The playful profile of a new mixed-used building in Portland, Ore., has a serious purpose. The site was curved at the southeast corner, and the projecting boxes allowed architects from local firm Works Progress Architecture (W.PA) to build on as much of the awkward footprint as possible without having to curve the facade itself. A resemblance to a honeycomb is also no coincidence, as boxes suggest the activities playing out within each space. “The facade is an articulation of the building’s uses and a result of the site conditions,” says project architect Lauren Page.
Completed in October 2016, the 10-story, 147,000-square-foot structure (tenants include retail, office, and residential clients) was also designed to interpret the look of the surrounding historic warehouses, which have been converted into creative workspaces. Like the maker community that has transformed the district, the new building’s facade is “a collage of framed unique activities,” Page says.
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