PDX Backstage
Winter 07-08
In my second graduate level studio, I undertook a project to design an integrated arts venue. The site was on the adjacent river bank from downtown Portland, in the more industrialized central east side business district.Working with a significantly large vacant site, I battled to create a building that was characteristic of the east side industrial area, while at the same time trying to capture the eyes of the opposing downtown riverbank, with a theater that faces the river.
The word fabrication has many meanings but one that caught my eye and provoked some abstract thinking was this: The creation of a part by adding materials to a substrate or previously formed portions of a part. This means something to me on many levels when thinking about downtown Portland, the Central Eastside and this studio project.
Downtown and the eastside are connected by a series of bridges which are in my mind lifelines for both sides of the river. The bridges provide the means to move people, goods and services throughout the city. The city is well connected as you can take any bridge from one side to the other and still get to where you are going. These bridges provide a strong physical as well as visual connection of the two sides of the city. The visual connection is important to me, as even though it does feel like the east side is an entirely different city, it is clear that they are not. These connections allow each side of the river to flourish and support each other.
Formerly the industrial part of Portland, the Central Eastside still contains many of the industries and production businesses that have supported downtown Portland for decades. Without the central eastside, downtown Portland would not be what it is today. And with the changing face of the eastside to an art oriented district, I can see mutualism taking effect as the arts pour over the bridges from downtown to the eastside. Creative workspaces are becoming the norm in new construction on the eastside today.
To see the project photos on Picasa click here