Mayer/Reed Selected for St. Helens Riverwalk Design

The City of St. Helens, Oregon has selected Mayer/Reed to lead design of a destination riverwalk along the Columbia River. The project will create recreation space, community gathering areas and environmental restoration through improvements to Columbia View Park and adjacent former industrial property.Since 2014, city leaders have worked toward reconnecting the community to a riverfront once dominated by industry. With the purchase of former mill sites, the City seeks to establish a new riverfront district. The riverwalk will be the first built project and an economic driver for the greater riverfront redevelopment.

The riverwalk will proceed in phases with the first phase improving the existing Columbia View Park and a portion of adjacent vacant property. Improvements to the riverbank, a new outdoor performance venue and riverwalk structures and amenities will set the tone for phase II which will provide conceptual design for the remaining 2,870 feet of riverwalk.

In a separate project, Mayer/Reed will support an Otak-led team in establishing infrastructure for the planned mixed-use development. The work will ensure seamless pedestrian and landscape connections between the riverwalk and the development.

Posted: Mar 19, 2021
Written by: Mayer/Reed
PROJECTS 
Posted March 19, 2021
Written by: Mayer/Reed
Categories: PROJECTS 

Experience the Kaleidoscopic Canopy at the Portland Winter Light (non)Festival

Do we need some color and light in our lives these days? Oh yes, we do. The Portland Winter Light Festival heeds the call – this year as a dispersed “non-festival” to – allow plenty of social distancing. Come experience Mayer/Reed’s installation in the grove at Oaks Park. We’re painting with a bigger brush, utilizing the 80 ft tall trees as a canvas. Within this arboreal canopy of color, illuminated mylar curtains reflect a kaleidoscope of moving color, picking up accents from amusement surroundings like the aurora borealis. Down on the ground, we’ll stoke a glowing fire pit in a historic picnic shelter to warm visitors. We thank our partner, Oaks Park, for welcoming this free display amid its stalwart oak trees. Come visit the Kaleidoscopic Canopy at Oaks Park this weekend and next, 6 to 10 pm, February 5-6 and 12-13. And check the map to find all kinds of other dazzling light exhibits throughout the city. See you from a distance!Need some color and light in your life? The Portland Winter Light Festival heeds the call, this year as a dispersed, free “non-festival” that allows plenty of social distancing.

Come experience Mayer/Reed’s Kaleidoscopic Canopy installation at Oaks Park. We’re painting with a big brush, utilizing the 80 ft. tall trees as a canvas. Within this arboreal canopy of color, illuminated mylar curtains reflect a kaleidoscope of moving color, picking up accents from amusement surroundings like the aurora borealis. Down on the ground, we’ll stoke a glowing fire pit in a historic picnic shelter to warm visitors. We thank our partners at Oaks Park for welcoming this display amid its stalwart oak trees.

We’re helping to light up downtown as well. If you’re near the Morrison Bridge, look up to see our 8th floor studio windows aglow at SW 3rd and Washington. We call this display “Wish You Were Here.”

Visit Kaleidoscopic Canopy at Oaks Park this weekend and next, 6 to 10 pm, February 5-6 and 12-13. And check the map to find all kinds of other dazzling light exhibits throughout the city. See you from a distance!

Posted February 01, 2021
Written by: Mayer/Reed
Categories: COMMUNITY  EVENTS 

Reflections for the New Year

Kaleidoscopic:
– Changing form, pattern, color, etc.
– Continually shifting from one set of relations to another; rapidly changing

We welcome the new year with appreciation for the kaleidoscopic beauty found in shifting, adapting and evolving our perspectives. While we experienced disruption in ways we could not have predicted last year, it is our wish that these challenges catalyze positive change in our studio, community and world. We wish you a happy and healthy 2021.

Juneau Wayfinding with art by Rico Worl

Honoring diverse and minority voices, stories and art is important to authentic placemaking for every community. We are committed, through our work and in our personal lives, to collaborating with, supporting and elevating BIPOC artists and community members.

Portland Winter Light Festival  2021

Outdoor events with creative formats and social distancing will continue to be key to connections within our community in 2021.  This year’s Portland Winter Light Festival, deemed a (non)Festival, will be dispersed, yet filled with color, joy, wonder and delight. Light installations will pop up all over town including Mayer/Reed’s entry at Oaks Park called, Kaleidoscopic Canopy.  Check it out February 5-6 & 12-13.

Creston Park Playground

The importance of investment in parks and access to nature and the public realm has become increasingly clear this past year as more and more people turn to parks and open spaces for solace, mental health, exercise and recreation. As landscape architects, designers and planners, we must redouble our efforts to create parks, walkable streets and public spaces where everyone can feel a sense of community and belonging.

 

Curious about the places behind the Kaleidoscopes? Mayer/Reed projects, Juneau Wayfinding & Interpretive Elements and Creston Park Playground, were completed in 2020. The Portland Winter Light Festival concept (center) will become reality in February 2021.

Giving Thanks

Today and always our hearts and minds are filled with gratitude. We are grateful for the Native lands in which we reside; the mountains that watch over us, the rivers that flow and the abundance of fauna and flora that inhabit our region. We are grateful for our communities that keep us grounded in human connection and for the time this year has provided us for reflection.

Happy Thanksgiving