The Oregon Preparedness + Resiliency Center portland

Situated snugly between the eastern end of the Tillikum Crossing and OMSI, the Oregon Resiliency and Preparedness Center, OR + PC for short, embraces the forces existing on the site: water, wind, light, time, and space reinterpreting them into an adaptive and flexible set of systems aimed towards education and relief. The project has two distinct lives, pre and post event.

Pre-event the center is meant to be a social, educational, and cultural hub. Civic spaces such as the library and auditorium are placed near the water's edge along with a generous open plaza and dock in an effort to revitalize the SE waterfront. Special consideration was given to softening the edge, creating safe and resilient areas for wildlife along our waterfront. The Gallery space is composed of 16' walls that are detailed as two 8' walls stacked on top of each other. These walls house the simulation spaces as well as the class rooms that make up the on site educational component of the OR + PC.  

Post-event the walls can be rearranged into rows of 8' partitions using the roughly 8' grid system etched into the floors. This allows for a flexible reuse of the space, transitioning the center from a place of learning to a place of relief and safe haven. The wooden wedges from the auditorium can be removed to reveal a simple concrete ramp that can be used to move people and goods in an out of the shelter. The base of the grand stair becomes the new area for public speaking, transforming into a many tiered auditorium.

The entire building is naturally ventilated and relies only of fans for circulation. The electricity for this is harvested from the Willamette's current through the use of micro-hydro turbines beneath the dock. Water is captured on the roofs, and in the central sunken light pond. This water is cleaned through natural processes and stored in a cistern beneath the main plaza adjacent to the largest building. Wastewater is treated on site using a NORM wastewater system. This was all done in an effort to provide a pleasant and sanitary environment on the site before, during, and after an event that is easy to understand, operate, and repair.