Issue link: http://palletcentral.uberflip.com/i/638772
38 PalletCentral • January-February 2016 palletcentral.com hen a design-build team from the Portland State University (PSU) School of Architecture was tasked with designing a recyclable stage for the 2014 Pickathon Music Festival, a three-day outdoor concert event that takes place at the Pendarvis Farm in Happy Valley, Oregon, they rose to the challenge with an incredible structure built entirely out of recycled wooden shipping pallets. The core design team consisting of two PSU faculty members, Professor Clive Knights and Assistant Professor Travis Bell, and four current and former graduate students, Jesse Pollard, Adam McSorley, Christopher Rockhill and Christopher Boon, devoted a full ten-week term to conceptualizing the stage and designing and modeling the structure. "The first step was to assess the design challenges," said Professor Bell. "We were tasked with building a temporary structure in the middle of an open field on an 80-acre farm. As a concert venue, it was important that the stage exhibit stature, substance and texture, and that it interact with both the audience and the performers. We also had to consider the issues of sun, shade, wind and other aspects of the surroundings. And importantly, the stage needed to be erected and disassembled in a short period of time and leave no trace of itself afterwards. Beyond that, we wanted the This is What Pallets Do By Leah Wheeler Photography provided by PSU School of Architecture W