Recognized for setting a new national model for light rail line design, the MAX Orange Line East Segment garnered the ASLA Oregon Chapter 2015 Design Awards top honor, the Award of Excellence. For this transportation infrastructure project, the jury appreciated the role of the landscape architects and a design approach that created a series of human-scaled spaces that weave into the communities. Mayer/Reed, Inc. and GreenWorks, PC, the two firms providing urban design and landscape architecture respectively, submitted the project jointly. ESA Vigil Agrimis provided wetlands and creek restoration on the project.
The Orange Line East Segment also received the People’s Choice Award, as selected by attendees of the awards ceremony held on October 23 at the Multnomah Athletic Club in Portland.

“The Award of Excellence was recognition that the jury considered deliberately. The criteria for this honor was established by the panel early in our discussions and adhered to strictly throughout the day. We established that the project should demonstrate the potential to have a profound and widespread impact, one that defines a cultural moment while setting a new standard. We believe the Max Orange Line project truly exhibits this potential—congratulations to this exceptional team and their exceptional effort.” Juror, Valerie Yaw, a principal at Bluegreen