Portland's Environmental Urban Design

Ecotrust plans to transform a 100 year old industrial building in the heart of Portland's river district into a marketplace for environmentally conscious ideas and products. The building plans to accomplish three primary goals: (1) to participate in the restoration of an urban ecosystem; (2) to advance the arts of ecological design; and (3) to forge new urban-rural links. "With a generous gift from Jean Vollum, a leading Oregon philanthropist and founding Ecotrust board member, Ecotrust acquired the 80,000-square-foot Rapid Transfer & Storage Co. building, a two-story brick-and-timber warehouse, in February 1998. By spring of the year 2000, it will become the Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center, a marketplace for the ideas, goods, and services of the emerging conservation economy."