Exciting news for our campus and our city

This week, we announce the results of PSU’s Place Matters Design Competition,  an effort to identify and implement large and small changes all aimed at creating a more vibrant and connected campus for PSU and downtown Portland.

We launched the competition in January with the goal of improving connections — both within our campus and to the city of Portland — while uplifting PSU’s educational message and increasing a sense of belonging among our students and employees.

Based on the recommendations of a 12-member jury of PSU and community leaders we selected to judge the competition, PSU will move forward with one of the three finalists: The Walker Macy Collaborative.

What the jury liked most about the Walker Macy Collaborative is their understanding of the goals that PSU wanted to achieve through this effort —  strengthening belonging among our community and celebrating PSU’s diversity and uniqueness while also adding energy and meaning to the physical presence of our campus. The Collaborative team includes PSU faculty, alumni and students in addition to design professionals with a strong understanding of how centering equity in design can greatly benefit its impact in implementation.

The group recommends a range of placemaking strategies designed to bring the energy of PSU indoor spaces, including classrooms, into the visible realm of the campus. They suggest both elevating and improving existing gathering places — such as the Park Blocks and Urban Plaza — and also envisioning new ones. The proposal includes a site plan calling for a new welcome center in the heart of campus, new gateways to PSUs on the Park Blocks and along Southwest Market Street and the rehoming our popular pop-up skate park, The Courts, to a new location on campus after ground is broken on PSU’s new art building.

The team demonstrated a clear understanding of who PSU is and who we serve. Their proposal and plans for implementation are rooted in a design justice framework that recognizes the need for public spaces to be safe and welcoming for individuals of all backgrounds and prioritizes the relationships necessary for those spaces to thrive. Recommendations include quick wins — highly visible improvements we can implement quickly — in addition to long term developments.

I’m looking forward to watching these ideas take root and grow at PSU with the support of our philanthropic partners. As Portland’s anchor institution, fostering a dynamic and engaging urban campus is a key contribution that we make not just to our own community but to a successful downtown for the entire region. It’s one more way that we can Let Knowledge Serve.