May 2024 - Mayer Reed

Advocating for Landscape Architecture

On May 8 we put down our pencils, logged out of AutoCAD and turned our attention to Washington, D.C., for American Society of Landscape Architects (ASLA) Advocacy Day. Representing Oregon, Mayer/Reed Principal Jeramie Shane, ASLA, and landscape architect Laura Hartzell, ASLA Oregon President-Elect, chatted with federal leaders about the importance of landscape architecture and the issues that matter to us.

They met virtually with the offices of Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden and Representatives Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer and asked them to consider cosponsoring two bills. The Freedom to Invest in Tomorrow’s Workforce Act (H.R. 1477 / S. 722) would allow the use of tax-exempt 529 savings plans to pay for professional licensure and continuing education – a change that would promote equity by reducing financial barriers in landscape architecture and other professions. Secondly, they discussed the Water Infrastructure Sustainability and Efficiency (WISE) Act (H.R. 2921), allowing more loan dollars from the EPA’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund to be used for nature-based infrastructure projects. For example: green roofs, bioswales and filtration wetlands (like those at our current Clean Water Services’ Fernhill wetlands project in Forest Grove, Oregon).

ASLA Advocacy Day helps inform national legislators about our profession and can influence policies that benefit landscape architecture professionals, and, by extension, the people and places we design for. We encourage everyone to contact their representatives about the issues that are important to them – your feedback matters.

Design Approved for Doernbecher Children’s Hospital Addition

“Yes, with enthusiasm!” The City of Portland Design Commission unanimously approved plans for an addition to Oregon Health & Science University’s Doernbecher Children’s Hospital at the Marquam Hill campus.

Led by ZGF Architects and Andersen Construction, with landscape architecture by Mayer/Reed, the project includes a new 11-story building with roof garden, a public plaza, upgrades to the current drop-off and parking areas and an access trail providing a much-needed connection between SW US Veteran’s Hospital Road and SW Lower Canyon Drive.

The design commission commended the team’s approach to the challenging, sloped site and applauded the thoughtful touches that embed the new addition into the existing campus and landscape. “I can’t think of a more skillful, subtle way to do it than the way you have,” stated Commission Chair Brian McCarter. “It fits like a glove.”

A New Innovation Hub at University of Portland

A ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 4 celebrated the recent opening of the Shiley-Marcos Center for Design & Innovation at the University of Portland. Designed by Opsis Architecture, with wayfinding and donor recognition by Mayer/Reed, the building embodies the innovative spirit of Donald P. Shiley (UP alum and engineer) who attributed his professional success to collaboration and hands-on experimentation. An installation featuring the building’s namesake couple, Donald Shiley and Darlene Marcos Shiley, asks, “What if I followed my imagination? What if I wasn’t afraid to fail?” – encouraging future engineers to use the building’s makerspaces, labs and tools to tinker, dream and innovate.