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A surge of creative energy is flowing through a converted industrial building in Portland’s Central Eastside.

In one corner of ADX 鈥� a cavernous 12,000-square-foot “maker space” at 417 S.E. 11th Ave. 鈥� custom snowboards wait to be decorated. Nearby, welding torches spark and saws whir. Workstations hold furniture in various stages of construction and an unfinished boat. Upstairs, an architecture firm shares office space with an artisanal straight razor maker.

ADX, founded in 2011, has become a haven for designers, builders and crafters, operations manager Mike Alfoni said. The for-profit membership facility provides ample room and tools for a myriad of projects, as well as space for small businesses to lease and people to host industrial classes. Membership includes access to wood and metal shops, a laser cutter, a 3-D printer and digital design software, but it’s the notion of creative people coming together in one space that truly makes it great, Alfoni said.

“My running joke is that the tools are the least important part of the whole space,” he said. “We believe that by working together and sharing tools and knowledge, people can do incredible things.”

This concept is especially attractive to the Portland design community, Alfoni said. ADX recently became home to Propel Studio Architecture, and professional architects and architecture students have taken advantage of the space to build models, use design software or learn new skills, he said.

“A lot of start-up, small organizations 鈥� they need model shops and digital software,” he said. “For those who have shops, they want a place where they can do things they can’t do in their shop.”

ADX is hoping to set up a formal architectural model and rendering studio, and partner with the American Institute of Architects‘ Portland chapter, Alfoni said. This could include offering discounted ADX memberships, which start at $50 a month, to AIA members and hosting some of the organization’s continuing education classes, said Lucas Gray, an AIA Portland board member and a Propel Studio principal.

“It just seemed like a good balance or mutually beneficial partnership,” he said. “We’re always looking for ways to provide more value to our members.”

ADX is an especially great resource for architecture startups like Propel Studio, Gray said. When he co-founded the firm with fellow principal Nick Mira about a year ago, the pair worked out of their homes. In February they moved into ADX, where the rent was not only affordable but included access to design software 鈥� a costly overhead expense. Renting a desk at ADX starts at $275 a month.

“Our monthly rent was cheaper than purchasing software,” Gray said. “Just because of that, (it) makes complete, 100 percent sense for a start-up architecture firm to be there.”

Since moving to ADX, Propel Studio has used the available design software to produce high-end renderings and the laser cutter to make wood models. They’re also planning to use the 3-D printer to produce small-scale models, Gray said.

“It definitely gives us a competitive advantage in the startup world,” he said.

University of Oregon-Portland architecture student Matt Leavitt began volunteering in the ADX woodshop about a year ago. As an intern with Portland-based THA Architecture, an ADX membership came in handy when he was asked to build a wooden site model under a tight deadline.

“I suggested I could build it at ADX,” he said. “I was able to use a month membership at ADX to get it done.”

Leavitt said he’s considering becoming a regular ADX member after he graduates.

“I think it’s a great thing to have at your disposal, especially as a young designer,” he said. “Coming out (of school) you no longer have access to the school model shop (and) the school laser cutter.”

Gray said he was immediately intrigued by ADX when he learned about it a few years ago.

“I kind of liked the philosophy of the place and thought it was interesting that so many people were working together out of a collaborative space,” he said.

Now that Gray works there, he sees the benefits.

“There’s an amazing energy here,” he said. “There’s an amazing collection of talented people 鈥� I’m sure subconsciously that is going to be a huge influence on our work.”

That’s the whole idea of ADX, Alfoni said.

“People come here who are furniture makers who are now learning to use digital design software,” Alfoni said. “By working together, we enable people to learn from one another and inspire each other across sectors and across generations.”