Portland Oregon Landscape Design

Shapiro Didway was established in 2006 by Steve Shapiro and Blair Didway. We pursue a
traditional design construction practice that provides commercial and private clients with
excellence in both design and service. Our expertise includes sustainable planting,
irrigation design, urban gathering spaces and campus design. Clients include commercial
and private developers, non-profit organizations, municipalities and governmental
agencies. Principals Steve Shapiro and Blair Didway lead the design team and collaborate
on all projects from conception through implementation.

Services
Our purpose is to serve and partner with our clients to create striking landscapes. This
client orientation takes many forms; listening to your vision, creation of graphics and 3-D
models to help make the decision-making process clearer, and development of construction
documents that are detailed, clear, and built on deep technical expertise. Our process
includes strict adherence to project goals, timelines and budget.

As landscape architects, we embrace our role as environmental stewards. We work at the

nexus between the built and natural environments, and believe that elegant and
sustainable design solutions are discovered there. Our designs are shaped by this
understanding of landscape architecture as a fusion of design and stewardship. We are
enthusiastic about creating green solutions to conventional gray systems at all scales.
Principals Steve Shapiro and Blair Didway are closely involved with each project. We pride
ourselves on attention to detail, scheduling, and cost implications that occur during the
construction process.

Campus Design
Natural Playground
This playground, intended for children ages 2 &
under, is composed entirely of natural materials
such as wood, stone, plants, lawn, and sand. The
playground includes many elements to encourage
both active physical play and creative play. Features
include a grassy story circle, a sand pit with a wacky
post forest, a low stone wall, hopping stumps, balance logs, and willow tunnels. Spaces for
veggie & butterfly gardens have also been incorporated.

Redding School of the Arts

Shapiro Didway designed the overall campus and playground of the Redding School of the
Arts, a K-8 arts charter school located in Redding, California. This LEED Platinum project
incorporates native plants, reclaimed rainwater runoff, and traffic calming elements.
Extensive natural shade improvements mitigate the intense weather of the area. Extensive
efforts were made to preserve and protect numerous Blue Oaks on site and incorporate
them into the overall site plan.
The campus centerpiece is a discovery playground built within a dynamic framework of
overlapping circular forms. The playground includes a wide variety of play elements to
provide a safe, fun, unique, and multi-cultural play experience. The playground is loosely
organized into three areas: one for younger K-4 kids, another for grades 5-8, and a shared
area for all ages.
A series of outdoor classrooms and courtyard spaces also provides students with
opportunities for experiential learning and creates a link between interior spaces and the
surrounding landscape.

Providence St. Vincent Healing Garden

For this Oncology Building, a linear healing garden was developed by Shapiro Didway in
association Jon R. Jurgens Architects. The garden is intended to be a seating, viewing, and
strolling space for patients undergoing chemotherapy. Key features of the garden include a
series of multi-level planters, two water features, a labyrinth, and multiple seating areas. A
ten foot high by thirty foot long stone water wall is the focal point of the garden. Informal
seating areas have been located throughout the garden for patients and staff to enjoy
during summer months. Two roof gardens were created on upper floors; one of which is a
multi-purpose space with seating, planting, and stone berms. The second, for viewing only,
is a roof garden consisting of geometric areas of stone.

University of Portland Residence Hall

The University of Portland is a classical campus comprised of a mix of 1920s, mid-century
and modern architecture. The strong landscape of the campus ties together this
architectural mix and is an important feature to students and faculty. For this residence
hall, a new space was created by Shapiro Didway that builds on the complexity of the
campus, adds to the campus plant palette, and is sustainable.
The entry plaza of the dorm is comprised of four separate formal seating areas that are
paved with limestone. Hedges have been incorporated between each seating area to build
on the geometry of the building and provide privacy for students. This LEED Silver building
incorporates a partial green roof and primarily native plantings. Gray water is used as an
irrigation source for all new plantings.

Virginia Garcia Cornellius Wellness Center

The original Cornelius Clinic was established in 1975 to serve the migrant seasonal farm
worker and day laborer population. The staff provides a wide range of healthcare services
to 6,700 patients annually, with special emphasis on behavioral health and diabetes care.
The opening of the new Wellness Center, designed by Scott Edwards Architecture, will
allow the Virginia Garcia Center to double the number of patients currently being served.
The intent of the outdoor environment at the Center is to create a healing space for patients
and staff. Through the use of rain gardens, permeable pavers, native plantings, and water
quality features, the site has become a model of sustainability.
An existing mid-block alley has been redeveloped into a green pedestrian corridor that is
closed to vehicular use. VGMHC received a grant from Metros Nature in Neighborhoods
program for improving the alley with pervious pavers, native vegetation, and a low-impact
storm water collection system. A rain garden is located at the northeast corner of the site
and a sculptural rain scupper serves as a visual focal point. A large community garden,
intended to promote health, has also been implemented within the overall site plan.
The landscape developed by Shapiro Didway is clean and modern in appearance. Threefoot steel screens are used to provide privacy for ground floor terraces. Masses of
ornamental grasses and low evergreen shrubs frame the building.

Private Gardens
A low maintenance, naturalistic landscape consisting of large masses of native plantings
and Aspen trees was developed for this vacation home located on Crosswater Golf Course.
Key features of the landscape include a bluestone entry and rear terrace. The pavers were
spaced to allow low grasses and groundcovers to grow within the hardscape, creating a
natural feeling in each area.

Westmoor Residence
The owners of this Portland Mid-Century Modern home needed spaces for relaxing and
entertaining. A stone water feature incorporates colored glass while a custom gas firepit
ensures warmth on chilly evenings. Simple yet lush gardens surround these living spaces.

Sheridan Residence
This new home; located in rural Sheridan, Oregon;
features clean, modern landscapes that also pay heed
to surrounding natural vegetation. Columnar Oaks,
evergreen hedges and soft ornamental grasses give
structure around the home, while Oregon native
plants and a seeded wildflower meadow help the
property to mesh with the surrounding natural
landscape. Outdoor areas include such features as a
vegetable garden, ping-pong, and swimming pool.

Urban Housing
Sawyers Row

Sawyers Row is a 40-unit LEED Platinum project located in the heart of Portlands
Northwest Slabtown neighborhood. The building was designed with walkability in mind,
with an 85% walkscore and easy access to the Portland Streetcar. A central courtyard,
featuring flowering Dogwood trees, provides a lush space for residents to relax. The project
architect was Holst Architecture.

Franklin Ide
Franklin Ide is a 92-unit apartment building that sits atop 2,000 square feet of retail space.
Located within the heart of Northwest Portland, this building designed by SERA Architects,
has achieved a LEED Gold rating. Sustainable landscape elements include storm water
planters, permeable pavers, and native plantings.

For more information please visit

http://www.shapirodidway.com