UO Campus goes Modern: Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes

Wolfram Burner's Flickr Stream - Coffee Shop

Wolfram Burner's Flickr Stream

from my phone - can't wait to sit by the fire sipping my coffee this winter

In the July volume of Metropolis Magazine there was an article titled, "The House the Phil Knight Built."  The article is clearly not written by anyone who has actually spent much time in Oregon claiming that the only reason P-town can support it's fancy pricey eateries is because of Nike HQ! It also stated that Eugene is close to the Oregon Vortex and from a Eugene resident I don't know anyone that has actually ever visited the tourist attraction which is over an hour drive away. If this is reporting than I'd like to actually like to seem some facts rather than perceptions. Truly the article is best when it sticks to detailing the logistics of the building itself but even then it misses the mark. So here's my 2 cents. I, as you might expect, love the building. I've only been in the lobby and coffee shop and most recently the bathroom! Don't worry no TMI shots here - just sticking to the design elements. I'll include the bathroom shots in my next post about modern bathrooms. You can check out a John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Students Athletes Flickr stream here showing photos taken by photographer Wolfram Burner. It may have cost $1,100 per square foot but it is a beautiful building right at the entrance of campus and I'm glad that student athletes do have very nice surroundings where they can study and attend their required tutoring. My only wish is that all of our UO educational programs and buildings could be equally as beautiful, cutting edge, and green. Maybe the presence of this building on campus will help highlight the disparity between the darlings of Phil Knight and the academic programs that generally are plagued by architectural problems like thin walls and inadequate lighting. The College of Education has just celebrated a year in their new building and it is also a modern space but unlike the Jaqua Center it was funded by hundreds of people including community members, alumni, and current faculty and staff.

Surviving Salem, Oregon

Friends, it's the time for road trips and summer travel. For those of you traveling in the Pacific Northwest you might find yourself somewhere in between Eugene and Portland and you might wonder and say to yourself, "Self, I'm hungry and I'm driving through a place named Salem and all I can see is a Denny's and a McDonald's, what should I do, where can I stop to satiate my burning desire for good and hopefully healthy food?" If that is indeed you talking to yourself, 1) stop addressing your self as "self" (you know who you are, you) and 2) keep reading, this little blog post is for you. If you can't hold over until you land in your foodie retreat of Eugene or Portland there are some points of food salvation to be found in Salem, plus there's a lovely art museum housed in a 1960's building. See the pics of the Hallie Ford Museum of Art at Willamette University. It was a blah building before and they've attempted to add some color with the stained glass windows. I'm not sure how I feel about the Native American Indian and MCM style working together. I haven't been inside since it's opening in 1998 but it looks as though they have some interesting exhibits passing through. You can read about the history of the building here. 

 La Capitale. It's a block away from the actual Capitol Building and it's crowning golden man. You can see from the pic of my lunch below La Capitale had a nice mix of good and bad - good: lightly dressed salad, bad (for you): french fries, good: presentation, bad: lots of creamy goodness in the chicken salad open-faced sandwich, good: beautiful display of infused liquors, bad: the temptation of mid-day cocktails with their lovely display of infused liquor. Big idea: if you're in Salem go to lunch or dinner here. Would this restaurant be as popular if it weren't in Salem and were instead in Eugene or Portland? Maybe not, the food was good not amazing, not too expensive, any other place with a larger food scene might find itself slipping into the background - in Salem this place is a stand-out. If you find  yourself in Salem for breakfast you would do yourself a disservice to not drive yourself over to Off Center Cafe. It's quirky but the breakfast fare is beyond fair. I recommend Annie's Eggs or the Bibble and Squib. I've heard it's under new ownership, a relative of the previous long-term owner. I haven't been since this change. I can only hope the place has gone largely untouched. I hope this little post helps you out when you find yourself somewhere in between hipster- and hippie-ville. Happy trails!