Firm: Project ManagerMithun

Project Name: University of Oregon PNW Market

Project Statement: CHOICE AND DISCOVERY

The new public market at an Oregon University provides a unique dining experience for students, faculty, staff and community members. The vibrant market hall unfolds across nine distinct food venues and extends through the southern building edge onto a verdant outdoor seating terrace. The idea of discovery over time was a core design driver; each venue offers a unique sensory and spatial experience, waiting to be explored.
The center of the market hall is anchored by a locally milled slatted fir canopy and blackened steel hearth which crisps Roman-style pizzas and naan at ‘Hearth and Soul’ and ‘Tamarind.’ The hearth element is visible from all entry points, providing visual warmth and a sense of orientation in the space. Three charcoal painted, projected volumes flank the east side of the hall. These platforms – ‘Steam’ noodles and dumplings, ‘Bullseye Taco’ and ‘Drake’s Deli’ – were designed with flexibility to accommodate the rotation of new food concepts over time and accommodate applied graphics and signage that can be easily removed if needed. Steam was strategically organized along a tall, narrow service corridor and accented with catenary lighting and a tucked away seating nook to give the effect of an urban alley condition. An installation of lacquer and ceramic bowls rises above the servery to create an abstracted steam pattern.
A greenhouse-inspired salad and juice bar, ‘Watershed’, features a lattice-like canopy structure with views from the core of the market hall out to old-growth evergreens to the south. Anchoring the northwest corner of the market is ‘Duck’s House’, a sports pub concept restaurant filled with spirited details including a wall of rubber ducks, painted yellow track lanes on the concrete floor, ‘The Duck’ crowd-surfing across the face of the bar, and powder coated metal storage lockers perforated with the signature Oregon ‘O.’

PRIORITIZE LOCAL SOURCING

The University’s robust sourcing program features ingredients from 25 local farms in the surrounding Willamette Valley. A plethora of offerings at each venue are entirely made from scratch. Sightlines between customer facing spaces and food prep areas became an important feature. Patrons can look across the stacked-timber coffee bar to watch dough being kneaded for the day’s pastries. At Bullseye Taco, the comal is placed in the most visible corner to showcase the handmaking of tortillas.

In addition to the food, three art installations were commissioned locally to help root the market in place. Above the south seating terrace booths floats a series of woodcut prints by Charlene Liu, entitled Hotpot / Mooncake, that are inspired by communal experiences and celebratory feasts and treats. Colorful glass art by Jessica Jackson-Hutchins peppers the storefront on the north and west edges of the space. A collaboration between Carla Bengston and Jesse Vala lines the southwest terrace ramp; the installation challenges the stereotypical divisions of nature/culture, mind/body, and human/animal. At the same time, it utilizes cast terracotta ASL hand signs to draw attention to the diversity of human language, and to the rich sensory potential of all language.
The design also features several local materials from in and around Eugene, Oregon, including Douglas fir millwork, seating and ceiling elements. The majority of worksurfaces in the venues are pre-cast concrete countertops from nearby Bend, Oregon.

This market hall is part of a larger mixed-use project that is certified LEED Gold. The project celebrates regional and campus ecology—employing strategic views out to verdant landscape, and biophilic moments of discovery and choice. The design supports the dining operation’s robust sourcing program from 25 local farms in the surrounding Willamette Valley. A plethora of offerings at each venue are entirely made from scratch, providing students with a number of healthy, minimally processed food options.

Kaylyn Martinez
Interior Design
Lynn McBride
Architecture
Brendan Connolly
Architecture
Dorothy Faris
Landscape Architecture
Dustann Jones
Architecture
Crystal Loya
Architecture
Laura Durgerian
Landscape Architecture
Allison Pericich
Architecture

Collaborating Design Architect and Architect of Record | Rowell Brokaw | John Rowell | Partner

Collaborating Design Architect and Architect of Record | Rowell Brokaw | Chris Andrejko | Project Manager

Collaborating Design Architect and Architect of Record | Rowell Brokaw | Andrew Cohen | Architect

Collaborating Design Architect and Architect of Record | Rowell Brokaw | Britni Jessup | Interior Designer

Collaborating Design Architect and Architect of Record | Rowell Brokaw | Peter King | Architect

Collaborating Design Architect and Architect of Record | Rowell Brokaw | Peter Utsey | Architect

Environmental Graphics | RMB Vivid | Brian Boram | Principal

Kitchen Consultant | JLR Design Group | Garrett Lennon | Principal Food Service Designer

MEP Consultant | Glumac | | 

General Contractor | Fortis Construction | Landon Winter | Project Manager