Out & About and On the Boards: VA campus at American Lake - Tacoma, WA

Our first design presentation for a new Outpatient Clinic on the Veterans Administration's American Lake campus in Tacoma WA was also our first visit to this idyllic campus. With a picture postcard view of Mt. Rainier, a striking collection of Spanish Colonial Revival buildings and towering Douglas Fir trees, we almost felt we were on vacation. Originating in 1923, the campus was established after the Veterans Bureau was formed in 1921 to care for soldiers returning from World War I.
Walking the site in the right photo, above, are Abby Alway and ZGF project architect David Staczek. Below, six flags representing the six branches of the United States Military join the American flag in front of the campus administration building.

Out & About: Japanese American Historical Plaza, Portland, OR

It's hard to believe it's been twenty years since we completed our work on the Japanese American Historical Plaza on Portland's waterfront. Yet on this bright, beautiful Portland summer day, a re-dedication ceremony took place in memory of the Japanese American citizens who were deported to inland internment camps during World War II. The names of these camps are inscribed on the stone in the top photo. Highlights included Lawson Inada, former Oregon Poet laureate, whose haunting poems describe the experiences of the Japanese Americans. "America the Beautiful" sung against a backdrop of water sprayed from a fireboat in the Willamette provided an emotional finale.

Out & About: Springfield & Eugene, Oregon

Field trips are an important part of our professional development at AK: we like to stay up-to-date with new projects in our field and to build a shared vocabulary of experience and insights into the world of environmental graphic design. On this beautiful day in June, we went first to Sacred Heart at River Bend, a brand new medical campus in Springfield, Oregon. Shown at left above, Abby provides scale for a freestanding entry monument. At right, Cherry admires bronze gingko leaves in a railing structure.

At the University of Oregon in Eugene, we stopped by the new Jacqua Academic Center for Student Athletes. We loved the playful use of letters in the landscape! Above left, Karen and Cherry are up close and personal with the site ID. At right, the University logo, which is the letter "O", is fabricated of aluminum and set at a rakish tilt to provide racks for bicycle parking.

Out and About: Shanghai, China: City of Contrasts

Shanghai may be the most cosmopolitan city in the world: it is certainly one of the richest. Old and new sit cheek by jowl - at least for a while - as economic progress devours the past in deference to the future.


Busy and impressive during the day, Shanghai is magical at night. Full neighborhoods are illuminated (but only until 11 pm, for energy conservation), and that includes bridges, the river embankment, and buildings of all sizes and shapes. In the French Concession (left photo), allees of Sycamores are uplighted in white and green, with illuminated pendants of persimmon and white. In the Bund, neoclassic and art deco buildings are symbols of late nineteenth and early twentieth century Western influence (right photo). It appears that China has staked a claim in LED lighting and the result is festive, uplifting and downright dazzling. Can't help but think some of Portland's neighborhoods might benefit from same.



Not all neighborhoods are affluent. Tucked between high rise avenues are narrow twisting streets where neighbors live and work literally on top of each other. Citizens live in very close quarters and daily life, including laundry, is conducted in the street.


Turn the corner and find Confucius and prayers tied to trees.


Where substantial construction fences line a street, whole blocks are coming down for progress. If you look closely, you'll see two guys sweeping the site with brooms (!) Similar guy, seen on the street, uses the ubiquitous street sweeper's broom, made of branches.


Progress has many forms. Here, signature buildings and ordinary projects dot the skyline along the Huangpu River. The tall icon in the middle (some call it a "churchkey") is by I. M. Pei.

Out and About: Expo 2010, Shanghai, China

Arriving in Shanghai, we see billboards and signs advertising Expo 2010; on traffic signs, billboards, and buildings. Expo's mascot is the blue "gumby" figure and Shanghai is proud to be hosting Expo - for the world, but most importantly, for China: "Better City, Better Life."


The Expo's iconic image is their own China Pavilion. As the official program says, "with the traditional Douguan Bracket and the concept of nine-folded script (a type of ancient Chinese calligraphy) it showcases the spirit and disposition of Chinese culture. This pavilion is visible throughout the landscape, from all views, taller and bigger than everything else - clearly a symbol of China's emerging position in the world.


The number of people at the Expo was staggering - and most often, we were the only non-Asians in view. People waved at us and took our photo as we stood in lines (for hours) and took photos of them. Everyone carried umbrellas (more like parasols) against the searing sun (and it's not even summer!). At first, I was chagrined to be carrying a black one, but then I realized that it stood out from the crowd!!


Many Pavilions were temporary as were their construction materials. Brasil's facade was made of "sticks" painted green.


We couldn't figure out what this building was for, but loved its form, covered in stretch fabric.


The bright blue on the landscape drew us near. It was covered in foam cloth - the type we use for packing material!


Everywhere water misted in fine spray to cool visitors. Here, it's coming out of the ground, cooling our ankles as we walk under the blue building made of foam cloth.


A few of the exposition centers are permanent buildings. This is the Expo Culture Center and when Expo is finished it will be a performance center in Shanghai's new River Park.


Pavilions varied in shapes, styles and quality. We quickly learned that those with short lines usually weren't very interesting inside. It was more fun to look at their exteriors. A five hour wait for the Saudi pavilion was based on the fact that they were giving away a diamond each day to one lucky visitor. Note the China pavilion sneaks into the composition.


The Expo Axis is a permanent feature of the park and will become a landscape boulevard after Expo. It includes an elevated walkway that spans half the length of Expo and provides amazing views of all pavilions, especially China. We did invest time in the lines for China and it was worth the approximately 3-hour wait - even with special tickets! It was beautifully constructed - looked good close-up, no five-foot rule here! And again, the exhibits were for the Chinese people - full of idealistic views of China, past and present, with no expense spared to create the most dazzling displays.

Out and About: Souzhou, China

Portland's Classical Chinese Garden, which is celebrating its tenth anniversary this year, was built in Souzhou, China and assembled on-site in Portland. It was a very special treat to visit our Sister City in China and see a few of the gardens that inspired our own. While the form and style of these old gardens were familiar, I felt a very different spirit that only age can bring. The above photos are from "Master of the Nets" or "Fishermen's" Garden.


At our next garden, curators were documenting carved stone panels of calligraphy and brush painting. In no more than 3 minutes, the man in the left photo, with a deft staccato rhythm, covered his paper in powdered charcoal. The result is lying on the ground in the right photo.



Ending our day with a meal of fine Souzhou cuisine, we were all delighted with the light, fresh flavors and textures - so different from the heavier, meatier cuisine of Fouzhou.

Out and About: Tongli, China

Elizabeth continues her adventure in China...


Arriving in Shanghai on Sunday afternoon, we left early on Monday to visit surrounding areas, venturing first to one of China's river towns to catch a glimpse of China's past. Tongli, modestly restored and welcoming to visitors, is about 45 minutes outside of Shanghai. Without cars, it provides a picturesque view of of early life on the river.

Out and About: Fuzhou, China

Elizabeth is in China with the State of Oregon's Trade Delegation and the Third Angle Contemporary Music Ensemble. The first stop was Fuzhou in Fujian province, Oregon's Chinese sister state. These are here photos and captions of her adventures so far.


We were blown away by the warm and generous reception we've received from our local hosts and have fallen in love with the beautiful gardens and landscape of this subtropical area in Southeast China. Our hosts have treated us to banquets, receptions and tours of the area - making us feel very welcome indeed.


Every morning, afternoon and evening, locals gather in the public parks for movement, dance song and music played on traditional Chinese instruments. Their faces radiate with joy and happiness as they sign and play the traditional songs of China. Caught in a monsoon shower, we shared a park shelter with about a hundred locals and these musical citizens, as rain obscured the city. Foreigners are still a rarity here and we noticed others snapping photos of us while we tried to photograph the musicians.

The public parks of Fuzhou began as Imperial gardens in the 3rd century. Lit at night, they are filled with people and magic.

View from the hotel window, on the morning after monsoon rains had fallen. The sky has cleared a little and distant hills are exposed.

Three banquets in three days - each with more dishes than the last. The last course is always watermelon; local and sweet. In the above photo, it shares the table with all the food we couldn't finish.

Complimentary colorful umbrellas were thoughtfully provided by the hosts.

Out & About: Shriners Hospital for Children

After months of mock-ups, proofs and more proofs, our specialty graphic walls are installed and looking fabulous in the elevator lobbies of Shriners Hospital for Children in Portland. We were on site for dedication festivities last Saturday and celebrated with our Shriners clients, including Skip Stanaway of SRG Partnership, Portland (second row). Top photo is the view from the family waiting rooms near the elevator lobbies on each floor. Playful icons we developed for the walls also appear on wayfinding signs and in carpet and vinyl flooring though out the new hospital. When we heard hospital staff playfully referring to their areas as the "chicken wing" and the "butterfly wing" we knew the program was a success.

On the Boards: Chemeketa CC - Yamhill Valley Campus

In a collaboration with YGH Architecture, Elizabeth joined a presentation of interior concepts, including specialty graphics, for Chemeketa Community College’s new Yamhill Valley Campus in McMinnville OR. Project themes and metaphors are based on the colors, textures and imagery of this abundant valley. Shown above in an animated conversation with College President Cheryl Roberts and her team are Liz Bray, Edward Running and Mark Stoller, YGH.

In the Studio: Oregon State Hospital

We invited our collaborators on the Oregon State Hospital Replacement Project to our office last week to review sign submittals prepared by Oregon Corrections Enterprises (OCE). Over lots of chocolate, we discussed OCE’s fabrication capabilities and brainstormed the best approach to achieving design intent using OCE materials and methods rather than technologies we might otherwise have specified. This congenial and collegial process resulted in a shared committment to each other’s success in the project.

Top photo: Rodney Myrick (Hoffman Construction) holds a sign sample for the group while Jon Melschau (SRG Partnership) and Abby Alway (AK) look on.
Bottom photo: Abby Alway and Cherry Britton, (AK) observe as Barry Moss and Richard Wright (OCE) take notes. Also present were David McCarthy (SRG), Michele Bouterse (HOK) and Steve Ryan (OCE).

Out and About: Above the Clouds

EA and Karen took a cold rainy flight to Seattle this morning, had a productive day with our Providence Regional Medical Center Everett clients and on the return flight, found sunshine and dazzling volcanoes above the clouds. What a great way to cap the day!

In the Studio: Just in Time

“Just in time” delivery by Jay Cole of Center Pointe Signs brought smiles to our studio late last Friday afternoon as we reviewed samples destined for Stanford School of Medicine (right photo) and a dedication plaque headed to Clatsop Community College. Following this quick review, Abby packaged the samples for FedEx and Jay left carrying the dedication panel to its destination - another week, another finish line.

On the Boards: Benning Library, DC Public Library

It was such fun to see our DC Public Library client, Barbara Norland, in our studio last week! In Portland for the Public Library Association’s 2010 national conference, Barbara visited our office to review color proofs for Benning Library’s supergraphic window facade.
At left, above, Barbara and Elizabeth review selections from the first round of proofs sent by DC fabricator, Gelberg Signs. Barbara returned the following day for a second set of proofs shown at right with Karen. Barbara is DC Public Library’s Senior Librarian for Building Projects.