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A conceptual design for the proposed James Beard Public Market in Portland was inspired by the way that preparation and enjoyment of food often becomes a social activity.

鈥淥ne of the goals of the market is to bring people together,鈥� said Craig Dykers, founding partner of Norwegian architecture firm Snohetta. 鈥淔ood has always been one of those wonderful aspects of life that bring people together. It’s a wonderful place to create a cultural hub, so that’s been the genesis of our design.鈥�

Snohetta designers on Wednesday made public their conceptual ideas for the market 鈥� named for the late chef, cookbook author, syndicated columnist and television personality who was born in Portland. The Historic Portland Public Market Foundation, a nonprofit that over the past 15 years has spearheaded efforts to build the market, last fall hired the firm to lead design of the project in collaboration with Portland-based firms SERA Architects, Studio Jeffreys and Mayer/Reed.

Dykers, who is based in Snohetta’s New York office, was in Portland this week to unveil the firm’s initial designs for the year-round public market on a Southwest Naito Parkway parking lot at the west end of the Morrison Bridge. He and other Snohetta staffers on Thursday shared their architectural concepts for the market with the public during an open house at the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry.

The initial plans call for an approximately 80,000-square-foot market, including a 45,000-square-foot ground-floor market hall with more than 150 food vendor stalls, a mezzanine level with a learning kitchen and event venue, a rooftop terrace and below-grade parking. The glass-lined market hall would have tall, wood-clad ceilings with steel trusses inspired by the Morrison Bridge nearby. Also, ample seating and gathering spaces both indoors and outdoors would be included, as would connections to the adjacent Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

鈥淭he facade of the building will light the park up in the evenings, so it will be safer,鈥� Dykers said.

The Snohetta team used feedback gathered during public meetings held this past December to help shape the design, he said. The unusual geometry of the project site, including two clover-leaf-shaped areas surrounded by the Morrison Bridge access ramps, and its history also factored into the architectural concept, he said.

The idea is for the James Beard Public Market to bring food production back to the riverfront site, Dykers said. It was once home to a market that was demolished in the 1950s to make way for the Harbor Drive roadway along the west side of the Willamette River. Harbor Drive later was replaced by Tom McCall Waterfront Park.

鈥淲e hope to revive that idea of the culture of making food on the waterfront,鈥� Dykers said. 鈥淚t’s also a place that’s underutilized today.鈥�

The market design takes into account how visitors will travel through the space and provide customizable vendor stalls of various sizes, he said.

鈥淲e wanted the system of movement through the site to be real simple,鈥� Dykers said. 鈥淭he market runs continuously across all three parcels of land.鈥�

The design also proposes a garden space between where the two Morrison Bridge ramps split in opposite directions. The garden would grow towering hops that would be visible to drivers heading into downtown Portland over the bridge, Dykers said.

鈥淥ne of the first things you’ll see as a visitor is this grove of hops,鈥� he said.

Ron Paul, director of the Historic Portland Public Market Foundation, said Snohetta’s conceptual designs will help the organization as it prepares for the project’s next phases. Financial consultant ECONorthwest in the next couple of months will complete a second economic analysis assessing the market’s feasibility, he said.

鈥淭he vendor rents will support the market,鈥� Paul said. 鈥淲e need to build the market debt-free.鈥�

Snohetta’s designs will also be used to determine an estimated construction cost.

鈥淣ow that we have the concept design, we can do that process,鈥� he said.

The foundation in the past few years has raised more than $2 million from public and private sources to help pay for planning costs; it’s now in the silent phase of its capital construction campaign, Paul said.

Construction is scheduled to start in early 2017 and finish in 2018.

James Beard Public Market

Anticipated construction start: early 2017

Anticipated construction finish: 2018

Architects: Snohetta, SERA Architects, Studio Jeffreys

Landscape architect: Mayer/Reed

Engineers: KPFF Consulting Engineers, Interface Engineering

Other associates: Melvin Mark Cos.