Thesis Statement:

My overarching goal for my thesis project is to bring vibrant life to the South Waterfront.  After visiting the site a couple times I have come to the conclusion that although the South Waterfront is a new Ecodistrict, it lacks the quality of culture that makes Portland as a whole such an attractive and inviting city.  Instead of having it be a commuter metropolis it needs to be integrated with the energy of downtown.  Right now the South Waterfront is doing it’s best to stay connected to the rest of downtown by having the Portland Streetcar lines run right through the heart of it but, it needs more.  My vision is to create a multi-use building that would have retail, residential, as well as a community arts center all of which would connect to the natural beauty of the Willamette in both aesthetics and in being eco friendly.  It will also be a space that will add to the energy of the City of Portland.  My goal is to help make the south waterfront become more a destination for the arts and community rather than just a destination to rest your head at night.

My main design goal is to make the South Waterfront waterfront become more friendly.  I have been doing research into the rebuilding of the waterfront but I feel that an art and cultural center that interacted with the river and allowed it’s patrons to interact with the river would help increase the presence of the South Waterfront and strengthen the connection of the river to the whole ecodistrict.  My initial design idea is to create a community amphitheater that is on the edge of the riverfront.  This would then build up to an indoor auditorium that faces the river.  On the street-scape is where restaurants and retail would be located and then above it all would be residential, in accordance with the view corridors.  I plan on having my design comply fully with the building codes of the south waterfront but I want to create something that stands out in it’s own unique and thought provoking way.

Annotated Bibliography:

Heatherwick, Thomas. Thomas Heatherwick: Making. New York: Monacelli, 2012. Print.

Thomas Heatherwick is one of my favorite designers.  His new book Making is full of organic design inspiration that helps push my imagination and it fuels my creativity.  The designs are more exploratory rather than green so I would like to mix his design process and style and push it in a way that is more eco-friendly.

Yudelson, Jerry. The Green Building Revolution. Washington: Island, 2008. Print.

Jerry Yudelson’s book the Green Building Revolution is an interesting perspective on the growth of the green building and green design.  Jerry is an industry insider so it is very eye opening to see how he tells the story of green design.  The most interesting parts in his book are the interviews and case studies that he has compiled.

Portland Development Commission. South Waterfront Project: A Portland Development Commission Request for Proposals. Portland, Or.: Portland Development Commission, 1983. Print.

The South Waterfront Project Proposal was a very intriguing read.  It brought the idea of the South Waterfront changing in a less diagrammatic and abstract language.  It was a very formal read but full of great information to reference.  I found the segment titled public benefit to be the most interesting due to the fact that in such a strict document the public is still very well kept in mind.

“SOUTH WATERFRONTPORTLAND OREGON.” South Waterfront. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 Oct. 2012. <http://www.southwaterfront.com/>.

I have been referencing the website for a while now.  Not only is it really well put together but it is full of good and useful information.  It also give insight into the cultural aspects of the place that Bob lightly touched on last tuesday.  I have signed up for the South Waterfront news letter because I think it will be full of good information about the community and up to date news on needs and wants.

Sipes, James L. Sustainable Solutions for Water Resources: Policies, Planning, Design, and Implementation. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley, 2010. Print.

My experience in green design is fairly minimal but this book has been good to keep close to reference as well as good to skim through for thoughts and ideas.  I plan on using this book mostly for preserving the willamette river which is more and more becoming a design inspiration for me.

Colby, Deirdre, Kenneth Druse, Maria C. Gleason, and Zelst Hans. Van. City Gardening: Planting, Maintaining, and Designing the Urban Garden. New York: Simon & Schuster, 1987. Print.

When Bob talked about the lack of gardening and the want to be more connected with nature I instantly thought of terraced garden that can be integrated with residential high rise building.  This book has helped me gain more insight on how the urban garden could work.  I feel that this can be a strong design emphasis and I plan on looking further into the concept.

Kibert, Charles J. Sustainable Construction: Green Building Design and Delivery. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Print.

It’s been a while since I have fully looked through this book but I frist read it when I was initially interested in green building design and have since been fingering through it just to re-aquanaut myself.  I believe that the green design is something that is full circle.  Starting with construction and material and ending in efficient performance.

Thompson, J. William., and Kim Sorvig. Sustainable Landscape Construction: A Guide to Green Building Outdoors. Washington: Island, 2008. Print.

I have recently been looking through this book to get a more fresh perspective on designing the south waterfront waterfront.  I want it to connect to the main downtown portland waterfront but still be it’s own interesting and sought after entity.  This book helps push ideas around and has some interesting idea on how to respond to water and the natural landscape in a way that is beneficial for the environment.

Portland Parks & Recreation. “South Waterfront Greenway.” South Waterfront Greenway. Portland Parks & Recreation, 10 Sept. 2012. Web. 16 Oct. 2012. <http://www.portlandonline.com/parks/index.cfm?c=45643>.

This is a good website to get up to date information on what is going on currently in the South Waterfront.  It answers more detailed questions such as what happend to the Osprey fledgling and the construction hours.  It also has a detailed map of what the envision (and are constructing) the waterfront to be.

Bureau of Planning & Sustainability. “Existing Policies & Conditions Report.” Central City 2035: River Plan/Central Reach (2011): 1-62. Print.

This is a very interesting review of the plan of the river as seen by the Bureau of Planning & Sustainability.  When Mark first came and talked to us I was very interested and got excited about the potential that portland has but he didn’t talk much about the river.  This book is a very good summary of the plan and what the city wants to see and how it will be initiated.

Narrative:

Site.  The site I plan on using is located next to the “temporary” community garden right off SW River Parkway.  I though this would a be a good spot mostly due to how under developed it is and it’s proximity to the river.  The area used to be a landfill of sorts so the soil is not very ideal.  So I plan on building on top of the tainted soil to create a natural and clean area that people will want to gather at.  The development of the South Waterfront is relatively new and  I hope for my design to add life into an area that is still very quiet and low in energy.

Program Options.  My idea for program options are still very early in the design process and mostly stem from what is need to make the South Waterfront as a whole connect better to its local context and its greater context.  My first idea is a year round farmers market where residents and the people of portland can come to, to get food since the area lacks in a grocery stores or markets.  My other program idea is to create a center for cultural growth and a space where art and culture can be more readily available to the people who live in the South Waterfront.  Both of these programs are still in their very early stages of exploration but I feel that they are both equally necessary and wanted by the patrons of the South Waterfront.