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ArtHouse is a student housing facility for the Pacific Northwest College of Art in downtown Portland. The six-story, wood-frame and concrete-clad building has 50 units with space for 130 beds, a lobby/gallery, a restaurant, and retail space.  The lobby opens onto a courtyard that invites student interaction.

The LEED silver-rated building is shaped like an open book, with slot windows forming the spine. The design echoes the purpose of the former building that filled the site, a brick warehouse that had served as the home of Powell’s Technical Bookstore.

Walsh Construction, the general contractor for the project, had nine months to raze the existing structure and complete the new building in time for the art college’s fall semester. Demolition was finished in five weeks.

Cooperation with the city of Portland to obtain a split-permit process sped the project along, avoiding potentially costly delays.

Value engineering options shaved 3 percent from construction costs, and helped bring the project in under budget and on time, allowing students to begin enjoying the new building at the start of the school year.

PROJECT?TEAM + STATS:
Location: Portland, Oregon
Cost: $8.7 million
Start date: October 2012
Completion date: August 2013
Owner/developer: Project^
Architect: LEVER Architecture (design architect), LRS Architects (architect of record)
Engineer: Catena Consulting Engineers
General contractor: Walsh Construction