Bright colors, perforated steel panels, and native plants transform this underutilized concrete plaza into a people friendly and inviting urban space. 

Propel Studio teamed up with the community to design and fabricate an installation to be located at the Outer Rim bike shop in Gateway District, a growing area of East Portland. The target for the design is to create a fun, playful, educational and beautiful addition to the patio in front of the bike shop. We looked to inspiration from the surrounding neighborhood, drawing on historic forms like the old Fred Meyer Arch, utilizing steel panels to allude to the transportation oriented surroundings, and multi-colored fins to allude to the diversity of cultures in the area. These came together to form an iconic installation for the business and surrounding community. The wall is designed to be multi-functional and interactive - a performing stage, seating and gathering areas are provided while signage could be added to help with neighborhood wayfinding. The planting of the wall will be a community event, where we invite nearby residents to come and participate in the creation of the installation.  

Credit
Architect: Propel Studio

Location
Outer Rim Bike Shop
Portland, Oregon
Gateway Neighborhood