Oregon Paleo Project Design Team Earns National Exemplary Project Award

Business Wire, March 15, 2006

EUGENE, Ore. -- A project led by Jenny Young and John Rowell, associate professors of architecture at the University of Oregon, has been selected by the Environmental Design Research Association (EDRA) -- and the journal Places -- for one of six national 2006 exemplary project awards in architecture, planning, landscape architecture and urban design.

The award recognizes the Paleo Project in Fossil, Ore. The project's planning stage calls for the revitalization of two important public school sites in Fossil, transforming one of them into a new paleontology center to help this economically depressed region of Central Oregon develop as a center for ecotourism and education.

The design team spent more than a year on the project working with the community, preparing conceptual proposals for the new center and the consolidation and revitalization of the town's public school, and arriving at an initial phasing and financial plan.

Both the new paleo center and the single-campus K-12 public school would be state-of-the-art facilities and future town landmarks. The project is sponsored by Wheeler County for the nonprofit Oregon Paleo Lands Institute and funded by the Oregon Department of Housing and Community Services as one of its first "Oregon Solutions" projects.

In addition to Young and Rowell, the team includes Greg Brokaw, Peter King and Chad Kirkpatrick, all of Rowell Brokaw Architects and all University of Oregon graduates. Brokaw also is an adjunct professor at the university. Ron Lovinger, professor of landscape architecture, and Justine Lovinger, adjunct professor of landscape architecture, served as consultants. Professor Emeritus John Reynolds consulted on energy efficiency in design.

Links:

http://www.oregonpaleoproject.org/

http://www.edra.org/