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Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Gateway
Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Gateway
1899, Northeast Grand Avenue, Portland, OR, United States
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Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Gateway
1899, Northeast Grand Avenue, Portland, OR, United States
YEAR
2012
The NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Boulevard Gateway and
Heritage Markers Project supports the ongoing efforts of area residents and
business owners to highlight the unique identity of Portland’s inner north and northeast
neighborhoods. 2.ink Studio Landscape Architecture led a multidisciplinary team in both Master
Planning and Design, working closely with neighborhood activists to create a
landmark gateway and plaza that denotes entry into these historically rich
neighborhoods and shares the history of their diverse residents.The site context is five adjoining neighborhoods, linked by
a forty block stretch of NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and terminating in
a remnant property owned by the City of Portland. Surrounded by heavy vehicular
traffic and a mix of underdeveloped commercial properties, this terminating site
marks the convergence of a couplet including NE Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard and NE Grand Avenue. The result is two small parcels disconnected
from the urban fabric, but highly visible from this primary arterial roadway.
This convergence also marks a transition from the highly commercial Convention
Center and Lloyd Center Districts, into the historically rich residential
neighborhoods and small businesses of inner northeast Portland.
Collectively referred to as the Albina
District, these neighborhoods have historically served as home to numerous interwoven,
but also competing, communities including Native American, Irish, Scandinavian,
African American, German Russian, and Eastern European immigrants. Each group created strong centers of place
through their churches, businesses, and neighborhoods. It’s not uncommon in
this district to find deeply rooted African American churches with German
inscriptions on the church foundations.
Historic events have both challenged
and galvanized these often migrant communities. World War II, the Great
Depression, the Vanport flood, and the Civil Rights Movement all fostered
dramatic physical and social changes.
Both national and local heroes arose as well, contributing to these
communities finding a strong civic voice. Contemporary events have continued to
bring change to the Albina District. Demolition
for, and construction of, the Memorial Coliseum in 1956 took place in what was
once the oldest part of the well-established African American community. In the 1960’s the construction of Interstate
5 again fractured neighborhoods and communities. Most recently, rising home
prices and gentrification have further influenced community transition. In spite of these ongoing urban renewal
pressures, jazz clubs, hair salons, and other cultural icons have continued to
anchor the neighborhoods.
2.ink Studio's role was to listen carefully to
the diverse and at times competing community stories, and identify themes that
spoke not only to the common experiences of these groups, but also respected
the unique pride, character and challenges that they individually identified
with. Once these themes were identified,
it fell to the landscape architect’s design team to develop a physical form and
narrative to carry these stories forward, as well as to create a gathering
space in which to begin a civic dialogue about what these stories mean for both
past and future residents. During a series of nearly thirty public meetings and
events that stretched over a three year period, the design team developed a
Concept Master Plan that set a direction for developing community stories along
the 40 block streetscape, as well as laying the foundation for the creation of a
civic space and gateway landmark at the remnant property marking the
convergence of NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The landscape architect led
all public outreach activities including interactive community charrettes, a
series of Public Open Houses, and participation in neighborhood events
throughout the year. Working with a historian who resides in the neighborhood,
a graphic design team, engineers, a technical advisory committee encompassing City
development bureaus and a diverse community stakeholder group, the design team ultimately
developed a site design to address three primary community goals:
·
Create
a clear threshold announcing arrival into a unique neighborhood district·
Preserve,
interpret and celebrate the diverse history of the area’s cultural communities·
Develop
a gathering space for the preservation and exhibition of community stories
The final Gateway Plaza
site presented many challenges including how to create a comfortable plaza surrounded
by fast moving traffic and with adjacent architecture that does little to
activate the space. The existing context was also dominated by large
billboards, power lines, and had poor pedestrian connections. In addition, the desired
location for creating a gateway experience was located in the middle of a
difficult S-Curve in an arterial roadway.
The design response
introduced a sculptural scrim wall that shelters a modest civic plaza within
one curve, before being bisected by northbound lanes in its reverse curve. Fast moving traffic breaks through the line
of the wall, while the scrim of punched weathered steel embraces the
plaza. Weathered steel was selected for
its historic reference to the Albina District’s wartime ship building industry
that instigated large-scale immigration to the area as well as the materials
durability in this intensely urban environment. Fabrication of a double panel
of punched steel provided transparency through the scrim for safety while
creating a shimmering moiré’ pattern for passing traffic. Lit from within, the scrim created a gateway
presence 24/7, also referencing the vitality of the district’s nightlife. The scrim supports a quote by Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. that spans both the primary northbound segment and the smaller
terminating southbound segment. In
entirety the quote reads “I believe…they will not be judged by the color of
their skin but by the content of their character,” referencing the common hope
of shifting communities that have called this area home. Broken when the scrim
crosses traffic lanes, the full quote can only be fully read by both entering
and exiting the district. Planting further unifies the site with textural
grasses catching the motion of passing traffic and hardy perennials providing
subtle seasonal color. Large trees shade
the plaza and vegetated bioswales filter run-off from the hardscape. The
planting palette is repeated at the smaller median parcel, further
strengthening the threshold experience.
Rising up behind the
scrim, a series of Heritage Markers hold communities stories and imagery. Also constructed of weathered steel and lit
from within, these twenty foot markers serve as beacons to on-coming traffic as
well as hinting at the plaza behind the scrim. Cut into the steel of each
Heritage Marker is one of four themes identified in the community process:
Community, Civil Rights, Immigration and Migration, and Commerce and
Culture. At pedestrian height, each
Heritage Marker supports interpretive panels that carry images and stories of
the many communities that have called this place home. It is the design team’s
hope that both the Gateway scrim and the Heritage Markers will support on
on-going dialogue about what it has meant to reside in the district as well as
to begin to frame an understanding for how this areas many communities may
continue to move forward.
Heritage Markers Project supports the ongoing efforts of area residents and
business owners to highlight the unique identity of Portland’s inner north and northeast
neighborhoods. 2.ink Studio Landscape Architecture led a multidisciplinary team in both Master
Planning and Design, working closely with neighborhood activists to create a
landmark gateway and plaza that denotes entry into these historically rich
neighborhoods and shares the history of their diverse residents.The site context is five adjoining neighborhoods, linked by
a forty block stretch of NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard and terminating in
a remnant property owned by the City of Portland. Surrounded by heavy vehicular
traffic and a mix of underdeveloped commercial properties, this terminating site
marks the convergence of a couplet including NE Martin Luther King Jr.
Boulevard and NE Grand Avenue. The result is two small parcels disconnected
from the urban fabric, but highly visible from this primary arterial roadway.
This convergence also marks a transition from the highly commercial Convention
Center and Lloyd Center Districts, into the historically rich residential
neighborhoods and small businesses of inner northeast Portland.
Collectively referred to as the Albina
District, these neighborhoods have historically served as home to numerous interwoven,
but also competing, communities including Native American, Irish, Scandinavian,
African American, German Russian, and Eastern European immigrants. Each group created strong centers of place
through their churches, businesses, and neighborhoods. It’s not uncommon in
this district to find deeply rooted African American churches with German
inscriptions on the church foundations.
Historic events have both challenged
and galvanized these often migrant communities. World War II, the Great
Depression, the Vanport flood, and the Civil Rights Movement all fostered
dramatic physical and social changes.
Both national and local heroes arose as well, contributing to these
communities finding a strong civic voice. Contemporary events have continued to
bring change to the Albina District. Demolition
for, and construction of, the Memorial Coliseum in 1956 took place in what was
once the oldest part of the well-established African American community. In the 1960’s the construction of Interstate
5 again fractured neighborhoods and communities. Most recently, rising home
prices and gentrification have further influenced community transition. In spite of these ongoing urban renewal
pressures, jazz clubs, hair salons, and other cultural icons have continued to
anchor the neighborhoods.
2.ink Studio's role was to listen carefully to
the diverse and at times competing community stories, and identify themes that
spoke not only to the common experiences of these groups, but also respected
the unique pride, character and challenges that they individually identified
with. Once these themes were identified,
it fell to the landscape architect’s design team to develop a physical form and
narrative to carry these stories forward, as well as to create a gathering
space in which to begin a civic dialogue about what these stories mean for both
past and future residents. During a series of nearly thirty public meetings and
events that stretched over a three year period, the design team developed a
Concept Master Plan that set a direction for developing community stories along
the 40 block streetscape, as well as laying the foundation for the creation of a
civic space and gateway landmark at the remnant property marking the
convergence of NE Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The landscape architect led
all public outreach activities including interactive community charrettes, a
series of Public Open Houses, and participation in neighborhood events
throughout the year. Working with a historian who resides in the neighborhood,
a graphic design team, engineers, a technical advisory committee encompassing City
development bureaus and a diverse community stakeholder group, the design team ultimately
developed a site design to address three primary community goals:
·
Create
a clear threshold announcing arrival into a unique neighborhood district·
Preserve,
interpret and celebrate the diverse history of the area’s cultural communities·
Develop
a gathering space for the preservation and exhibition of community stories
The final Gateway Plaza
site presented many challenges including how to create a comfortable plaza surrounded
by fast moving traffic and with adjacent architecture that does little to
activate the space. The existing context was also dominated by large
billboards, power lines, and had poor pedestrian connections. In addition, the desired
location for creating a gateway experience was located in the middle of a
difficult S-Curve in an arterial roadway.
The design response
introduced a sculptural scrim wall that shelters a modest civic plaza within
one curve, before being bisected by northbound lanes in its reverse curve. Fast moving traffic breaks through the line
of the wall, while the scrim of punched weathered steel embraces the
plaza. Weathered steel was selected for
its historic reference to the Albina District’s wartime ship building industry
that instigated large-scale immigration to the area as well as the materials
durability in this intensely urban environment. Fabrication of a double panel
of punched steel provided transparency through the scrim for safety while
creating a shimmering moiré’ pattern for passing traffic. Lit from within, the scrim created a gateway
presence 24/7, also referencing the vitality of the district’s nightlife. The scrim supports a quote by Dr. Martin
Luther King Jr. that spans both the primary northbound segment and the smaller
terminating southbound segment. In
entirety the quote reads “I believe…they will not be judged by the color of
their skin but by the content of their character,” referencing the common hope
of shifting communities that have called this area home. Broken when the scrim
crosses traffic lanes, the full quote can only be fully read by both entering
and exiting the district. Planting further unifies the site with textural
grasses catching the motion of passing traffic and hardy perennials providing
subtle seasonal color. Large trees shade
the plaza and vegetated bioswales filter run-off from the hardscape. The
planting palette is repeated at the smaller median parcel, further
strengthening the threshold experience.
Rising up behind the
scrim, a series of Heritage Markers hold communities stories and imagery. Also constructed of weathered steel and lit
from within, these twenty foot markers serve as beacons to on-coming traffic as
well as hinting at the plaza behind the scrim. Cut into the steel of each
Heritage Marker is one of four themes identified in the community process:
Community, Civil Rights, Immigration and Migration, and Commerce and
Culture. At pedestrian height, each
Heritage Marker supports interpretive panels that carry images and stories of
the many communities that have called this place home. It is the design team’s
hope that both the Gateway scrim and the Heritage Markers will support on
on-going dialogue about what it has meant to reside in the district as well as
to begin to frame an understanding for how this areas many communities may
continue to move forward.
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