Green in Portland

THE BUILDERS

Team spirit takes on a new meaning for a duo devoted to bartering, recycling, and community

When Mark Lakeman and Lydia Doleman got married last August, their 260 guests took the party into the streets. The ceremony was held at the intersection of S.E. Ninth Avenue and S.E. Sherrett Street, in the bungalow-rich Sellwood neighborhood. Handmade streamers adorned elaborate treelike gateways carved by volunteers, friends brought platters of savory food, and the bride wore a floor-length satin dress that she'd bartered for sculptural work. The wedding was creative, inclusive, a little eccentric ― and wholly representative of the couple's worldview.

Mark and Lydia are frequent collaborators: He is an ecological designer, she's a builder specializing in straw-bale construction. ("He wears the tie, I wear the pants," Lydia laughs.) But what truly excites them is grassroots activism. "One of the least sustainable things about a modern city is the idea that streets are only for cars, not for people," says Mark, who has traveled around the world living with indigenous communities in places from Italian hill towns to the Mayan rain forest. "We're trying to turn the intersection back into a public gathering place."

Their wedding site is a prime example. Dubbed "Share-It Square," the revitalized crossroads is a source of urban pride, with a tea stand, kids' playhouse, bulletin board, and "freecycling" station. As part of a volunteer organization called City Repair, the couple helps neighborhood groups create building projects with the goal of bringing people together. Mark is also the founder of a design collective called Communitecture, whose services (as its name implies) combine architecture and community development. Clients are charged on a sliding scale and seen in a donated office space. "We basically don't turn anyone away ― we're constantly reinvesting in our community," Mark says.

Another of their collaborations is the ReBuilding Center, a veritable cathedral of architectural salvage. The 64,000-square-foot structure was designed by Mark, with a striking entryway made by Lydia from cob ― clay, sand, and straw. "The center has totally changed Portland's aesthetic," Lydia says. "Now almost everyone has a reclaimed window."

To meet the couple is to come away brimming with ideas yet remain connected to an elemental truth. "For me, the real proof of sustainability goes back to the simple things in our lives ― the quality of our relationships, the health of our kids," Mark says. It's a community vision we can all buy into.

LYDIA AND MARK'S TIPS

Bond with your neighbors "Bring people together with things you already have in common, like food, before tackling more stressful topics like construction," Lydia says.

Shop for salvaged materials Not only does it keep usable goods out of landfills, it's also more affordable (the ReBuilding Center, for example, prices its inventory at 50 to 90 percent off retail value).

Carpool whenever possible Mark and Lydia's pickup trucks, which run on biodiesel and vegetable oil, are often pressed into service for the greater good. "We'll coordinate routes to transport building materials or help someone move," Mark says. "We treat our personal possessions like community resources."