Opsis Architecture’s design of a new Oregon State University building had to gain approval not only from the school, but also the city of Corvallis.

“It went through a separate approval process in the city because it’s located on a historic district on the campus,” firm partner James Meyer said. “It’s one of the last remaining (vacant) parcels on the core campus.”

The district received its historic designation in 2008. It includes some of the school’s oldest buildings, such as Benton Hall, Weatherford Hall and the Memorial Union.

The 90,000-square-foot-building, the Student Experience Center, will be added to the Memorial Union via an 8,000-square-foot glass-covered plaza. The union will be used for dining and events, while the SEC will become a hub for student-life programs, Meyer said.

The building will hold four stories, including three as an atrium lined with curvilinear stairs. The atrium will hold spaces for various student programs, such as the campus craft center and the international resource center.

The student media center, on the top floor, will hold space for the campus television network, radio show and newspaper.

At one point, money for the $51.8 million project (including the plaza connection) dried up. The project in 2011 failed to gain legislative approval for needed construction bonds.

“It was a challenge to keep the design flow and the discussion about the building moving cohesively,” Meyer said.

However, approval eventually was granted, and Meyer believes the determination of the students who helped design the building will help make it a success.

“It is really important for the project when you think of the students stepping up and talking about stewardship and legacy,” he said. “Successive different (grades of) students came into this process because of how long it takes and yet each one comes in and takes the same role in terms of its importance.”

Construction is expected to start in June and finish in slightly more than a year.

“On the Boards” is a weekly feature that spotlights local firms’ best design work. Submissions from architectural and engineering firms are encouraged. Please call 503-802-7222 or email ontheboards@djcOregon.com.

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After years of conducting seismic renovations for warehouses and schools in Portland, architect and developer Ben Kaiser reached a conclusion: There must be a better method.

“I’ve seen the result of these upgrades and how difficult it is for building owners to implement these (seismic) requirements,” he said. “There’s got to be a more wise way with limited resources.”

Seismic renovations have increasingly become a focal point within Portland’s built environment. According to city code, a building’s use cannot change until seismic requirements are met. And as the city’s infrastructure grows older and the threat of a large earthquake looms, a big push is being made to devote more money to seismic upgrades.

However, such projects can require a lot of time and money. So, Kaiser and KPFF Consulting Engineers developed a new way to seismically reinforce buildings: steel “sanctuaries” that are installed through buildings’ roofs.

The CoreFirst system can cost up to 20 percent less than a standard full seismic upgrade and, in some cases, increase occupant safety more than a full upgrade can, according to Kaiser.

“The Oregon public school system is strapped by no money, but has a requirement to upgrade its schools,” he said. “All we’re doing is creating confusion and feeling guilty. Let’s change that and add mobility to a static system.”

The engineering behind the system is basic.

Most buildings have three basic features: diaphragms – the floors and roofs; drag struts – beams that line the diaphragms; and lateral support – horizontal props applied to walls. During an earthquake, energy is collected in the diaphragms and then driven down through the struts and lateral support into the ground.

CoreFirst involves creating multi-story, occupiable lateral support features. In other words, building occupants would stand within the support system.

Each floor of a building would have multiple sanctuaries. In a school, for example, one would be installed next to each classroom doorway, Kaiser said.

The features would be hardly visible – only additional steel beams on the walls would differentiate them.

“In the interim, as we as a society are waiting for the funding to complete these upgrades, you have a safe school – a guaranteed safe area for kids and teachers to collect,” Kaiser said.

CoreFirst also involves installation of a notification system featuring seismographs to warn building occupants of an imminent earthquake. Monitors would be placed on either side of the building and audibly announce any significant seismic activity so that occupants could reach safety spots.

Kaiser came up with the idea for the system after his company, Kaiser Group Inc., conducted a full seismic upgrade for a Southwest Portland school a few years ago. The upgrade, he said, cost over a million dollars and significantly burdened the school with debt.

However, despite Kaiser’s promotion of CoreFirst, it has not been installed on any buildings. Portland Public Schools declined to test it.

“We’re choosing to go with proven technologies,” Portland Public Schools spokesman Matt Shelby said. “For something as important as seismic safety, we have a responsibility … and we’re not willing to be the first adopters of something like that.”

Shelby said that the system would oppose PPS’ emergency protocol because it would encourage people to run to the sanctuaries rather than out of buildings.

“It’s quite a bit different than what we have done up to this point,” he said. “Its usage runs fairly contrary to everything that we have trained our staff and students to do.”

That’s not its intended use, however, Kaiser said; occupants would be encouraged to wait in the sanctuaries until conditions are safe and then exit the building.

Kaiser does not believe CoreFirst should replace a full seismic upgrade. In fact, the sanctuaries are designed so that a full upgrade can tie in easily (new diaphragms can be driven into them), he said.

Because the system can be installed through the roof and does not require any demolition, it can cost significantly less. Also, Kaiser believes CoreFirst makes occupants safer by providing multiple heavily reinforced areas.

If it were to gain wide acceptance, CoreFirst could apply to all types of buildings.

“A lot of buildings in downtown are sitting vacant because these costs of upgrades just stop the profit,” Kaiser said. “We’re devoting money to something that may happen in 10 seconds or 10,000 years. The question is: How do we be wise with those dollars when none of us know?”

Kaiser is waiting for a patent for the system. He is talking to officials at the American Red Cross, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology in an effort to gain recognition for the brand. He is hoping that the approval of health and safety experts will convince building owners to test the system.

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Kyle Andersen of GBD Architects admits that the original design of the four-tower “superblock” proposed for the Lloyd District may have been a little ambitious.

“We had to back up and look at another way of putting this whole thing together,” he said. “We want to be successful with this project so it actually serves as a catalyst for projects around it.”

The proposed Lloyd Blocks housing development created a buzz last year because of its massive size. It was originally planned to include 820,000 square feet total of residential space and 50,000 square feet of retail space.

Three large buildings, including one with 30 stories, were proposed. They were planned to join the existing Lloyd 700 Building to create a development bordered by Northeast Multnomah and Holladay streets and Seventh and Ninth avenues.

However, at a Portland Design Commission hearing last week, the proposed project looked much less like a “superblock.”

“We had a lot more height in the plan before,” Andersen said. “We were finding that to get that height was costing a premium on the construction side.”

One proposed building was reduced from 30 stories to 17 and another was reduced from 16 stories to five. The third building remained six stories.

If the previous heights had been preserved, rents for the units would have had to increase, Andersen said. However, Lloyd District residents expressed hopes that some of the units would be affordable, said Gary Warren, executive director of the Lloyd District Community Association.

“We can have a broad mix of different types of housing available within the Lloyd District,” he said.

Despite dramatic height reductions, the number of housing units dropped only from 780 to 637. The size of the average unit was reduced, and more podium-type (shorter) units were planned instead of high-ceiling units, Andersen said.

“Maybe some of the things that we were doing before were a little ambitious, but the market sorted that out,” he said. “I don’t think we were at that level of detail … where we are today.”

Another change is that plans now call for each building’s appearance being unique. The 17-story building would have a rooftop amenity space and a light brick pallet. It also has been rotated slightly to gain views of downtown.

The five-story building, which is planned to hold a grocery store on the ground floor (the tenant has not been determined yet), would have a running bond brick pattern, while the others would have a stack bond pattern and metal paneling.

These changes came out of advice given by the commission.

“Given the eclectic nature of the district and the strong, modernist statement made by the 700 Building, we challenged the architect to be bolder in their approach to the building designs,” said Guenevere Millius, chairwoman of the commission.

Another new project aspect is the addition of a constructed wetland, a wastewater treatment alternative. The wetland is designed to treat water from the development for reuse through a tidal-flow process.

The Port of Portland installed a similar mechanism in 2010, but the technology is relatively new.

“The whole water and wastewater treatment on the site is unprecedented in the city,” Andersen said. “Especially when you consider that our site is surrounded by a combination of sewage and storm (pipes) from the 1900s.”

The wetland will tie into the project team’s goal of achieving a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum rating.

San Diego-based American Assets Trust is providing capital for the project.

Some of these changes could help the project gain approval at its next Design Commission hearing in May. With approval, construction is expected to begin this summer and require two years.

Lloyd residents are eagerly waiting, Warren said.

“We’re really looking forward to the changes coming,” he said. “We’ve got 20,000 employees in the Lloyd District, but only a thousand units for living there … it’s needed.”

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If a large Cascadia zone earthquake were to occur today, estimated fatalities in Oregon would number at least 1,200 people and perhaps more than 10,000, according to data included in a recent study compiled by the Oregon Office of Emergency Management. In addition, tens of thousands of buildings would likely be destroyed or damaged, and contribute to more than a million dump truck loads of debris.

“Before we take action we have to understand what the problem is,” said engineer Ed Quesenberry, who helped compile the study. “Once people understand the severity of what they’re dealing with, then they can start figuring out how to deal with the problem and encourage the government to make the right decisions.”

The Oregon Resilience Plan study came out of a resolution passed by the state Legislature two years ago. Lawmakers asked the Oregon Seismic Safety Policy Advisory Commission (a branch of the OEM) to determine a massive earthquake’s likely impacts on infrastructure.

The study, the first of its kind conducted by the state, recommends changes and policies that – if implemented over the next 50 years – would adequately prepare the state. These recommendations will be presented during the present legislative session.

State officials hope the study will influence both the Legislature and the public to push for funding and change.

“You don’t want to be that person crying on CNN because the government hasn’t helped you yet,” OEM Geologic Hazards Coordinator Althea Rizzo said. “(It’s about) what can individuals do for making sure they are prepared because they could be on their own for quite some time.”

The OEM assigned multiple task groups over a year to compile and examine data for the study, which cost only a few thousand dollars to conduct. Around 200 people were involved, and almost all of them volunteered.

Quesenberry, founding principal of Equilibrium Engineers LLC, co-chaired the critical and essential buildings task group, which concentrated on housing, schools, public health facilities and government buildings. Other task groups examined transportation, water and energy infrastructure, among other things.

Hardly any emergency operation centers, police stations and fire stations would remain fully functional after an earthquake, according to the study. It stated that a high percentage of those buildings would need 18 months (far below standards) to be rebuilt and safe to occupy.

Additionally, most education facilities would also need at least 18 months to become operational again. According to data in the study, 12 percent of K-12 facilities in the state have a very high chance of collapsing, 35 percent have a high chance and only 30 percent have a low chance.

“It’s quite sobering,” said Jay Raskin, a member of the critical and essential buildings task group and a principal of Ecola Architects. “There are many different aspects that basically we’re not very prepared for.”

A large portion of the data is based on generalizations. A building’s construction date, the materials used and its location (structures closer to the coast, for example, are more susceptible to damage) all affect seismic resilience.

The study recommends a number of changes, including education of the public. If citizens learn the severity of the issue, there is a better chance that a push will be made for funding, Quesenberry said.

Education can come via programs, literature and advertising. The study itself is a form of outreach, Quesenberry said.

“We hope this is the start of a conversation,” he said. “It will teach people to start asking questions and engaging structural engineers and other infrastructure-related people in conversations of what could be done.”

The study also includes more policy-oriented recommendations. For example, it recommends that a mandatory program be implemented to identify deficient public buildings. Currently, a state law requires seismic rehabilitation of publicly operated emergency centers, police stations and fire stations by 2022, but “subject to available funding.” The recommended program would require local governments to examine public buildings in their area and then ask voters to a support a general obligation bond for the needed work.

Another recommendation would be to require health care support structures – facilities that hold standby generating power, for example – to be held to the same seismic design standards as the health care buildings themselves.

Quesenberry recognizes that these recommendations may be more difficult to implement and fund.

“It’s not going to be easy,” he said. “It has to start with some incentive program for private building owners to take action, whether it’s tax credits or some other means that the government can put in place to encourage building owners to spend the funds.”

The Legislature’s plans for the study are unknown at this point. But the responsibility falls on the public, Rizzo said.

“They need to push for change,” she said. “Our educational use of this report is really taking this message out to people and saying, ‘Don’t expect the fire department to come rescue you … it’s your responsibility.’ ”

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The Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability is proposing zoning code amendments for housing development, in response to neighborhood groups voicing concerns about multifamily projects being built without parking.

If City Council were to approve the proposed amendments, parking would be required for new developments featuring more than 40 units (one parking space would be required per four dwelling units). Parking spots would be required to be within 300 feet of the development. Also, the requirement would decrease by two spaces for each ride-sharing vehicle provided at the site.

No projects being built or already permitted would be affected by the amendments if they were to receive approval.

The Planning and Sustainability Commission will consider the amendments at a public meeting on March 12; they could go before City Council by the end of March.

On-site parking is not required in many commercial zones, where residential development is allowed, because of code amendments implemented in the 1990s. At the time, the changes were praised, because city officials believed they would encourage alternative forms of transportation.

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A house being built on Northwest Pumpkin Ridge Road may seem diminutive, but its design will make it one of the most resilient homes in the Portland-metro area.

“The walls are 18 inches thick,” said Rick Berry, a designer at Scott | Edwards Architecture, which worked with Hammer and Hand to design the structure. “It’s a standard house, but then we added a whole other layer.”

The 3,600-square-foot house was designed to passive house standards. The house will be extremely insulated, with 12-inch TJI stud bays. It also will have triple-pane windows and be oriented to face the south – all bedrooms will face this direction – to maximize solar gain. On that side of the house, large overhangs will ensure that the house receives maximum light during wintertime and less during summertime.

Northwest ENERGY STAR, a local branch of a program started by the Environmental Protection Agency, has named the house one of six “super-efficient” ones in the Northwest.

Scott | Edwards Architecture previously designed a restaurant to passive house standards, but not a home, Berry said. One of the biggest project challenges was working with a tight budget.

“That is the (most) simplistic, straightforward design you can do,” Berry said.

Design and construction usually costs more for a passive house than a typical one, Berry said, but there is a payoff. The owners of this home will pay only about $50 a year to heat and cool it.

Aside from its sustainable design, the house’s most notable feature will be its large, covered deck and large windows. These features will blur the line between indoors and outdoors, Berry said.

“(The owners) really wanted a connection to the site,” he said. “The site has such great views; we wanted to open it up to that.”

Construction of the house is expected to finish later this year.

“On the Boards” is a weekly feature that spotlights local firms’ best design work. Submissions from architectural and engineering firms are encouraged. Please call 503-802-7240 or email ontheboards@djcOregon.com.

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Rick Mccutcheon, president of The Wall, a Portland-based concrete contracting company, is proud that his firm follows safety regulations. That is why he’s frustrated that many others do not.

“We follow the rules and take care of our employees, and you just see companies out there not taking the proper precautions for their employees,” he said. “Not only are they harming themselves, but they are harming the public.”

Mccutcheon is open to talking about others violating rules, except with the one agency that might be able to do something about it: the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division. He said he doesn’t know how to do so and it isn’t a high priority for him. Other local contractors – such as Steve Pietila, general manager of American Chimney and Masonry – know how to submit a complaint, but doubt that one would lead to enforcement.

Such attitudes are not unusual among local firms, and that concerns Oregon OSHA.

“If they are concerned, they should file a complaint and let us know about it because otherwise we’re not going to know,” said Melanie Mesaros, Oregon OSHA public information officer. “Our inspectors don’t just say, ‘Hey, I feel like going to this company today.’ We need to have a complaint.”

Oregon OSHA’s rules are different than federal OSHA’s. In some cases, such as rules pertaining to silica (a granite component that can become dangerous when airborne), Oregon OSHA’s rules are stricter than federal ones.

However, enforcing these rules can be difficult, Mesaros said. Violations on small projects are tough to catch because firms operate on jobsites for only a short period of time. And a number of other factors – such as the remoteness of a jobsite or the fullness of an OSHA officer’s schedule – can further complicate the process.

In addition to investigating complaints, OSHA conducts inspections. Also, in certain instances, an inspector who passes by a jobsite and spots an infraction can then stop and check it out.

But the chances of a violator being caught are higher if a complaint is submitted promptly after the infraction occurs, Mesaros said. This can be done anonymously through either Oregon OSHA’s website or over the phone.

OSHA has tried to educate contractors on how to submit a complaint, Mesaros said. But those efforts haven’t reached Mccutcheon, who said that some of the firms he’s working with on a current project are breaking permissible exposure rules.

“OSHA has never approached me and said, ‘Hey, this is what you do,’ ” he said. “I wouldn’t even know who to call or if I could do it online … maybe what they ought to do is get a pipeline out to the contractors and say this is how you report an incident.”

Others are skeptical that complaints would even lead to enforcement.

“I don’t think it’s necessarily going to change anything,” Pietila said. “These are small jobs – (contractors) can get in and out fairly quickly, and I just don’t see that it’s going to do much use.”

Pietila remembers one specific instance when he noticed another contractor improperly using a scaffold. He considered informing OSHA, but believed the violator would be gone by the time an officer could respond.

“They don’t have the resources to respond,” he said. “The enforcement side is hard within the industry.”

Cliff Townsend, owner of a small masonry company, believes that OSHA focuses solely on large firms. In his 15 years of ownership, Townsend has never interacted with OSHA, he said, even when he noticed other firms breaking rules.

“If it’s a small company, unless it’s something that an OSHA representative drives by and sees something wrong, they never inspect anybody,” he said. “OSHA is only worried about the big companies that pay the majority of their bill.”

Mesaros said OSHA does not have a bias toward larger firms. All contractors, regardless of their firm’s size, should submit a complaint when they notice something wrong, she said.

“If they’re seeing it in front of them and they can report it right then, that’s the best thing to do,” she said. “It’s best if we see the work going on in front of our eyes when we get there.”

Complaints can be filed with OSHA . Or, complaints can be submitted at the enforcement number 503-378-3272 or 1-800-922-2689.

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An eight-year timeline is starting to take form for Portland Public Schools to tackle construction with $482 million of bond money approved by voters in November.

This spring, the design process for a renovation of Roosevelt High School will begin with input from students, teachers and members of the North Portland community, according to a schedule released by the district’s operations staff.

This summer, PPS will begin replacing roofs and making seismic safety upgrades to Wilson High School, Alameda School, Bridlemile School, Laurelhurst School and Lewis School.

Also, at some point this year, planning will begin for the renovation of Faubion School, according to the schedule.

In 2015, the design process will begin for a renovation of Grant High School. And over the next eight summers, PPS will complete roofing, seismic and accessibility improvements on 63 schools.

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A vacant Northeast Portland property could become the site of a new senior housing complex.

The site, on Northeast 21st Avenue, is being considered for a 222-unit development with underground parking, according to a land use review intake submitted to the city last month.

Ankrom Moisan Architects would design the project, and Brian Owendoff would be the developer, the intake shows. Both parties declined to say any more about the project.

E. John Rumpakis, a longtime broker in Northeast Portland, manages the property and said he has been in talks with various developers about potential uses for the site. He said no deals have been confirmed.

The property is approximately 70,000 square feet. Its estimated value is $450,000, according to city-data.com.

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On a Portland street lined with Victorian-era homes, one stands out. Soon it may not stand at all.

A Lake Oswego developer is proposing to demolish the Queen Anne-style house at 3605 N. Albina Ave., and build a small residential structure in its place.

“We are drowning in development,” said Caroline Dao, co-chairwoman of the Boise Neighborhood Association. “Even though (the house) has been run-down, it’s one of the nicest homes in the neighborhood.”

The 123-year-old house, nicknamed the “Edwin Rayworth House” after its original owner, is one of the oldest structures in the area, according to Dao. However, it is neither listed on the National Register of Historic Places nor designated as a local landmark.

It was last occupied in 2008 by an owner who was trying to renovate it. When the recession hit, the owner lost the house to foreclosure. Then, last fall, it was purchased by Lake Oswego-based Exceptional Homes.

The proposed project would be two attached houses, each on a 2,500-square-foot plot. However, the development has not been designed.

When the Boise Neighborhood Association heard about plans to knock the house down, it started a petition to try to halt the effort. The group hopes to eventually present its petition to the city, but that may not happen.

The land division partition recently approved for the project cannot be appealed at the city level. And if the developer were to follow community design guidelines for the project, it would not be subject to public comments.

The Boise group hopes it will get a chance to spotlight the project and show how residents have no say in what’s being built in their neighborhoods, Dao said.

“They don’t have to go through design review and they don’t have to risk appeal,” she said. “We just want the city of Portland to say, ‘Look, we want our homeowners to change our neighborhoods … We don’t want developers from the suburbs to.’ ”

Andre Koshuba, owner of Exceptional Homes, said he is unsure whether he will follow the community guidelines. But he is sure he’s being unfairly scrutinized.

Originally, he hoped to build only one new house on the property, which may have allowed him to preserve the house, he said. However, because of the zoning for the 5,000-square-foot property, which is multi-dwelling residential and requires one unit per 2,000 feet, he had to plan for two homes, he said.

“It’s not what I want; it’s what the city dictates me (do),” Koshuba said. “(The association) might want to save their rap for the city of Portland.”

The zoning allows for restoration of the house, according to Kate Green, land use consultant with the Bureau of Development Services. As an alternative, an accessory dwelling unit could be added to meet the requirements.

But because of the house’s deep basins, it would be difficult to save, Koshuba said; an independent inspection revealed that it would cost $70,000 just to restore its foundations.

Instead, the house should be moved, Koshuba said. The neighborhood association agrees that this is a suitable solution. The problem is that no one is willing to pay for it.

“I told the neighbors, ‘If you want the house, you can move it,’ ” Koshuba said. “But they want me to go and do something that they want to do. Let’s save Portland – let’s do this all together. But not at my expense.”

Project designs will be submitted later this year. A date for demolition isn’t set.

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