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The Portland Design Commission approved the renovation of the exterior landscaping and facade of the Oregon Convention Center by a 4-0 vote聽on Thursday.

鈥淭his is a really challenging design problem in part because of the building,鈥� said Commission Charwoman Julie Livingston. 鈥淭he convention Center is not timeless architecture. I think (the landscaping) plays really nicely into this installation.鈥�

The changes are part of a $27 million, two-phase renovation project that aims to update the convention center both inside and out. Mayer/Reed and LMN Architects handled the design.

The first phase of the project will include聽a new arrival sequence and gathering space at the northeast corner of Northeast Holladay and Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. The improvements will include new landscape planters, seating and lighting. There will also be an event plaza and amphitheater seating added to the corner.

Changes to the facade of the building will include the removal of two existing ticketing windows, canopies and glass storefront along Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

鈥淭hese were really designed for the selling of tickets on the exterior of the building as well as queuing of patrons as they move into the building,鈥� said Wendy Pautz, principal at LMN Architects. 鈥淭hat is no longer the functional and operational way the convention center works.鈥�

The renovations will also change the northeast entry plaza to improve mid-block crossing to a future hotel and parking garage on the north side of Northeast Holladay Street. Designers also plan to remove the ticketing window and canopy at the north leading edge of the expansion building. Smaller, more opaque canopies will be installed to help tie activities within the center to those in the plaza.

鈥淭here is no longer this need for low-scale canopies to protect queues,鈥� said Pautz. 鈥淭hat offered the opportunities to actually create a civic gesture at the entries.鈥�

While members of the Design Commission were highly complementary of the exterior changes overall, they had concerns about how the new landscaping at the center would blend with the hotel under construction to the north. Carol Mayer-Reed of Mayer/Reed said the differences between the buildings and surrounding landscaping was intentional.

鈥淲e want the buildings to bear some similarities, but they aren’t exactly twins,鈥� said Mayer-Reed/ 鈥淲e were intentional in not matching them, but there are some references between them.鈥�

Another issue that caused some concern among members of the Design Commission was giving visitors a sense that the center was a place for all Oregonians and not just Portland residents.

鈥淗ow does this become the Oregon Convention Center and not just the Portland Convention center?鈥� asked Commissioner Don Vallaster.

Mayer-Reed said the diversity of the types of plants and typography found across the state made finding a central theme that could reference all parts of the state difficult. Instead, they aimed to represent the local area with their plant choice.

鈥淭here is an informality in our lifestyle,鈥� said Mayer-Reed. 鈥淲e wanted bring that kind of lifestyle and what聽we are as a people. We have a streak of independence about us. Everything doesn’t have to match.鈥�

In the end, the Design Commission tacked two conditions onto its approval of the project, including requiring that a minimum of 70 percent of basalt elements used the center portion of the amphitheater must be vertical. .

鈥淚 think this has been very well done,鈥� said Commissioner Samuel Rodriguez. 鈥淭he design is very responsive (to earlier DAR comments).鈥�

BLOCK 40 SOWA

The Portland Design Commission sent the Block 40 SOWA project at 3417 S.W. Macadam Ave. back for further revisions on Thursday. The project is bordered by Southwest Macadam Avenue to the west, Southwest Moody Avenue to the east, Southwest Gaines Street to the north and Southwest Abernathy Street to the south.

The Alamo Manhattan Properties project includes two buildings. Both buildings will have seven stories and stand 82 feet tall. The north structure will have a 3.55:1 FAR, and include 190 residential units and 4,373 feet of retail space. The south building will have a 3.94:1 FAR, 213 market rate apartments and 1,925 feet of retail space.

While Design Commission members acknowledged that the materials met guidelines, they felt the Hensley Lamkin Rachel Architects design of the structures needed work to fit within the context of surrounding neighborhood.

The project will return to the Design Commission on Feb. 1.