Burnside Bridge Head
Building Section
Fall 2008
The Burnside Bridge Head project was an exciting urban infill into the existing downtown Portland grid. The program consisted of integrating a Museum of the City with a College of International Studies. The slim site nestled between an existing historic building and the Burnside bridge created an interesting set of restrictions on the site and program. I established goals for each of the two programmatic elements as listed below.
My Project goals for the site first stem from an understanding of the program, and of what is required for the program to function properly. The College of international Studies is a key institution for Chinatown to accommodate as more educational and arts oriented businesses are migrating to Old Town. The Museum of the City could not reside in a more fitting location, as much of Portland was built on the backs of Chinese and Japanese immigrants. Old Town Chinatown possesses a plethora of historical significance, and a Museum of the City of Portland would fit well into the existing historical context.
Goals: College of International Studies –
- Provide a knowledge of political economies, policy implementation, and environmental issues for the students. – Small scale examples of such could be inherent in the buildings design and function.
- Gain a cohesiveness with the University of Oregon to solidify Chinatowns new image as an educational and arts oriented district.
- Work directly with the Museum of the city to encourage more public activity and involvement. These two programmatic elements have similarities, in that they could activate the same spaces for different uses. The building’s central spaces could be used by both programs, in order for them to work closer together.
Goals: Museum of the City –
- The Museum of the City RAMP TO CONNECT PHYSICALLY TO THE CITY BY PROJECTING OUT OF THE FACADE
- The MC wants to act as a lens which you can move through and perceive different parts of the city through it- visual connectedness
- The museum of the city could act as a story teller, taking the patron on a journey through time as they move through the building (the use of materials, light, and the exhibits themselves can facilitate such a journey). The circulation can take people through these spaces, in a way to show the evolution of cities.
- To provide equally engaging spaces that are all unique in and of themselves
Goals: The building as a whole –
- The Museum should draw people in through the use of visual connectedness from the waterfront as well as the MAX stations, and the Bside bridge
- The building needs to activate three street fronts (1st ave, Naito, and Burnside on the bridge)
- The Burnside bridge entrance is especially important as I want the building to address this street, so people crossing the bridge are not left out of the urban fabric for too long while crossing over.
- To be visible to the public, the interior especially so that people see what is happening in the building and want to become a part of it.
To see the project photos on Picasa click here