Cornelius Placemaking

Designing reflective placemaking one building at a time

Scott Edwards Architecture has had an active project in Cornelius, Oregon, since the firm’s founding in 1998—even our first project, the Virginia Garcia Memorial Health Clinic, is here. In the time since then, our placemaking work has helped the city form a main street identity that is reflective of its community and activating for its downtown core.

The City’s vision included designating a 4-block area as main street and creating an urban gateway to Cornelius’s downtown. In collaboration with the City, we developed guidelines and established an architectural character for this area. The planned character includes elements like stucco and red tile roofs and a smaller-scale “main street America” feel that activates at the street level. The City’s decision to underground utilities, install new streetlights, and plant trees here further bolstered the inviting atmosphere.

The projects we’ve designed in Cornelius are strongly tied to the community—a library, civic center, housing, wellness center, and more all contribute to a vibrant main street and are reflective of the local culture. Cornelius is home to a large latinx population and ensuring that this demographic was represented in our designs was top of mind.

SEA has helped support efforts to secure funding for this work as well. Over the span of twenty years, public/private financial partnerships were formed, and meaningful legislation was passed, to deliver important community spaces that serve so many.