South Waterfront Food Cart Pod

Food Carts are a way of activating leftover spaces from infrastructure projects - in this case an abandoned road adjacent to the Portland Arial Tram.

Many cities are facing similar challenges of activating leftover space. Food Carts are a great solution which brings new life, amenities, and entrepreneurial opportunities to local communities. Here we looked at an abandoned road and conceived of a redesign to activate the space, and allow for new businesses to occupy the space. We proposed creating a new Food Cart Pod in the South Waterfront neighborhood, bringing new restaurants and activities to the area between the Arial Tram station and the nearby MAX light rail and streetcar stops. The design calls for brightly colored shade structures, a community mural to be painted on the street surface, and creative seating, planter boxes, and other urban furniture and games to attract pedestrians, patients, and workers from the adjacent hospital buildings. We love these sorts of tactical urbanism projects, as they allow us to be creative and try to make a large impact with minimal means. These projects also bring the community together, and often transform under utilized pieces of land into people-focused urban amenities.

For more information about our experience and process as architect on commercial design, please visit this page.