Students in the School of Architecture and Allied Arts have the chance to influence green design across the country. Architecture and landscape students are entering a design competition and must deal with a new design challenge – considering the interactions among development, organisms and their environment.
Students in assistant professor Roxi Thoren’s “Landscape Urbanism: Integrating Habitats Competition” are designing landscapes for a competition hosted by Portland Metro, an elected regional government serving 25 cities in the Portland area. Students must consider development – 144 housing units, a grocery store and parking – and a nearby stream that serves salmon.
“The big challenge here is, ‘How do we re-imagine every aspect of human habitat in a way that works for people and animals? How can a roof become a nesting area?’” Thoren said. “We have to re-think every part of human habitat.”
Architecture assistant professor Brook Muller, who helped organize the competition for Portland Metro, said blending ecology and development is the future of architecture. He said the landscape field has already considered this blend, so both fields will need to work together.
“Landscape is certainly the bridge builder between architecture and ecology,” Muller said. “They’re the matrix.”
Students in the class are studying architecture and landscape.
University landscape student Laura Zanetto said she was interested in working with architecture students because she had only worked with landscape students in her previous studio classes.
“From a landscape perspective, I think it’s interesting to see what decisions architects would make,” Zanetto said. “Both fields are so interlocked, so it’s beneficial to have this interaction at the educational level before we go into the professional world.”
Designs submitted in the competition may encourage private developers to consider ecology.
“It’s not developers’ job to make good ecology,” Thoren said. “It’s their job to make money. If we as designers can encourage them to make money by improving the environment, then I think we’re doing our job.”
Design competitions also allow students to gain experience, Thoren said.
“They generate new ideas, and they also provide an opportunity for young, inexperienced designers who don’t have a big résumé of built work,” Thoren said.
In the 1980s, a jury of architects and sculptors used an anonymous selection process to choose a design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. The winner was a 21-year-old Yale student.
Although some student architecture studios work with local community groups, others focus on abstract projects. Thoren said the Portland Metro project has real-world applications.
The potential sites in the competition aren’t real, but the sites are similar to actual conditions found in the Portland area, Muller said. The sites include a neighborhood infill development with oak woodland, a mixed-use development with a riparian forest habitat and a commercial development with a lowland hardwood forest habitat.
Students and professionals are submitting their designs in hopes that communities around the country look at them for a guide on how to blend development and ecology.
Municipalities often look to Portland for design solutions, said Thoren, who used to work in Pennsylvania and Virginia. Portland is known for its urban growth boundary, public transportation system and storm water management.
Not only will the designs possibly influence green design, they can give students a leg-up when they enter professional practices.
“We want our students to be primed to get the good work out there,” Muller said. “We want them to make a difference in the world.”
Students will need to have more design skills because sustainable designs will become the norm, Thoren said.
“I think this is something that’s reached the tipping point,” Thoren said, adding that home buyers are more concerned about homes that are energy and water efficient. “It’s actually having a monetary effect in a way that it didn’t 10 years ago.”
The students, who work in groups of four or five, have to learn how to get their voices heard and resolve conflicts, Thoren said, adding that professionals often work in groups.
Muller said the 19 University students in the class have a good chance in the competition.
“The University is the leader in pushing green designs,” Muller said.
Submissions are due Dec. 17.
An international jury will choose winners in three design categories, and Muller said he expects hundreds of entries from all over the world. Prizes up to $1,000 may be awarded, according to Metro’s Web site.
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