The Farmers Market Pavilion and Plaza

 
Farmers Market Pavilion - view from 8th looking north (this and other renderings by FFA Architecture + Interiors)

Just a brief blog entry this week, as seasonal obligations and work demands compete for my limited time: I recently stumbled across the renderings for the new Lane County Farmers Market pavilion by FFA Architecture + Interiors. Construction of the pavilion is poised to take a big leap forward in the coming weeks, as the glulam framing and CLT (cross-laminated timber) panels are on site awaiting their imminent assembly. The construction manager/general contractor for the project is Lease CrutcherLewis.

The construction site as of December 12, 2021.

For FFA, the design challenge was how to accommodate a longstanding agricultural tradition within an urban setting. The firm looked to greenhouses for inspiration, settling upon “a simple form that is open and transparent, allowing the activity inside to be the primary focus.” The design’s simplicity kept costs in check, ensuring the biggest bang for the available bucks. When completed before next year’s market season, the pavilion will provide a commodious, all-season shelter for vendors while being a deferential backdrop to the Farmer’s Market Plaza and a future Eugene City Hall.

FFA designed the pavilion to open to the surrounding plaza and streets as much as possible. Visitors and vendors will move easily between indoor and outdoor spaces.

View through Polycarbonate Facade to Mass Timber Structure

Indoor-Outdoor Connection to West Park Street

The old Eugene Producers’ Public Market originally occupied this same site more than a century ago, so the current Farmers Market Pavilion and Market Plaza project is a return to its roots. As part of the greater Eugene Town Square project designed by Cameron McCarthy Landscape Architecture & Planning, it promises to help rejuvenate the city’s historic center. The overall concept is an organic outcome of a multiplicity of factors, not the least of which was a serendipitous share of dumb luck. The Town Square project promises to unify the Park Blocks, the Wayne Morse Free Speech Plaza, and the new City Hall & Farmers Market Block in a way that is synergistic. The whole will certainly be much more than the sum of its parts. 

 
First dedicated for public use in 1853 by the city’s founding families, Eugene’s erstwhile civic center deserves a vibrant future. If successful, Eugene Town Square will attract high-value downtown development, jobs, residents, and a concomitant boost to the tax base. Building the new Farmers Market Pavilion is an important first step.