PJG
cultural crossing
PROJECT
PORTLAND, OR
Tradition carried forward through landscape, craft and change
Cultural Crossing expands the Portland Japanese Garden through a new landscape of gardens, buildings and paths that brings together Japanese garden tradition, contemporary architecture and ecological restoration. Rather than treating tradition as something to preserve unchanged, the project explores how cultural practices can evolve through new materials, technologies and ways of engaging with the land.
Set within the forested slopes of Washington Park, the project transforms a previously developed and environmentally sensitive site into a sequence of spaces for arrival, gathering, learning and cultural exchange. The experience begins below the Cultural Village and gradually ascends through a wooded ravine, where a pedestrian path passes through cascading stormwater gardens before arriving at a series of courtyards, gardens and buildings designed by Kengo Kuma Associates and Sadafumi Uchiyama. The journey creates time to leave the city behind and become attentive to the landscape.
The landscape works with the site's difficult geology and steep terrain, including an historic landslide. Terraces, gardens and buildings were carefully positioned to respond to existing conditions, while an integrated stormwater system collects, treats and recirculates water through the landscape. Native planting and forest restoration reconnect disturbed areas with the surrounding Douglas fir forest, while green roofs extend habitat and water management onto the architecture.
Traditional Japanese garden craft is expressed through contemporary construction. Local and regional stone was selected and worked by hand, including a castle wall constructed from Eastern Oregon Baker Blue granite by a 15th-generation Japanese stonemason. The Entry Garden, Tsubo-Niwa Courtyard Garden and Ellie M. Hill Bonsai Terrace bring distinct garden experiences into the Cultural Village, while carefully composed paths, walls, planting and water create continuity between architecture and landscape.
As an integral member of the international design and construction team, Desirae D. Wood worked alongside Garden Curator Sadafumi Uchiyama, Walker Macy, Kengo Kuma Associates, Hacker Architects and a multidisciplinary team of craftspeople and engineers. Her responsibilities included landscape design, material procurement, Japanese green roof tile testing, budget tracking, hands-on construction, project coordination, environmental restoration permitting, cultural communication and garden establishment.
The project was a deeply collaborative act of making. From site blessings and the preservation and transplanting of mature trees to hand-selected stone, traditional construction techniques and new ecological systems, the landscape demonstrates that authenticity can come through continued practice rather than replication. Completed in 2017, Cultural Crossing creates a contemporary setting where garden, architecture, ecology and cultural exchange remain in conversation.
Project Team
Castle Wall Stonemason Suminori Awata with Matt Driscoll & Kyle Schlagenhauf · Dale Brotherton/Carpenter · Hacker Architects · Hoffman Construction · Kengo Kuma Associates · KPFF Engineering · Stone Sculptures · Treecology/Arborist · Turnstone Construction · Sadafumi Uchiyama/Garden Curator · Walker Macy Landscape Architects
Awards
National ASLA · General Design Award of Excellence, 2020
Washington Chapter ASLA · Award of Excellence, 2019
ACEC Oregon · Emerging Excellence Award, Best in Category: Water, Wastewater & Stormwater Systems, 2018
Oregon Chapter ASLA · Honor Award & People's Choice Award, 2017
AIA Portland Chapter · Honor Award, 2017