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It’s hard to not be distracted by the flowery wrapping paper pattern on the fa莽ade of the proposed Fair-Haired Dumbbell project near the east end of the Burnside Bridge.

That’s why seeing Portland-based Guerilla Development Co.’s planned office and retail building without that bold move might be just what the Portland Design Commission needs to approve the architecture, commissioners noted on Thursday during a design review hearing for the project.

鈥淚 think we have to consider the building without its coating,鈥� Commissioner Guenevere Millius 听said. 鈥淲ill the building underneath the paint be worthy?鈥�

Portland city planners recommended the Design Commission deny approval of the unconventional, 67,500-square-foot development, at 11 N.E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., in its current iteration because of several concerns. These included worries about the durability and maintenance of the proposed stucco fa莽ade with a mural of flowers, birds and butterflies wrapping around all four sides of the development’s two, six-story buildings.

Commissioners agreed and asked the Portland-based FFA Architecture + Interiors Inc. design team to return on Aug. 6 for a second design review hearing to address a range of lingering issues with the project. Among the commission’s requests of the designers was to bring back a plain rendering of the project without the flowery pattern.

鈥淥ur job is to respond to the architecture,鈥� Millius said. 鈥淭o me, it would be useful. It’s very hard to see what’s going on.鈥�

The project is proposed for a rounded lot bounded by Northeast Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard, East Burnside Street and Northeast Couch Street. Plans call for a 2,000-square-foot central courtyard with a sculptural stormwater planter between the structures, ground floor retail space and suspended pedestrian bridges connecting each floor of the buildings.

FFA principal Troy Ainsworth told the commission the project has undergone some significant revisions since the concept was initially created by Guerilla Development owner Kevin Cavenaugh and first shared with commissioners in a design advice hearing early last year. Changes to the design included eliminating a podium level to extend the mural fa莽ade to the ground and scrapping plans to include on-site parking.

Initial plans for executing the flowery skin of the building, inspired by wrapping paper, called for using painted metal panels, but hiring a muralist to paint the pattern onto stucco turned out to be a more feasible choice, Ainsworth said. Portland artist Dan Cohen, owner of Dan Cohen Creative Labs, told the commission that he would use techniques similar to what he’s done in the past to hand paint large-scale billboards onto the sides of buildings. He also proposed using a type of silicone-based paint that he said wouldn’t deteriorate, peel or fade.

Like last year’s design advice request hearing for project, the Dumbbell concept inspired a lively discussion on Thursday amongst commissioners. The proposed fa莽ade pattern dominated much of the conversation.

Commissioner Tad Savinar criticized the quality of the painting on a full-scale fa莽ade mock-up the design team brought to the hearing calling it 鈥渃rude.鈥� The sample, which was not painted by Cohen, made Savinar worry that the project would be poorly executed.

鈥淭his thing has to sparkle like an incredible jewel and it’s not,鈥� Savinar said. 鈥淚 think it’s got to really sing 鈥� You can’t just rely on the wackiness of it. You have to step up to the plate.鈥�

Another commission concern was that extending the mural to the ground weakened the design concept Cavenaugh described during the design advice request of the buildings appearing like two gift wrapped boxes. Commissioners suggested using a different fa莽ade material for the ground floor.

鈥淚 think it’s lost some of its elegant-ness from the simple idea of the boxes,鈥� Commissioner Jeff Simpson said. 鈥淣ow it has legs.鈥�

Several commissioners also noted the ground floor retail spaces could use some revisions to become more vibrant. Savinar said the storefronts felt like an afterthought.

鈥淭here seems to be a bit of a disconnect (with) the playfulness of the windows on top,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he storefronts look kind of clunky in response. I’m not sure that it’s all working together.鈥�

The proposed development also lacked a prominent main entrance and lobby, Commission Vice Chairman Ben Kaiser said.

鈥淚 think we can definitely make this a better, safer, more celebratory entry,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s missing that formality.鈥�

Commissioner Julie Livingston suggested the design team take another crack at the roofs and possibly consider green roofs since the top of the buildings would be visible from the Burnside Bridge.

鈥淭here are going to be so many people looking at this roof,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 think it needs a little more addressing.鈥�

Millius said she still wasn’t entirely sold on the whole concept of having such a loud pattern on the building facades.

鈥淚’ve been thinking about this building for 18 months,鈥� she said. 鈥�(The pattern) to me felt so much like a random decision and almost like a practical joke on the neighborhood.鈥�