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The Portland Japanese Garden added to its list of honors recently when Engineering News-Record (ENR) named the Cultural Crossing expansion its project of the year in the Northwest region.

ENR covers trends as well as construction, engineering and architecture efforts across the country. The organization selects specific projects in individual regions, focusing largely on engineering and construction excellence.

The Japanese Garden project, completed in April 2017, was honored for its attention to detail, craftsmanship and complexity.

鈥淚t feels pretty good,鈥� said Chelsea McCann, a Walker Macy principal. 鈥淲e are absolutely honored to be given the top honors for the region.鈥�

Walker Macy focused on the landscaping as part of a team that included Japanese architecture firm Kengo Kuma & Associates and local architecture firm Hacker. KPFF provided engineering services for the project and Hoffman Construction was the contractor.

鈥淚t was a really collaborative project,鈥� McCann said. 鈥淲e had wonderfully supportive partners and are really happy with the way it turned out.鈥�

ENR isn’t the only organization that has taken notice of the garden expansion. Since debuting in April, it has been honored by the American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) with a people’s choice award and by the American Institute of Architects (AIA).

The AIA’s Portland chapter recognized the project with its top award in its built category. The judges called it a 鈥渟erene, pilgrimage-like journey from the city to the forest, drawing each visitor into a fully immersive experience of the traditional arts and culture of Japan.鈥�

鈥淚 think what really sets this (project) apart is that the idea was to expand beyond just being a beautiful garden,鈥� McCann said. 鈥淭hey actually wanted to be able do training courses for Japanese garden design. It’s an expansion as a cultural offering.鈥�

ENR praised the intricacies of a retaining wall as well as Kengo Kuma’s designs for buildings that included irregular geometries. Fitting all of the pieces together left virtually no margin for error. To add to that challenge, construction took place during one of Portland’s snowiest winters in years.

鈥淚t was tricky,鈥� Hacker principal Jonah Cohen said. 鈥淗offman (Construction) did a herculean task.鈥�

ENR praised the end result as 鈥渙ne of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan.鈥�

鈥淐ollaborating with Kengo Kuma & Associates and garden curator Sadafumi Uchiyama was a great honor and invaluable experience for Hacker as well as for me personally,鈥� Cohen said. 鈥淭he project is a true Oregon treasure.鈥�