Natural Structures
PSU's relationship with natural building began in the summer of 2005 with the construction of a Cob Dialogue Dome and Cob Oven. Cob is a natural building material similar to adobe made with a mixture of sand, clay, and straw. The Dialogue Dome and Oven projects were originally initiated by PSUrth, a PSU student group, in collaboration with PSU Facilities & Planning, the PSU Sustainability Group, City of Portland's Bureau of Planning & Sustainability, and City Repair Project, a local non-profit community development organization. The large, tiered cob bench located beneath the Millar Library awning serves as a community gathering and study space. The project was completed in collaboration with Freshman Inquiry and Senior Capstone classes, the Sustainability Group, and City Repair Project.
- 2005 Cob Construction
- Community engagement focus
- Dialogue Dome & Cob Oven
- Cob Bench
Key strategies include: natural building materials which are minimally processed, plentiful, or renewable; ecoroof to mitigate stormwater and protect structure from rain exposure, which can cause deterioration over time.
The Bike Hub
A bicycle repair shop for the PSU community, the Bike Hub provides tools, resources, and instruction to promote and support bike commuting to campus. In 2015, PSU received a Bike Friendly University rating of Platinum from the League of American Bicyclists, which reflects the University's continued commitment to make bike transportation a viable form of travel for the campus community. With several secured indoor bike garages, a program that refurbishes abandoned bikes to provide a fleet of rental bikes, self-service fixit repair stands across campus, and an annual bike challenge the Bike Hub is providing fun, convenient and affordable ways to bike to and from campus. PSU has also teamed up with the City of Portland’s new bike share program, BIKETOWN, hosting four bike share stations and rolling out a special pricing structure for students, staff and faculty.
Community Field
It may look like an ordinary turf field, but the Stott Community Field is made of 20,000 recycled tires, which helps conserve natural resources and reduce Portland State’s carbon footprint. This turf removes tires from the landfill, conserves water resources, eliminates the use of chemical fertilizers, and reduces our carbon footprint by eliminating fuel-powered mowing, aerating, and re-seeding. Additionally, the turf is 100 percent recyclable, which means that once it reaches the end of its long life, the materials can be turned into new turf, as well as other products.
Community Orchard & Apiary
Stroll through 30+ species of fruit trees, visit the beehives, or study at the cob bench in the Community Orchard. This space utilizes permaculture principles to mimic the processes of natural systems and is also home to PSU's campus apiary. The apiary is the result of a student led project in partnership with PSU faculty and staff that brought honeybee hives and mason bee nest boxes to the community orchard. In the spring of 2016 PSU was certified a Bee Campus, USA and become a more pollinator friendly environment while promoting hands-on learning opportunities for the campus community.
The community orchard is just one of several campus gardens. PSU’s collection of student-focused gardens offer opportunities to learn about plant care, habitat restoration, community building, food production, cultural diversity and much more.
Bike Garage with Living Roof
One of 10 secure bike parking facilities on campus, the Montgomery Bike Garage was created through a partnership between Metro, the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, and Portland State. The garage stores up to 75 bikes on two-tiered bike parking racks and also features a green roof.
South Park Blocks
The grassy, tree-lined area that bisects the western portion of campus has been a defining feature of Portland’s downtown since the mid-nineteenth century. Hundreds of elm, oak, and maple trees line the park, providing shade, absorbing carbon dioxide, and reducing pollutants and approximately 200 energy efficient street lamps also line these blocks. Every Saturday, year-round, Portland's largest Farmers Market is held in the South Park Blocks.
PSU Reuse Room
The PSU Reuse Room is PSU’s on-campus resource for donating and acquiring used office, school, and home supplies. Located in Cramer Hall 180, the door is always open, so students and employees can find free binders, notebooks, coffee mugs, and other supplies anytime—helping to reduce waste while saving money. Join the movement: Give. Take. Share.
Broadway Cycle Track
Opened in 2009 as part of a faculty research project, the Broadway “cycle track” provides bicyclists separation from car track by locating the bike lane between parked cars and the sidewalk. The green “bike boxes” give cyclists a visible and safe location to wait at intersections.
Geothermal & District Energy Loop
Portland State University’s “Campus Loop” is a district energy system that provides heating and cooling to multiple buildings in the core of campus. Centralized locations generate steam and chilled water which are distributed through a network of pipes to connected buildings. As a result, each building does not require individual boilers and chillers. The campus energy loop benefits the University is several ways:
- Increased energy efficiency and lower utility costs
- Reduced carbon emissions and pollution footprint for the University, due to lower quantities of natural gas and refrigerant gasses needed
- Minimized outages due to system inter-connectivity
- Lower lifecycle costs through reduction of materials used, maintenance, and building capital costs
- Increased flexibility to convert to a more efficient fuel source if one becomes available
- Ease of operation and maintenance due to central location
Four underground geothermal heat pumps improve energy efficiency on campus by using the natural heat of the earth to warm or cool buildings. These pumps connect to PSU's Campus Loop, a district energy system that generates steam and chilled water from centralized plants and distributes it underground to 15 buildings. As a result, these buildings don’t need their own boilers or air conditioners and the University benefits from greater reliability, efficiency, and lower utility costs.