It’s been more than 70 years since Oregon’s largest city, Portland, has had a public market. In response to the city's thriving culinary scene, residents have formed the non-profit organization James Beard Public Market, and Snøhetta designed what will be Portland’s first year-round market since 1942, when the Portland Public Market closed down.
Named after prominent gastronomical figure James Beard, who Dezeen reports “developed an interest in food at an early age after accompanying his mother on shopping trips to Portland markets,” the market will reintroduce the hustle and bustle of commerce and public vibrancy to the western end of Morrison Bridge on the Willamette River.
The bridge, which currently splits the market’s future site in half and blocks pedestrian access from three sides, will be realigned by the architects with access ramps, and a new pedestrian through-road will make the new market accessible from all directions.
Snøhetta’s design will have room for 60 permanent stalls, 30 flexible stands, restaurants, a teaching kitchen, and an events space.
"A generous pedestrian street will run north and south, swelling at the sunniest portion of the site, to create an outdoor room for vendor stalls, seating, and green areas for Pacific Northwest native plantings," the design team added in a statement.
Construction is set to start in 2016. This isn’t the Oslo-based firm’s only project in Oregon—they have been called on to revitalize an abandoned paper mill on the Willamette Falls near Oregon City into a mixed-use public destination, giving the public up-close access to the falls for the first time.
Related Stories
| Apr 26, 2013
BIG tapped to design Europa City in suburban Paris
Danish architecture firm, BIG - led by Bjarke Ingels – has been announced as the winner of an international invited competition for the design of Europa City, a 800,000 square meter cultural, recreational and retail development in Triangle de Gonesse, France.
| Apr 26, 2013
Solving the parking dilemma in U.S. cities
ArchDaily's Rory Stott yesterday posted an interesting exploration of progressive parking strategies being employed by cities and designers. The lack of curbside and lot parking exacerbates traffic congestion, discourages visitors, and leads to increased vehicles emissions.
| Apr 24, 2013
Los Angeles may add cool roofs to its building code
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa wants cool roofs added to the city’s building code. He is also asking the Department of Water and Power (LADWP) to create incentives that make it financially attractive for homeowners to install cool roofs.
| Apr 22, 2013
Top 10 green building projects for 2013 [slideshow]
The AIA's Committee on the Environment selected its top ten examples of sustainable architecture and green design solutions that protect and enhance the environment.
| Apr 19, 2013
7 hip high-rise developments on the drawing board
Adrian Smith and Gordon Gill's whimsical Dancing Dragons tower in Seoul is among the compelling high-rise projects in the works across the globe.
| Apr 17, 2013
Frank Lloyd Wright's Park Avenue showroom demolished
New York loses another architectural gem by Frank Lloyd Wright as new owner razes auto showroom.
| Apr 5, 2013
Commercial greenhouse will top new Whole Foods store in Brooklyn
Whole Foods and partner Gotham Greens will create a 20,000-sf greenhouse atop one of the retailer's Brooklyn supermarkets. Expected to open this fall, the facility will supply produce to nine Whole Foods stores in metro New York City.
