Washington Park Reservoir Improvements

Nestled in a wooded hillside overlooking downtown Portland, Washington Park is a quintessential city park in the Northwest tradition. The site of an arboretum, amphitheater, and rose garden, the park also plays an essential role in the city’s water system, providing drinking water from the pristine Bull Run watershed to Portland’s downtown. The beloved park needed a re-design to balance the public’s desire for preservation and improvement of a historic space while guiding the design of facilities to ensure safe, secure, and affordable drinking water.

Working with the Portland Water Bureau, Knot Studio principals led a team of architects and engineers through planning for major park upgrades, providing ecological analysis and landscape architectural services. The project needed to preserve the beauty of the historic structures while deftly weaving new modern landscape features such as plazas and promenades in a seamless fashion.

For a deeper look, see our case study.