The Portland Aerial Tramway connects the Oregon Health & Science University Hospital, located at the top of a canyon hillside, with a proposed medical research redevelopment neighborhood on the bank of the Willamette River, just south of downtown Portland.

The project utilizes a kit of strategies, an open system adaptable to change and development. The tram and a pedestrian bridge serve to link disparate communities. The project, accordingly, addresses issues from technical design issues to urbanism.

Three types of connections exist between the top and the bottom of the hill: an air connection, a land connection, and a green connection. The upper station is of the air, a steel frame with photovoltaic screen. The tram car is a curvilinear form intended to disappear against the sky.