Volunteer Architects

The Longmire National Historic Landmark District posed a challenge for Professor Robert Melnick’s University of Oregon landscape architecture students in a three-day “studio” (seminar) last autumn. Students were charged with “reconfiguring the area’s circulation, viewscape, public plazas and more, all within the confines of permitted changes” as defined by the rules and regulations concerning improvements and development in such areas. Here, the students learned to strike a balance between Park values and visitor expectations, a dual mandate which is defined by resource protection and public accessibility.

As the Park moves forward, the work contributed by these student volunteers will be taken into consideration. Historical Architect Sueann Brown states, “What we do in the end may not look exactly like any one student's plan, but will probably borrow some of the best ideas from each.”