Portland State University
07/15/2024 | Press release | Distributed by Public on 07/15/2024 10:51
PSU selects proposal from Walker Macy Collaborative following Place Matters Placemaking Competition
Doubling down on its commitment to downtown revitalization through the design of vibrant and inclusive public spaces, Portland State University announced this week it will work with Portland-based Walker Macy Collaborative on placemaking initiatives across its urban campus.
Entitled "Constellation of Connections," the winning submission to PSU's six-month placemaking competition calls for activating outdoor and street-level spaces across PSU's campus by bringing the energy from inside PSU buildings to outdoor locations, and a focus on authentic engagement with PSU's diverse student population and the city that surrounds it.
The Walker Macy Collaborative is led by Walker Macy, a landscape architecture and urban design firm founded in Portland and known for its work on many higher education campus developments including PSU's Urban Plaza, along with projects such as Portland's Pioneer Courthouse Square, Oregon Vietnam Veterans Memorial, and the South Waterfront Greenway.
The group's proposal recognizes and builds on the momentum of existing placemaking projects at Portland State while strengthening connections, expanding engagement processes, and proposing exciting new concepts. Specific design ideas include colorful enhancements to existing public spaces, such as the Urban and Montgomery plazas, a vibrant welcome center, new entry points to the north end of campus in the Park Blocks and along Market Street, expansion of the emerging Oak Savanna, and a relocation of PSU's pilot skatepark The Courts, among other ideas.
"I'm grateful for the work of the jury in making this recommendation. We look forward to working with the Walker Macy Collaborative and our many other partners in placemaking to increase the sense of belonging for our Portland State students, faculty and staff while also adding to the growing vibrancy of downtown Portland," said PSU President Ann Cudd. "Serving our city is core to our mission and further animating our campus and its downtown connections expands the ways we can show up for Portland."
The Walker Macy Collaborative brings together a diverse and multidisciplinary group, including Colloqate Design, Hennebery Eddy Architects, writer Randy Gragg, PSU faculty member Kate Bingaman-Burt, and real estate advisor Matt Brown. The Collaborative consulted with students, staff, and faculty at Portland State to inform its competition proposal. As the implementation process moves forward, PSU and Walker Macy's teams will engage with the PSU community, partners from the City, and other stakeholders in a collaborative effort.
"As our state's urban and most diverse university, PSU provides unique opportunities for thousands of students and plays an important role in the life of Portland," said Michael Zillis, principal landscape architect and campus planner with Walker Macy. "We are excited to join PSU in its quest to provide meaningful places that will foster deep connections within the campus community, to showcase the incredible work being done at PSU, and to energize the campus. Through this work, the university will be a more welcoming, inclusive, and supportive place for students and for Portland."
Walker Macy Collaborative was one of three international finalist teams that competed in the Place Matters Design Competition. Its proposal was selected by the 12-member jury, composed of academic and community leaders, who judged the competition on PSU's behalf. After hearing from all three finalist teams, the jury selected Walker Macy Collaborative for its focus on design justice and demonstrated understanding of PSU's mission.
In the year ahead, the Walker Macy-led team will collaborate with PSU to turn its design concepts into a phased action plan for the university's 44-acre downtown campus that will primarily be funded through philanthropy.
In its final report, the competition jury wrote of the Collaborative: "Their proposal addresses the entire PSU campus and its sphere of influence on downtown Portland. It provides a broad perspective and comprehensive vision through many connected interventions that allow for incremental implementation options, including impactful immediate actions. The distribution of strategies throughout campus makes stronger places at multiple scales and the university as a whole."
"When we think about places that matter to us, we think about spaces where we can be our fullest selves, exercise our agency, and leave a legacy for those who come after us," said Karim Hassanein, co-director of storytelling and facilitation for Colloqate Design and a member of the Collaborative. "But to create more of these kinds of places, and to sustain the ones that already exist, we can't default to top-down planning. By sharing agency and power with university and community stakeholders, PSU is positioned to lead the entire city in democratic placemaking and placekeeping - at a time when the stakes, locally and nationally, couldn't be higher."
The Place Matters Design Competition was managed for PSU by architects Donald J. Stastny and Jennifer Mannhard of Communicate Design.
Details about the competition are available online at www.pdx.edu/sustainability/place-matters-design-competition.
The Walker Macy Collaborative's concept for a new PSU sign serving as an entry way to campus on the Park Blocks.
The Collaborative would like to expand activity in outdoor spaces including Montgomery Plaza.
Idea: Relocate and elevate The Courts skate park.
Indoor outdoor spaces and access to local food proposed by Walker Macy Collaborative.
A theme of the proposal is to take the energy and activity happening inside buildings at PSU and bring it outside.
A colorful welcome center, proposed by Walker Macy Collaobrative, would sit at the center of campus.