Downtown Portland Sketches

Arlington Club, North Park Blocks    © All Rights Reserved

Portland Art Museum    © All Rights Reserved

Forecourt Fountain   © All Rights Reserved

Financial District   © All Rights Reserved

Berg Building  © All Rights Reserved

Street Scene  © All Rights Reserved

Burnside Bridge   © All Rights Reserved

Gate to China Town   © All Rights Reserved

City Hall  © All Rights Reserved

First Congregational Church  © All Rights Reserved

First Congregational Church Detail    © All Rights Reserved

Customs House    © All Rights Reserved

Equitable Building   © All Rights Reserved

Old Town Facade  © All Rights Reserved

Alene Schnitzer Concert Hall   © All Rights Reserved

Pioneer Courthouse   © All Rights Reserved

SW Broadway  © All Rights Reserved

Portlandia   © All Rights Reserved

Skidmore Fountain  © All Rights Reserved

Solomon Building   © All Rights Reserved

Portland Train Station  © All Rights Reserved

Transit Mall   © All Rights Reserved
 
 Morrison Bridge  © All Rights Reserved

A series of downtown Portland, Oregon sketches by Robert Moreland done in 1995. Each sketch was taken from the view of a pedestrian walking the streets and are meant to capture the unique scale, style and experience of downtown Portland.

8" X 10" prints suitable for framing are available for $45 each.  Please contact me by the email link at the top of the page.  Custom sizes available by request.

Condominium Window and Stucco Remediation

Kings Square is a four story condominium project built in the early 1980's. It has been through two previous remediation upgrades involving window and stucco degradation issues. After all of this, they started to notice more issues starting around 2005. As a result starting in 2006, the homeowner's association had a series of forensic investigations done to identify why the were seeing more problems. In 2009 we were commissioned to develop a new remediation design based on what that study found.

What was found was that during the two previous remediation projects an impermeable membrane, or cold side vapor barrier, had been installed over the exterior plywood sheathing along with a stucco coating with an elastomeric coating and sealing of all the stucco joints. As a result, whenever water got into the stucco, either through failing windows, bad flashing details, or pinholes in the stucco finish they would see a bubbling in the stucco finish since the water had no place to escape. Our approach to the project was to see if the impermeable membrane could be kept since it would be very expensive to replace and require removing the existing building sheathing.

At the start of the project we conducted an investigation of the impermeable membrane with a series of test holes to see if there were any signs of moisture damage on the interior face of the sheathing. Luckily we did not find any, so we developed a design that called for keeping the impermeable membrane after drilling holes in it along with the installation of a new rain screen stucco system in combination with a rain screen fiber cement siding system. A prefinished metal cornice was added to portions of the building to articulate the plain and boxy original design. Also since the existing metal clad wood windows were failing, they were replaced with fiberglass windows along with adding a new waterproofing system, tile, and guardrail to the unit terraces. The building's dark and dated main entry was redesigned with a lightweight steel framework topped with glass skylights for an airy feel. The interior atrium was upgraded creating a more sophisticated atmosphere in keeping with the value of the units.

The project started in June of 2010 and was completed in March 2011 and within the homeowners association's budget.

Senior Living Plans

Designing an affordable small unit plan for senior living is a challenge. Many seniors are downsizing from a single family home and many of the pieces of furniture they wish to bring with them are scaled for houses and not small apartments. When a large hutch, dining table or favorite easy chair is placed in a small apartment the result is a home that feels crowded and cramped, making the transition even harder on the individual.

This concept for a 600 sf One Bedroom modular apartment borrows a trick from the RV industry -- the slide out. The common party wall between units does not run straight but is offset adding 18" to the width on one or the other side of the unit, just as a slide out in an RV makes a narrow space more livable. When this additional width is in the living area it allows for a larger couch, when in the kitchen area it allows for a larger dining table. The variety of configurations possible in this common module provides greater choice for the tenant. In unit A3 the kitchen is on the inside next to the corridor as is traditional in most apartments, allowing a larger living area. On Unit A2 the kitchen is placed on the outside wall and has the added width. This allows a larger table to be used and provides a bright well lit working, cooking and entertaining area. Where as the living section is on the interior side for a dimmer environment better for watching TV, etc.

There are no wasteful hallways in this unit. The bedrooms open onto the main living areas with double sliding doors. In this way a person who may be bed ridden for a period of time still feels part of the home and not confined to a small bedroom. It also visually expands the width of the unit making it feel much larger than it's 600 sf would suggest.

Storage is accumulated in two large closets with large sliding doors to make everything easily accessible and to allow for a variety of closet storage components to be placed inside for more efficient storage. The "L" shaped kitchens can have a built in dining bar freeing up more floor space, or incorporate open shelving for displaying the many small treasure collected over a lifetime.

This unit concept was incorporated into the design of the Russellville Park Senior Living project we designed in Portland, Oregon.

Oregon Mountain Home 2

This home is located on a golf course in the high desert of Central Oregon. The lot was a peninsula surrounded by golf course which allowed open views on three sides without any conflict of privacy with neighbors. The plan is a series of five wings rotated around a central stair and entry hall. One wing is the Living - Dining Room, another the Kitchen - Family, another the Guest Bedrooms and another the Master Suite. The wing configuration allows each room to have windows on three sides taking maximum advantage of views and providing abundant light in each space. Entry to the house is off a large auto court bounded on three sides by the house. The owners were able to use the large three car garage together with the cobblestone paved auto court as a venue for large fund raising events.

The house has a base of local stone with layers of shingle and wood siding to reinforce the strong horizontal lines of the building. Tall spaces and high windows allow view of the towering pines and the mountains in the distance. The deep eaves with layered fascias visually reinforce that the roofs can support the load of winter snows. This is a house that sits comfortably on the site and quietly blends into the native landscape.

Canstruction Portland

MCM partnered for this years Canstruction food drive with Emerick Construction and Degenenkolb Engineers of Portland -- to "Putting the Screws on Hunger". This is an annual event to benefit the Oregon Food Bank and our sculpture this year was made out of 5,000 tuna cans with a base of noodles, cream of mushroom soup, and canned peas. Everything to make a tuna noodle casserole and all to be donated to the food bank.

Island House Plan 2

Island Plan 2 draws design inspiration from Japanese architecture, combined with our Island concept of each room being a building of its own for maximum privacy and to facilitate natural ventilation. Wide six foot roof overhangs create covered connections between buildings as well as providing shade and wind protection to the open rooms within. The design orients around an entry courtyard, a central Great Room and a Kitchen Dining pavilion. The Great Room has large sliding glass doors on four sides allowing it to be opened up as an outdoor Lanai, while also allowing wind control by closing sides toward windward for greater comfort. The buildings are laid out so there are through vistas allowing glimpses of water views, no matter where you area.

Each Guest Suite has a terrace overlooking the water and each bath has sliding doors that open the bath onto private walled garden courtyards. The outdoor spaces between buildings are each developed with unique landscape and water features for a variety of garden environments within the house. The naturally shaped infinity pool has terraces and wood decks cascading down to the pool's edge with both sunny areas and shady spots to enjoy the view. Using wood decks as the lowest terrace allows the house to perch lightly over the rocks and natural landscape when viewed from the water. From the entry, or street side, the house appears low and unassuming, and it is not until you walk through a portico do you see the buildings set in gardens with the sea beyond. Only when a guest is seated in the Great Room does the whole house and it's site present itself through the large windows and doors on four sides. This is a very Japanese concept of unfolding the view of a house, culminating when a guest is comfortably seated and can appreciate the full setting and hospitality of the host.