Odd Neighbors Whole Foods building vs. the new courthouse BY GRANT SEDER It appears that the Whole Foods/parking structure/credit union, etc. project will happen, although the "design" process seems to be limited to the idea of a ho-hum store with parking on the roof and a parking structure selected on the basis of lowest cost per square foot. Since these structures will be neighbors to the new federal courthouse — Eugene's pride and joy — the idea of confronting a high-quality and expensive monument with the shoddiest utilitarian structure is perhaps part of what makes Eugene, Eugene. I can imagine Judge Hogan's excitement when he realizes that the vista from the front of his building will feature two rooftop used-car lots. Eugene's Crown Jewel will be a diamond ring where the diamond's setting is Silly Putty. A couple of design approaches are obvious: • Require design of all elements on this block to be sensitive to their relationship to each other and to the courthouse. Cost should not be the first consideration. • Discard the idea of several separate properties/projects. Design the whole block as an entity. Some possibilities would include: Excavate the whole block for one, or if needed, two levels of parking. Design the structure to carry Whole Foods and whatever other buildings are contemplated. The Whole Foods parking should be arranged around a generous garden court containing escalators and elevators, and opening up to the skylight roof. The Whole Foods building, since it would not have parking on the roof, could be higher and more translucent, giving the store more the feeling of an open-air market. The second part of the roof could be planted, perhaps even to provide some extremely local produce for the store, or perhaps for a U-pick garden in the heart of downtown! Unique. Eugene. And so good to look at from the upper floors of the court house. • The below-grade parking could provide similar access to whatever other buildings are built on the site and to the sidewalk. The below-grade level could even be extended as an underpass under Highway 99 for access to the court house, millrace and the river. So much money has been spent and will be spent. So little thought has been given. Maybe Eugene could be different. A well-designed project on the Whole Foods block should complement the federal courthouse, not work against it. And knowing that we taxpayers are already spending $70 million on the courthouse, it would be foolish to devalue our investment by allowing cheap-looking standardized construction almost adjacent. Grant Seder has been a Eugene architect for more than 50 years.
		Table of Contents | News | Views | Calendar| Film | Music | Culture | Classifieds | Personals | Contact | EW Archive | Advertising Information | Current Issue |