As some of you know, I'm an M.Arch. student at the University of Cincinnati, with a strong interest in civic architecture and transportation design. For my M.Arch. thesis next year I'll most likely be designing a high-speed rail concourse for Cincinnati's historic Union Terminal, and I already have experience on a few transit projects in the NYC area before coming to Cincinnati for grad school.
I'm beginning the process of looking for firms to contact about a possible 5-month co-op placement beginning in March, and I'm concentrating on firms that have a strong portfolio of public architecture and/or transportation projects. For a while I considered going to London for my co-op, which would be an incredible experience, but the logistics would be a problem, and I decided that my co-op would be best spent gaining experience and building connections in a region where I'm much more likely to end up sinking some roots after grad school, the Pacific Northwest. At this point I'm concentrating on firms in Seattle and Portland, and I was wondering if anybody has any thoughts about the firms listed below, or if there are any other firms I should consider reaching out to?
I only really know the portland firms that you have listed as i currently live and work in portland. In terms of transportation projects and civic work, ZGF is the one in portland doing a lot of those projects and has a long history in the city and region. i'm not sure the other firms in portland that you've listed actually do transportation. What do you mean by public architecture? Some of the firms listed do civic projects, YGH, Allied and Miller Hull but tend not to do any transportation. CH2M Hill does transportation, but i'm not too familiar with their civic projects.
Thanks for the info... Waterleaf and ZGF seem to have the most experience with Portland's MAX light rail system, so they're pretty much at the top of my list. Clinkson in Seattle also seems to have a lot of local transit experience, but I get the impression from their website that he's now either a single practitioner or a very small firm (possibly after the departure of another partner, which is what I surmise after doing some sleuthing online).
I realize transit/transportation design is a pretty specialized area of design, and in this economy I can't afford to limit my search to firm that only do such projects, so I'm focusing on firms with a strong portfolio of civic / public projects in general, such as libraries, municipal buildings, ranger stations, etc. I'd even broaden the definition of "civic" architecture to include K-12, higher ed, and other institutional projects, which I also have a bit of experience with.
not quite the pacific northwest (they're in berkeley), but calthorpe associates are big transit oriented development people... and yes, they're "new urbanists", but in a quite different way than their east coast counterparts, DPZ...
Have you checked out Alta Planning and Design? They tend to do more bike and pedestrian design work, and I'm only really familiar with their urban planning side, but it may be worth just contacting them to see which arch. firms they tend to work with. I know they have an office in Portland, and they may have one in Berkeley?
Dec 25, 11 12:45 am ·
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Civic/transit design firms in the Pacific Northwest (and another portfolio to critique)
Greetings, all...
As some of you know, I'm an M.Arch. student at the University of Cincinnati, with a strong interest in civic architecture and transportation design. For my M.Arch. thesis next year I'll most likely be designing a high-speed rail concourse for Cincinnati's historic Union Terminal, and I already have experience on a few transit projects in the NYC area before coming to Cincinnati for grad school.
I'm beginning the process of looking for firms to contact about a possible 5-month co-op placement beginning in March, and I'm concentrating on firms that have a strong portfolio of public architecture and/or transportation projects. For a while I considered going to London for my co-op, which would be an incredible experience, but the logistics would be a problem, and I decided that my co-op would be best spent gaining experience and building connections in a region where I'm much more likely to end up sinking some roots after grad school, the Pacific Northwest. At this point I'm concentrating on firms in Seattle and Portland, and I was wondering if anybody has any thoughts about the firms listed below, or if there are any other firms I should consider reaching out to?
Rowell Brokaw Architects, Eugene (www.rowellbrokaw.com)
Waterleaf Architecture, Portland (www.waterleaf.com)
THA Architecture, Inc., Portland (www.thaarchitecture.com)
ZGF Architects, Portland and Seattle (www.zgf.com)
Yost Grube Hall Architecture, Portland (www.ygh.com)
Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects, Portland and Seattle (www.amaa.com)
Charleton Hart Architecture, Portland (www.chapc.com)
Allied Works Architecture, Portland (www.alliedworks.com)
VIA Architects, Seattle and Vancouver (www.via-architecture.com)
Clinkson Architects, Seattle (www.clinksonarchitects.com)
The Miller Hull Partnership, Seattle (www.millerhull.com)
Also, since I have your attention, I've spent winter break updating my online and print portfolios, and I hereby solicit your feedback.
Web: http://www.dscole.net
Print: http://www.dscole.net/PDF/Portfolio2011.pdf
(PDF, 16 MB. Make sure the display settings are set to "Two Pages" so you see the entire spread at once.)
Any feedback would be greatly appreciated... Thanks in advance.
I only really know the portland firms that you have listed as i currently live and work in portland. In terms of transportation projects and civic work, ZGF is the one in portland doing a lot of those projects and has a long history in the city and region. i'm not sure the other firms in portland that you've listed actually do transportation. What do you mean by public architecture? Some of the firms listed do civic projects, YGH, Allied and Miller Hull but tend not to do any transportation. CH2M Hill does transportation, but i'm not too familiar with their civic projects.
ZGF also has a long history with the University of Cincinatti and regularly has a co-op
Thanks for the info... Waterleaf and ZGF seem to have the most experience with Portland's MAX light rail system, so they're pretty much at the top of my list. Clinkson in Seattle also seems to have a lot of local transit experience, but I get the impression from their website that he's now either a single practitioner or a very small firm (possibly after the departure of another partner, which is what I surmise after doing some sleuthing online).
I realize transit/transportation design is a pretty specialized area of design, and in this economy I can't afford to limit my search to firm that only do such projects, so I'm focusing on firms with a strong portfolio of civic / public projects in general, such as libraries, municipal buildings, ranger stations, etc. I'd even broaden the definition of "civic" architecture to include K-12, higher ed, and other institutional projects, which I also have a bit of experience with.
not quite the pacific northwest (they're in berkeley), but calthorpe associates are big transit oriented development people... and yes, they're "new urbanists", but in a quite different way than their east coast counterparts, DPZ...
Have you checked out Alta Planning and Design? They tend to do more bike and pedestrian design work, and I'm only really familiar with their urban planning side, but it may be worth just contacting them to see which arch. firms they tend to work with. I know they have an office in Portland, and they may have one in Berkeley?
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