Oregon Zoo/Astoria Park/Veneer Mills

The housing slowdown and the availability of alternative materials contributed to the closure of two veneer plants

Oregon Zoo Finishes Northwest Exhibit

Portland – The $2 million Black Bear Ridge at the Oregon Zoo exhibit opens March 10.

The new exhibit, supported by the Weyerhaeuser Company Foundation, provides an up-close encounter with the rarely seen black bears and bobcats that inhabit the Northwest.

The 14,000-sq-ft Black Bear Ridge exhibit, along with the addition of the Cascade Canyon Trail, completes the $36-million Great Northwest exhibit. The trail includes a 100-foot-long suspension bridge, which will provide a bird's-eye view of roaming black bears.

Design and construction of Black Bear Ridge was completed with sustainability and animal interests in mind. For example, black bears are great climbers, so it was essential to leave the existing trees during the construction.

Bobcats were also considered during the construction and were treated with an overturned tree stump that serves as a heated den. A built-in viewing window in the den provides an excellent view of the bobcats.

Astoria Plans Park to Commemorate Immigrants

Portland – To commemorate Astoria’s early Chinese immigrants and to recognize their contributions, hardships, bravery and pioneering spirit, Portland’s MulvannyG2 Architecture has been working with city officials and members of the local Chinese Park Committee to develop a design for a Chinese Heritage Park for Astoria.  

The Chinese Heritage Park will be situated on the city’s waterfront near the location of the city’s former Chinatown.  The park will incorporate a fundamental nine-square grid that is symbolic to Chinese culture.  Within this grid, there will be several major zones, including:

• Platform of Heritage that extends above the river and abstractly references the achievements of Chinese civilization through inscriptions in granite and bronze.
• Terraces that recall a rock wall along the waterfront that was built by Chinese laborers.
• The Court, which features diagrammatic maps of former Chinatown locations and a timeline of historical events.
• The Pavilion of Transition, a majestic focal point of the park, formed by columns and a five-tier square frame stacked in a lotus pattern that commemorates the Chinese cannery workers.
• The Gate of Harmony featuring a Moon Gate entrance.

Housing Slowdown Closes Two Weyerhaeuser Plants

Spirngfield - Weyerhaeuser Company permanently closed two veneer technologies manufacturing operations in Oregon – a plywood mill in Springfield and a veneer plant in Coburg.