Eugene/Architecture/Alphabet: O

Olive Plaza (my photo)

This is the next in my Eugene/Architecture/Alphabet series of blog posts, the focus of each being a landmark building here in Eugene. Many of these will be familiar to most who live here but there are likely to be a few buildings that are less so. My selection criteria for each will be threefold:

1. The building must be of architectural interest, local importance, or historically significant.
2. The building must be extant so you or I can visit it in person.
3. Each building’s name will begin with a particular letter of the alphabet, and I must select one (and only one) for each of the twenty-six letters. This is easier said than done for some letters, whereas for other characters there is a surfeit of worthy candidates (so I’ll be discriminating and explain my choice in those instances).

This entry’s selection begins with the letter O, for which my choice is Olive Plaza.
 
Olive Plaza
Olive Plaza is located at 1133 Olive Street, at the intersection of Olive and 11^th Avenue in downtown Eugene. The twelve-story tall building accommodates very low-income seniors and persons with physical disabilities in its 150 one-bedroom, self-contained apartments. The National Benevolent Association constructed Olive Plaza during the late 1970s as a HUD Section 202 project. It has provided eligible individuals ever since with the opportunity to live independently, but in an environment that provides support activities such as cleaning, cooking, and transportation. Christian Church Homes of Oregon is the building’s current owner, and Viridian Management is its operator. The Portland firm of Broome, Oringdulph, O’Toole, Rudolf & Associates (BOORA) was the architect.
 
Because it was an unreservedly plain and straightforward design strapped by a miserly budget, BOORA chose to rely upon the superficial application of a distinctive exterior color scheme to provide Olive Plaza with visual interest. Originally sporting a decidedly Seventies palette comprised of ochers, pinks, and reds, the current range of colors and outwardly random patterning (developed by my firm, Robertson/Sherwood/Architects) are meant to fragment one’s perception of the building’s considerable bulk. Inspired by the “dazzle” camouflage used on ships during World War I, the various areas of color seemingly recede or advance even though they may occupy the same wall plane. Dazzle camouflage disrupted an adversary's perception of a ship's size, shape, and speed. The intent was not to hide the ship but to make it more challenging for enemy submarines to accurately estimate its course and range. Olive Plaza’s “camouflage” likewise isn’t intended to hide the building, but rather to disrupt the reading of its size.
 

Olive Plaza's "camouflage."

Olive Plaza, Google Street view.

USS West Mahomet in "dazzle" camouflage, circa 1918 (photo from the Naval History & Heritage Command, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)

 
Olive Plaza is otherwise most notable as an example of a multistory building that utilizes the lift-slab type of structural system. Popular at the time of its construction, the lift slab technique has since fallen from favor. The method involved casting and curing concrete floor slabs at ground level that were then lifted into position using hydraulic jacks. The method was particularly suitable for large, repetitive floor plates, which Olive Plaza possesses. The repetitive nature of lift-slab construction made it especially efficient and economical for constructing buildings with multiple floors.
 
Lift slab construction has faced safety concerns, some of which stemmed from design flaws, inadequate construction practices, or unforeseen complications during the lifting process. One of the most notorious lift-slab construction failures occurred in London in 1968 when a partial collapse of the Ronan Point apartment building took place. The building's lift-slab system was partially blamed for the severity of the collapse. Consequently, use of lift-slab construction had already waned considerably in the years following the Ronan Point incident when Olive Plaza was designed.

 

Diagram by Amanda044, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Due to concerns for the structural integrity of Olive Plaza, especially as experts increasingly understood the risks posed by deformation of the Cascadia Subduction Zone, HUD mandated seismic provisions for existing buildings in accordance with ASCE 41 (a nationally recognized standard for seismic analysis and rehabilitation). Christian Church Homes again called upon Robertson/Sherwood/Architects for design assistance to improve the building’s ability to withstand a massive seismic event. Working with Miyamoto International for structural engineering services, our team’s solution employed a cost-effective and reliable system of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) strips added at critical locations to assist in the transference of lateral forces. The 2014-2016 project also involved retrofitting of steel angles at the building’s columns to help resist uplift caused by vertical acceleration in an earthquake.

 

Column reinforcement installed as part of the 2014-2016 seismic upgrade project (my photo).

While not an architectural standout, Olive Plaza is a valuable community asset, as it provides a substantial number of subsidized apartments for low-income residents in a downtown location. Such buildings are far too uncommon during a time when affordable housing options are desperately needed in Eugene.