Grant Warehouse PSU Design Studio

Community development and affordable housing design in Portland, Oregon

As an Adjunct Professor in 2015, Alex Salazar led a team of 11 Portland State University (PSU) students through a community workshop design process, delivering professional services to our community partner, Portland Community Reinvestment Initiatives (PCRI). Students designed mixed-use affordable housing on the one-acre Grant Warehouse site and studied the impact of gentrification and displacement along MLK Blvd in NE Portland.  The course was structured with:

● Readings, lectures, and discussions
● Site visits to affordable housing
● Group research projects
● In studio mock charrette
● Community charrette with PCRI
● Mid-term and final pin-up critique of independent design work with local Portland architects
● Final report / public document issued to PCRI and the Portland Housing Bureau