Freeways are a brutal reminder of the ambitious dreams that post-war Americans created in pursuit of efficient travel to all corners of the United States. In most instances they have become permanent fixtures in places that seem counter intuitive to place massive infrastructure like parks, river edges and through the center of cities. They represent what human beings have created for themselves to live with and around in the environment.

This thesis proposes that the segment of I-5 that runs along Portland Oregon’s Willamette River is there for the foreseeable future so we as humans need to find ways to modify what we create and to reclaim space beneath the soaring roadways of I-5. I am proposing a science education resource center for Oregon teachers on current parking 50 feet below I-5 and directly adjacent to the Oregon Museum of Science & Industry.

SE CLAY STREET

SE MARKET STREET

SE MILL STREET

SE W

ATER A

VEN

UE

SE 2nd A

VEN

UE

RA

ILW

AY

SE HAWTHORNE BLVD

WIL

LA

METTE R

IVER

EASTSIDE INDUSTRIALDISTRICT

N

WAT

ER

AVE

NU

ECLAY STREET

I-5

200’

DOWNTOWN PORTLAND

TECTONICS mariah marshall

SITE PLAN & VICINITY

TECTONICS

TECTONICS

1" = 30'-0"1 Level 1

1" = 30'-0"1 Level 2

LEVEL ONE 1”=30’

LEVEL TWO 1”=30’

lecture halllibrary

computer lab

quiet study

lobbywc

wc

lab lab lab

classrooms

lobbywc

wcassembly room

lecture hall wc

wc

libraryterrace

terrace

classroomsteachers lounge

wc

wc

green roof & terrace

green roof&terrace

meeting rooms

meeting rooms