OVERVIEW
Maybeck returns to Oregon... and a spectacular new hilltown site..
The dramatic hilltop site of the North Harbor Hills
The Urban Growth Boundary of the towns of Brookings and Harbor, Oregon began the current expansion in 1995. But instead of expanding into the rich farmland of the Harbor Bench to the south - one of the most productive orchid and lily growing regions in North America - conservation policy guided the expansion into the rugged hilltop above it, urbanizing the relatively unproductive forest land there.
This presented a rare opportunity to create a beautiful hilltop settlement, affording dramatic views of the ocean and the mountains to the east. It also presented unique challenges to build with ecological sensitivity.
Fortunately, the town's original planner offered an excellent model. He was architect Bernard Maybeck, widely regarded as one of America's greatest architects of the early 20th century.
Maybeck's beautiful plan for Brookings included many inspirational ideas to build on, developed especially for this unique part of the coast with its remarkable climate and terrain. His plan also included a number of unbuilt or demolished structures that could be used again, like the community hall below:
CED Archives Octavianus Ludero
But perhaps even more helpfully, Maybeck had extensive experience building in just this kind of hilly terrain, in the hills of Berkeley, California, among other places. He thought long and hard about how to build appropriately for hillsides, and even produced a guidebook for the Berkeley Hillside Club called "Hillside Building".
CED Archives
And the built result is famous the world over for its appropriateness within the landscape, its creativity, its beauty, and its literate use of traditional forms and ideas, freely combined with new ones. In its respectful use of its natural setting, it is a neighborhood as appealing and desirable as Carmel or Santa Barbara - or many of the famous villages of Europe.
But it has another advantage very useful today: it reflects a highly ecological approach, creating minimal disturbances of the landscape. From a modern ecologist's perspective, it turns out that many of its innovations are very sophisticated.
Click here for more information about Maybeck's work and his Brookings connection.
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