91ÊÓƵ

There are two sections in the former auto shop building that Fieldwork Design & Architecture occupies in Southeast Portland. One featuring long tables with computers is where designs for furniture and various interior fixtures are conceived. The other is a workshop where those designs become real.

The firm pairs interior and furniture design with in-house fabrication services. Architects Cornell Anderson and Tim Fouch and interior designer Tonia Hein founded Fieldwork three years ago after realizing while working at more traditional architecture firms they they wanted to also help build what they designed.

“Sometimes, you lose a lot in the making process,” Anderson said. “This gives us that opportunity. We focus on highly detailed components, like furniture and wood screens – things that require hands-on work.”

A combined design and fabrication studio has a lot of advantages, Hein said. Designers can sketch a concept and then quickly build a mock-up to test it. This could include a prototype of a slat wall, a wine rack or a furniture detail.

“It helps us out a lot in the design process,” she said. “Within minutes you can understand if it works.”

The firm’s commercial clients include Nike, KEEN, Tanner Goods, Forge Graphic Works and Little T American Baker. These companies often are looking for custom furniture and finishes to fit a specific brand identity that Fieldwork designs at the same time as the retail or office space itself, Fouch said.

“A lot of our clients are excited that we can work on some of the fine-grain design work early,” he said.

Fieldwork has worked mostly on remodels, tenant improvements and residential projects, but is starting to branch out, Anderson said.

“We kind of cut our teeth on smaller remodels,” he said. “We’re transitioning into new construction and larger commercial-type projects. I think within all of the projects is the notion that we’ll do some custom furniture.”

Firm staffers often choose a central theme that can unify each custom space, Anderson said.

“Everything is conceptual, based usually on some big idea that every single piece from the top down relates to,” he said.

For a recent Southeast Portland project to remodel a former woodshop building into an office for Horacek Dental, inspiration came from the space’s past and current uses. Instead of the drop ceilings typical of dental offices, the space has a much lighter, airier and contemporary feel, Anderson said.

“I think we really delivered a cutting-edge dental office that’s kind of fresh and new,” he said. “We kind of looked at the assets they had. We kept the openness of it and kind of warehouse feel to it (and) also looking at how teeth function. There’s this central core that’s the nerve center of the practice.”

The dental office feels so cohesive because Fieldwork conceived both the remodel and the furniture, Horecek Dental owner Rich Horecek said.

“I think it would be hard to separate out,” he said. “I don’t think you would get the final result that you get without them doing that.”

For Forge Graphic Works’ headquarters in North Portland, Fieldwork played off the graphic design studio’s namesake. This includes a conference room clad in raw steel and a table base shaped like an anvil.

Little T American Baker owner Tim Healea said he appreciates the walnut butcher block motif on a counter and bench, designed by Fieldwork for the bakery’s Union Way location in downtown Portland.

“It’s a subtle deal, but it’s something that affirms the culinary food aspect of what we’re doing,” he said.

Healea said he liked working with a firm that takes charge of both design and fabrication.

“I think there’s a deeper connection to what they’re building because they’re designing and building it,” he said. “There’s that extra care.”

There’s a certain joy to closely following each project through from start to finish, Fouch said.

“I think all of us have an interest in materiality and the design process,” he said. “There’s (a) huge amount (to do) after the planning. I think we all want to remain with our designs after they’re truly complete.”