Oregon State Capitol – CAMS Phase 2

Salem, Oregon • Under Construction

*Work completed at Mayer/Reed.

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The Oregon State Capitol in Salem, Oregon is situated in an arboretum-like state park and is unique among statehouses in the United States. The existing neo-classical capitol building was lost to a fire in 1936, resulting in a national design competition for the new state capitol building during the art-deco era. The result was a ‘stripped classical / art deco’ building like no other state capitol in the United States.

The Capitol Accessibility, Safety, and Maintenance phase 2 (CAMS II) project is the second phase of the effort to modernize and seismically protect the Oregon State Capitol building. Working with founding principal Carol Mayer-Reed, FASLA, Brian Stuhr led Mayer/Reed’s effort on this complex and collaborative renovation.

The south entrance will be reconfigured to provide universal access to the Oregon State Capitol.

The new walls and planters seamlessly tie the improvements into the existing fabric of the capitol building.

The project provides seismic upgrades and interior reconfigurations to the south side of the historic 1938 Capitol building. The site design focused on the second floor Governor’s Terrace renovation and the historically sensitive integration of accessibility improvements to the south entrance. Two new ramps at the south facade are proposed to be integrated into the existing rhythm of raised planters while carefully accommodating and concealing a new seismic base isolation joint. The new walls and planters seamlessly tie the improvements into the existing fabric of the capitol building.