Mamook Tokatee: "To Make Beautiful"

Mamook Tokatee is a unique new affordable housing development in Northeast Portland that promises to nurture and inspire culture, art, and community. The second development from a partnership between Community Development Partners (CDP), Native American Youth and Family Center (NAYA), and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz, Mamook Tokatee provides 56 units with 20 offering preference to Native American households affiliated with the Siletz. Like the first community developed by this team, Nesika Ilahee (located just blocks away), Mamook Tokatee brings affordable housing to the Cully Neighborhood with an emphasis on providing access to services and art while creating a space for Native culture and community to thrive.

In the spirit of the art that this project celebrates, the building’s name means “to make beautiful” in the Chinook Wawa. The design team participated in engagement with supportive housing stakeholders, seeking community input on how the physical design could best support families, artists, and culture. Goals focused on developing workspace for artists and incorporating Native artwork throughout the building. CHA delivered a design that aligns with the core values of art, community, culture, and sustainability. The program prioritizes communal space with both a large community room that includes a community kitchen and children’s play area. An art room with dedicated gallery space and flexible layout will serve community programs and art creation.

The building’s footprint responds to and maximizes the small site with a traditional urban form. Mamook Tokatee offers five ground floor loft units (designed with artists in mind), six studios, 28 one-bedrooms, seven two-bedrooms, and 10 three-bedrooms. The design concept is inspired by the Native vernacular architecture of the plank house. In translating this small, historic typology of simple, clear, demountable wood structure into a four-story, urban apartment building, the design acknowledges the substantial change in context, reinterpreting the language for a modern form. The massing and texture of the clear sealed cedar siding respond to the modularity of the plank house concept. The exterior articulates the rhythms of plank house construction—large posts supporting rafters, supporting smaller ties holding stacks of planks—into a visual hierarchy. Visually, the design suggests the relationship between earth and sky, the white / grey color variation of the upper floors seems to float above the cedar planks, melting into the Pacific Northwest clouds.

Residents and visitors are greeted with a vibrant mural created by a Native artist. Upon entering, the lobby draws the eye skyward with high ceilings and floor to ceiling windows. Each floor is differentiated with its own color palette with curated artworks throughout. Units are bright and spacious with ample glazing. Interior design integrates cultural influences into the urban form by maximizing natural light, embracing organic forms, and creating connection to the outdoors. The community room is organized around central circular forms, echoing native cultural influences of drum circles. The outdoor space is activated with artwork and a children’s play space. Both the courtyard and the primary facades feature graphics that depict a traditional Native basket weave pattern and the story of how the Coyote shared fire (warmth) with the people of the land.

Sustainability goals focus on energy-efficient design with low-VOCs, water conservation, air sealing, and thermal performance. The project is targeting Earth Advantage Platinum.

Scholarship Honors William Hart Legacy

In partnership with The Architecture Foundation of Oregon, Carleton Hart is pleased to announce the William Hart Scholarship! The scholarship honors William "Bill" Hart's legacy at CHA. Although Bill left the firm in 2021 to focus on development work, CHA continues to push for equity in the profession and in the communities we serve. Through this scholarship we hope to expand that work, remove barriers to entry into the profession, and support future architects. This annual scholarship is available to BIPOC graduate or undergraduate students enrolled at University of Oregon or Portland State University who are in the final year of their architecture program.

For students graduating in 2023, the deadline to apply is Friday, February 25, 11:59pm PST. Learn more about this scholarship here: https://www.af-oregon.org/afo-scholarships/

CHA Give Guide!

As we enter the season of giving, we’ve compiled our own CHA Give Guide for anyone looking for community based organizations to support. The list is made up of our clients, partners, and other non-profits CHA has supported in recent years.

Jennifer Hoffman, AIA Joins CHA Leadership

Jennifer Hoffman AIA, has joined Carleton Hart Architecture as Associate Principal. Jennifer previously worked at CHA from 2011 to 2018 and we are thrilled to welcome her back! As a member of the leadership group, she will concentrate on business development, management, operations, and serving the firm’s affordable housing clients.  Jennifer’s experience includes project types from affordable housing to higher education, libraries and other civic work. Her focus on client goals and resident priorities has resulted in numerous successful, community-oriented projects like NAYA Generations, the Beatrice Morrow Apartments (for PCRI, Inc.), Woody Guthrie Place (for ROSE CDC), and Hill Park Apartments (for Central City Concern). Welcome Jennifer!

The Madeleine Wins Historic Preservation Award

Restore Oregon has selected eleven historic projects across Oregon to receive a 2021 DeMuro Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation, the state’s highest honor for the preservation, reuse, and revitalization of architectural and cultural sites.

Restore Oregon promotes inclusive historic preservation as a means of preserving our region’s cultural heritage, and as a tool for solving challenges such as insufficient affordable housing, stalled economic development, and negative impacts from climate change. The annual DeMuro Awards program recognizes significant achievements in the preservation of Oregon’s built environment by showcasing teams of architects, property owners, and community leaders who have honored Oregon’s historic architecture and cultural heritage.

This year’s winners join nearly 100 projects that have been recognized with DeMuro Awards since 2013. Winning projects are selected by a jury of top professionals in the fields of architecture, engineering, planning, and historic preservation who select projects that align with Restore Oregon's mission. “These DeMuro-award winning projects serve as inspiration for solving real-world challenges in every community in our state” said Nicole Possert, Restore Oregon Executive Director. “Our jury from across Oregon selected our 2021 winners based on each project’s positive impact upon its community, the ways in which each project might inspire others to save historic places, and the degree to which each project aligned with Restore Oregon’s mission to preserve, reuse, and pass forward the historic places that reflect Oregon’s diverse cultural heritage and make our communities inclusive, vibrant, and sustainable.”

The Madeleine Story:

Over the course of 109 years, the original sanctuary of The Madeleine’s Old Church had fallen into disrepair. Reviving it as a sacred space for prayer, learning, and community events came with the challenge of bringing this early 20th century building up to code while also preserving and restoring its historic character. The design team worked to integrate and conceal modern systems like high efficiency heating and cooling, and significant structural upgrades, so that the most exceptional aspects of this project would be elements that go unseen today. Trim and stained-glass windows were refurbished, and the accent wall from the 1930s that had been previously painted over was recreated, complete with gold leaf detailing. Daily Mass is now celebrated in the stunning refurbished sanctuary that once again serves as an essential part of The Madeleine Parish community. Photo credit: Pete Eckert.

A Closer Look at Flame Retardants and Stain Repellants

It might be surprising to hear that the materials that we think make our homes, offices, and other interior spaces seem safer and more comfortable can have a negative effect on our health. Thinking of our couches containing flame retardants might give us comfort, feeling that we are somehow protected in case of fire. A stain repellent in our carpet promises to prolong the life of our purchase. These features seem to offer an added benefit, when in fact, the chemicals that are added to these products to make them flame retardant or stain resistant are often toxicants which have a broad negative impact on human health and the environment.

However, it is not all bad news! There are things we can do to reduce and eliminate the quantity of these toxicants in the built environment. The key is to ask the right questions. As architects and designers, it is up to us to consider the implications of the materials we specify. To better understand what we are sometimes unknowingly designing into our projects we must ask questions of product manufactures. We seek material transparency and a disclosed list of ingredients in the products that we specify, so we can assess the suitability of a product for our client’s buildings and ensure that we are, where possible, avoiding added harmful chemicals.

Flame Retardants
Flame retardants are chemicals that are added or applied to materials in order to slow or prevent the start or growth of fire. A growing body of evidence shows that many of these chemicals are associated with endocrine and thyroid disruption, impacts to the immune system, reproductive toxicity, cancer, and adverse effects on fetal and child development and neurologic function. Through body burden* studies, flame retardants have been detected in the bodies of nearly all people tested. Flame retardants are found in building and construction materials, furnishings, carpet backings, fabric blinds, textiles, paints and coatings, electrical cabling. They can also be found in children’s products (like car seats and mattresses), transportation interiors (airline and automobiles), television cases etc.

The environmental impact of flame retardants is deeply concerning. These chemicals can leach into soil, rivers, and oceans where they are persistent pollutants and can bioaccumulate up food chains. These chemicals are found at particularly high levels in marine mammals and are associated with adverse health effects in these and other species. PBDE’s (a flame retardant chemical compound) are toxic and accumulative and have been found in Orca whales. As the ocean’s top predator, Orca’s ingest the pollutants their prey has consumed along the food chain. They are also lipophilic or “fat-loving” so the toxins accumulate in blubber and fat-rich breast milk.

In recent years, studies show there is little safety benefit to the adding flame retardants to materials and products. Research shows they often delay ignition by only a few seconds and can make a fire more toxic when compared to a similar fire whose fuel is free from flame retardants. Guarding against fire with smoke detectors, sprinkler systems, etc. is a more effective and healthier way to prevent or address fires.

It’s important to note that building codes often require materials to be treated with flame retardants as there are cases where these are indeed necessary (timber construction for example). In these cases, manufacturers should develop more benign alternatives through materials innovation and green chemistry.

So, how can you avoid flame retardants?

• Look for TB117-2013 label in upholstered furniture stating that the item does not contain flame retardants.

• Avoid using rebonded carpet padding made from recycled or scrap polyurethane foam.

• Tell manufacturers, retailers and government agencies that you want products without flame retardants.

• Vacuum with a HEPA filter, wet mop, dust with a damp cloth to reduce indoor dust levels.

Stain Repellents
Perfluorochemicals (PFC’s) are a group of chemicals used to make fluoropolymer coatings and products that resist heat, oil, stains, grease, and water; these are commonly known as stain repellents. Human health effects from exposure to low environmental levels of PFC’s are unknown. However, we do know that PFCs may affect growth and development, reproduction, and damage the liver. The most studied of these substances is a chemical called PFOA, which is linked to kidney and testicular cancer, elevated cholesterol, decreased fertility, thyroid problems and decreased immune response to vaccines in children. Through body burden studies, PFCs were found in the bodies of 99% of Americans. Humans are exposed to PFC’s through contaminated food, drinking water, air and dust.  PFC’s are used in carpets, furnishings, paints, papers, protective coatings and sealants. They are also found in cleaners, clothing, cookware, cosmetics, food packaging, outdoor apparel, and firefighting foams.

Many chemicals in this group pose an additional threat because they do not break down in the environment but build up over time. PFC’s have been found in rivers and lakes and in many types of animals on land and in the water. Because of this extreme persistence, these chemicals are transported around the globe. The chemical structure of PFC’s make them nearly impossible for organic organisms to degrade. They travel long distances and pollute the most remote places; PFC’s have even been found in the bodies of polar bears in the Arctic. The pollutants are linked with reproductive and immune problems in bears, in addition to cancer. Bears accumulate high levels of the chemicals because they are top predators: the compounds build up through the food chain, in plants, fish and finally seals which are the bears’ main food source.

We know the risks to health and the environment are high, so we ask: Are these a necessary additive to our environment? The answer to this question is arguably: No, they are not necessary. But, there is a large convenience factor associated with the use of these chemicals, which has led to their prevalence.

To avoid PFC’s in your built environment:

• Choose textiles and carpeting without water repellency and stain repellency.

• Only purchase waterproof gear when you really need it.

• Avoid food in contact with greaseproof packaging, such as microwave popcorn and some fast food.

• Avoid personal care products with “perfluor-“, “polyfluor-“, and “ptfe” on the label.

• Purchase cast iron, glass, or ceramic cookware rather than Teflon.

*A “body burden” is the term for the concentration (or amount) of chemical in the body at any given time.