DISTRICT MASTER PLAN COMPETITION

Imagine a global greenway alongside high speed rail lines that allows people to travel the across continents without stepping on concrete. This urban planning competition entry explores that possibility by envisioning an international, unpaved greenway in tandem with a high speed rail line.

Sitting across downtown on a hill, the Rose Quarter offers breathtaking views of Portland and the mountains beyond. At a pinch point between two sides of the city and home to mass gathering venues, the site is ideal for a landmark urban gateway. Unless there is a mass event, the area is largely empty and all lines of public transit pass through the roads here. Cyclists, motorists, buses, trams and light rail share the street in a jumbled tangle of traffic.

The Rose Quarter, an ideal location for a high speed rail station and an urban gateway, is already a multi-modal transit site. The district is in need of a pedestrian friendly master plan that attracts small businesses to enliven the site 24/7 and this centrally located, high traffic area can become a thriving entrance to Portland.

The focal point of the design is the gateway plaza at the center of the District. Greenways meet at the piazza with a waterfront park, marina, and multi-modal transit station at the Willamette River. Small scale buildings are interspersed into the district to attract local businesses and circulation paths for the cyclists, autos, and mass transit that currently traverse the site are well defined and easy to navigate. Parking is underground and traffic designed to create clear and fast drop-off to the high speed rail station.