Blum has developed a series of motion technologies, lift systems, concealed hinges, runner systems and more.
Read MoreArchitects are passionate about pens and pencils: their heft, smoothness, mark. For many, they hold a talismanic power. After heated debate in the office, the Palomino Blackwing 602 has emerged as a staff favorite.
Read MoreAs part of UO’s shadow mentor day, Mark Young hosted Paul Turner, a first-year undergraduate in the architecture department. The mentor day pairs students with professionals throughout Eugene, Portland, and Seattle. Students experience a “day in the life” or an actual work day in an actual work setting.
Read MoreThis year the Rowell Brokaw annual holiday party was cruise themed. Throughout the afternoon, there were shuffleboard, ping pong, Nerf gun, and Jenga battles.
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 MoreRowell Brokaw has been using Virtual Reality (VR) to understand their new office space in 1203 Willamette. Project Architect Paul Harman helps explain the benefits of this new medium: “Even though we have robust digital tools and the ability to see things on screen in perspective, we are still limited by our renderings: they are not always convincing and navigation with a mouse can be clumsy..
Read MoreDustin Locke, the Marketing Director and Architecture Design Lead of Mid Valley Metals in West Eugene, gave RB a tour of their facilities. RB is developing a custom desk for our new offices on 1203 Willamette. Though still a design in progress, the sit-stand desk will have a 1 ¼” oak plywood top with a marmoleum surface and a perforated stainless steel back panel. After the tour of Mid Valley Metals, RB headed over to Altech Finishes to view their powder coating options.
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