— Jul 21, 04:53 PM — 

pdXPLORE Panel Talk

Tuesday, July 8th at 6pm
PNCA | 1241 NW Johnson

Join us as the five designers and architects who created pdXPLORE, an interactive multi-media exhibit exploring Portland’s future, speak about their work and the process of creating the interactive exhibit. Panelists include: Rudy Barton, Carol Mayer-Reed, Michael McCulloch, Richard Potestio and William Tripp. This event is free and open to the public.

Rudy Barton believes the key to understanding Portland is to recognize that the Willamette River is the defining heart of our city–both literally and metaphorically. His drawings and photographs will explore the physical role of the river in Portland, to illustrate how the river should be the central armature upon which to focus future development and connect us with the natural world. He believes we should be able to see and touch the river in our daily lives.

Carol Mayer-Reed is intrigued by the comparison of Portland with our neighboring Left Coast cities: San Francisco, Seattle, and Vancouver, B.C. She is examining aerial photos, digging for interesting factoids and what is unique to Portland, all in an attempt to articulate our DNA. Through her affinity for clean water, pursuits to create river awareness and design work on the Eastbank Esplanade, Mayer-Reed expands our understanding of who our “clients” are, including salmon.

Michael McCulloch is exploring Portland’s DNA, the program for the design of the city, along with who and what we are designing for. He is proposing diagrams for the city that are inclusive and easily understood. Within the originating concept, “River, Ravine and Ring”, McCulloch will be designing a few pieces of the overall plan that need to be understood in the context of the DNA and the Diagram. These will be examples of remodeling the city with elements that may have no client but are both possible and unique to their site(s): Sullivan’s Bluff; OHSU village; Bethany Center and a few more.

Richard Potestio is challenging conventional notions of zoning by exploring the many successful areas of the city that have a substantial mix of building types, where density and green space are “marbled” into the urban fabric. By understanding these rich, organic micro-patterns, they can be applied to other areas of the city, increasing overall density, spatial diversity, and livability. Central to Potestio’s work are drawings showing the future urban fabric of Portland as seen from street level.

William Tripp is making drawings of the design principles unique to Portland. These drawings focus on the making of ritual space, the outdoor living rooms essential to creating and sustaining community. Spaces range in scale from the entire city itself, the way it sits in the landscape, to the smallest triangle plaza on Burnside. He believes that we must see the city not as a collection of buildings and streets, but as a rich tapestry of meaningful and useful public space.

Exhibition: July 8 – 27
Five designers and architects, Rudy Barton, Carol Mayer-Reed, Michael McCulloch, Richard Potestio and William Tripp, have spent the last year delving into an on-going conversation that asks what shape will our city take over the next 50 or 100 years? The exhibited work of the architects and designers addresses their various areas of investigation. Anchoring the exhibition is a 30 by 50 foot aerial map covering Portland’s urban growth boundary and stretching across the floor of the Commons, allowing viewers to walk the region’s topography. Co-sponsored by PNCA and Elizabeth Leach Gallery.

Panel Discussion: July 8 | 6pm
The five designers and architects who created pdXPLORE speak about their work. Panelists include: Rudy Barton, Carol Mayer-Reed, Michael McCulloch, Richard Potestio and William Tripp.

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