COMMUNITY Archives - Page 21 of 23

Revolution in the Landscape: Re-experience the Halprin Fountains

Mayer/Reed was one of seven design teams invited to participate in a Design Week Portland event hosted by SEGD (Society for Experiential Graphic Design). Each team designed and produced a temporary installation along Lawrence Halprin’s masterpiece, the Portland Open Sequence.

Teams were asked to explore the role of graphic design in public space and consider: Can we inspire, educate, and promote interaction? How does this create a connection to our community and stewardship of our public spaces?

A magical evening transpired. Hundreds of Portlander’s joined us, beginning at Mayer/Reed’s installation “We Are All in This Together” at Keller fountain.

“We Are All in This Together” Designed by Mayer/Reed

As Co-chair of the SEGD Portland Chapter with Mike Sauer, I had the honor of working with all the design teams to see their concepts become reality. My biggest impression of the night was seeing hundreds of people and their “glow” moving through the spaces as we walked toward the Source. It was surreal to see so many people experience the spaces together. Good show Portland, good show!

“Words That Flow” Designed by Portland State University, Graphic Design

“Dancers in the Park” Designed by Sticky Co.Arts

“Perform” Designed by Second Story

“Urban Nature” Designed by Stefan Lesueur

“Begin/End” Designed by Third Angle New Music and Gamut Arts

Just Launched – The Landscape Architect’s Guide to Portland

ASLA National has launched a mobile friendly, online guide to over 48 significant landscapes in Portland. The Landscape Architect’s Guide to Portland is organized into tours under categories such as grand parks, social equity, wildlife, water, and health. It includes site reviews along with addresses, maps, bike and transit routes.

As one of 11 local landscape architects who contributed, I was asked to be the guide for the Water Tour and demonstrate how Portland leads the nation with the development of green infrastructure. The Water Tour showcases a range of public open spaces that highlight ways Portland experiences, expresses, treats, uses and celebrates water. To tell this multi-faceted story, I reviewed Tom McCall Waterfront Park, the Water Pollution Control Laboratory, the Rain Garden at the Oregon Convention Center, Sandy Blvd. Streetscape, and the Amy Joslin Memorial Eco-roof at the Multnomah County Building.Portland is a walkable, bikeable tour-friendly city. It’s a city without a single, stand-out landmark; yet increasingly we see visitors on the streets with maps and mobile devices exploring our many nooks and crannies. Through the eyes of visitors, this is an opportunity to ask ourselves, what has Portland done right? What can other cities learn from Portland? What is Portland doing to maintain our quality of life and continue to become even more sustainable?

Happy 50th YGH!

Yost Grube Hall Architecture celebrated 50+ years with an exhibit opening at The Center for Architecture this month. As longtime colleagues and friends, we are honored to be part of this milestone event. Collaborating with YGH, Mayer/Reed orchestrated the design, copywriting and construction of the exhibit, bringing to life rich stories of people, places and projects the firm has touched over the decades. MayerReed_YGH2 The exhibit runs through Sept 30 at The Center for Architecture, 403 NW 11th Avenue, Portland, OR.

3 Designs Revealed for Mesa City Center

Mayer/Reed joined Team Otak last spring in a competition for the design of the Mesa City Center. This center is key to downtown Mesa, Arizona’s efforts to create a walkable, vibrant live, work, learn, and play environment. As one of the three finalist teams, we recently presented our design for The Living Room Plaza to the City Council and Mesa residents. The plaza will become a dynamic, multi-cultural, educational center of a new arts district in the city, exuding a sense of community and vitality. Check out the competition results and consider lending your support!