Loop PDX

PDX LOOP PROJECT
At the onset of the project, the team started with a question:
What qualities can establish and define a pathway without even building anything; without spending significant resources and time; and without having an uninterrupted pathway?
Firstly, It had to be an idea that could be set up once, then serve to inform further development and act as a logical framework for future growth of the Loop. The system had to also help with navigating the city and wayfinding. It was important to come up with something that could unify, in a single path,
many different conditions and site variations along the loop.
We saw the creation of a recognizable path as one of the key challenges of the Loop PDX project. Our understanding of the project called for the creation of a corridor that was distinct from the dozens of existing bike and pedestrian pathways in the city to make the loop easily identifiable. It needed the
appropriate presence and prominence to suit its higher level of functionality.
The answer came gradually, in the form of a radial system, much like a full circle protractor, with points along the loop being identified with the use of degree marks embedded in the pathway. As a center point of the circle we picked an intersection of 2 axes, the first running north to south along North Vancouver
Street. The second- the zero axis, running through the Pioneer Courthouse Square, adhering to the wayfinding humor of the Milepost Sign. The Loop numerically runs in the clockwise direction, evenly dividing its 6 mile length into 360 100-foot segments, with markings at every 2 degrees.
Given the length, the difference in terrain, the available right-of-way width, and many other variables along the proposed loop; our team identified several areas that would be cornerstone locations for the anchoring and shaping of the loop in an incremental manner, allowing phasing both in planning and in
implementation. The Rose Quarter/Lloyd district area put forth in the brief was extended to
include the future pedestrian crossing over the I-5 freeway, since we identified the bridge to be an extraordinary opportunity to give the loop more prominence, recognizability, and branding opportunities with a potentially iconic structure juxtaposed with the unique topography of the area and it respective viewpoints. The concentrating of our efforts on this area was also justified by the fact that we saw many typical problems concentrated along this stretch of the loop. And we assumed that solving this section of the loop would provide a number of solutions applicable to the other areas contributing to a more integrated project. Furthermore, the area was interesting because of its complicated path alignment, especially with the split pathways on the Broadway bridge. We saw this not as an obstacle, but rather as another exciting opportunity to create a transition, especially given the fact that the site presented additional right-of-way opportunities that could be used not only for the creation of a public spaces, but could also be treated as one of gateways along the loop. With the importance of the continuity of the loop in mind, the split walkways on the Broadway bridge are united through a series of pathways that allow for the uninterrupted movement of pedestrians and bikers, while providing adequate
turn radii and slopes.