Joe Hudec Final
My project has come a long way this term, evolving its way back to the original ideas and concepts. After last term, my building/complex was solid and inward focused on the main plaza being the main space. After looking back to my ideas of erosion, I explored diminishing and subtracting mass from this structure, leaving a much more open central area. It was all about opening up to the river. It is the “gorge” fed by smaller canyon cuts. The inner zone was meant to be a more organic realm, having the rigid urban form of the exterior just fall off and pixelate. There were many versions of these organic facades, yet this was the biggest challenge faced all term long. Creating these different styles of being in gorge or canyon consisted of a very natural look, like a wavy wall of a rock canyon. However, nothing stuck as a loved solution. The final version of this (though not flushed out) became this pixelation idea like mentioned before. Here, facade panels began to push and pull, and even change to greenwall panels and screen elements, creating a conglomerate facade with multiple articulations made in rigid/rectangular forms.
All in all, this project was about 3 things:
1 – a hub for making – learning, innovating, and doing work
2 – A natural connection to the edge of the Willamette River for the people of portland. This is the double front door to the East Side Industrial District as well as the River. It is the key hinge to the green loop. Its connection here becomes a continuous park that drops from plaza to plaza as you flow to the rivers edge for endless recreation and a beautiful experience not like many others in portland.
3. Water – because this side is right on the river, water was key. This proposal taps into every opportunity for handling water. From cleaning up the surrounding sites all the way to the river itself. This proposal goes from roof /site collection, leading to a system of fountains and waterfalls, all connected to a behind the scenes waterwork areas of machines and pumps, more natural bioswales and sediment filer ponds, a strong boulder edge, and lastly floating islands. This is all about a regenerative system that is always cleansing the water and is utilized by the buildings as well. The site, the buildings, and the river are all worjing together.