Urban Center, Portland State University
Of the many things that can make a city feel as if it’s growing better instead of just bigger, the most important is a strong sense of optimism. And of the many buildings that have risen in Portland’s decade-long building boom, none has held the hope of Portland State University’s new Urban Center.
Randy Gragg
The Oregonian
Urban Center, Portland State University
Portland, Oregon
130,000 SF
Completed 2000
Client Notes
Create a new gateway for PSU where campus meets downtown – providing a welcoming public space for those arriving via the multiple MAX, street car, and bus lines that converge at this location. Engage with multiple groups and communities from on and off campus and facilitate collaboration.
Designer Notes
The Urban Center is a place of confluence, where students and faculty mix together with the larger energy of the city. The public plaza is the heart of the project – an open outdoor space circled by retail and restaurants and places for sitting, gathering, and meeting. The shifting building forms and sparkling glass exterior provide clear views in and out, so that the liveliness of the interior spaces mixes with the activity on the plaza, giving the impression of a contained city-within-a-city.
Recognition
AIA Portland Chapter Merit Award, 2001
AIA Portland Chapter People’s Choice Award, 2000
AIA Portland Chapter Unbuilt Merit Award, 1998
