91视频

In the best possible way, the Breathe Building feels like it has been ripped directly from a skit from the TV show 鈥淧ortlandia.鈥� Indeed, it is difficult to image a building so uniquely Portland, from the tenants to the sustainability of the 10,000-square-foot space located 2305 S.E. 50^th Ave.

鈥淚t really ascribes to the values of the community that initiated this project,鈥� Breathe Building owner Chris Calarco said. 鈥淚t is very Portland. There are not a lot of places like it that have these kinds of businesses and are built sustainably.鈥�

The Breathe Building will be home to Yoga Union, Fern Kitchen and Prema Health. It will have its soft opening on Aug. 31 and a grand opening Sept. 25-27. Calarco, whose company The Building LLC was the builder for the project, is still in shock that after two years and 10 months of work, his building is finally ready to greet the world.

鈥淚 don’t think it’s set in yet,鈥� Calarco said. 鈥淚’m a little bit numb at the moment. It’s incredible. This is the first time I’ve ever owned a building 鈥� it’s not the line of work I’m in 鈥� and this was the hardest thing I’ve ever done in my life.鈥�

Calarco spent five years as a psychotherapist before becoming an instructor at Yoga Union. While many yoga studios simply exist as a place to exercise, Yoga Union is a community that, with the devotion of its practitioners, had grown too large for the space it occupied two blocks away from the Breathe Building.

Calarco found himself dreaming of a place that could provide Yoga Union with more space and also house businesses with missions in sync with the values of Yoga Union.

鈥淲e all had a collective idea to further the mission and values of Yoga Union to keep people healthy, and we were all really inspired by the changes in our lives from our yoga practice,鈥� Calarco said. 鈥淚 got together with my friends from Yoga Union and we came up with the idea to do something bigger because Yoga Union is a popular studio and needed more space.鈥�

Calarco had the money to make the dream come true.

鈥淚’ve been lucky enough that I’ve had financial resources,鈥� said Calarco, who declined to reveal the total cost of the project. 鈥淭his is what I chose to do with it. This is something that has been a way for me to give back.鈥�

SUSTAINABILITY IN MIND

During the first 18 months of work on the Breathe Building, Calarco set out to meet the Living Building Challenge, making the building hit benchmarks of the highest possible sustainability. Trying to create a Living Building, however, eventually proved too expensive, Calarco said.

Although the end result falls short of Calarco’s original goal, every aspect of the Breathe Building was designed with sustainability in mind. The building uses wood that either was reclaimed from the original building or was sustainably forested. The walls are insulated with recycled newspaper. The building was certified Earth Advantage Silver, and Calarco said that the building hits between 80 percent and 90 percent of the requirements to be certified gold.

In November 2014, Calarco called in Chris Humphries, the owner of ConstructAgility, to be the project manager and owner’s representative.

Working on the Breathe Building was special for Humphries.

鈥淚’ve done some very cool projects, but never anything like this,鈥� Humphries said. 鈥淭he project is so rich in stories. Everything you look at has this big backstory about why it is. I’m a detail guy, and this place is everything I could have ever asked for in terms of detail and complexity.鈥�

While sustainability was the first concern, the Breathe Building does not lack for beautiful design. The architect for the project was Green Hammer. The aesthetics of the building begin before you enter. Outside is a courtyard with a stone wall to sit upon. The building has a modern exterior. Two-thirds of the building is original, while the other third had to be knocked to the ground and rebuilt. The inside has a postmodern feel with exposed wood and gray floors.

鈥淵ou can’t really point to anything where (we didn’t have) several meetings and a really passionate debate about what was the right thing to do,鈥� Humphries said.

The Breathe Building is just 10,000 square feet, but it has been designed to use every inch of space available.

鈥淭here’s not a piece of (unused) space in this building,鈥� Calarco said. 鈥淲e’ve filled every single nook and cranny of this building.鈥�

MAKING CONNECTIONS

The first floor of the Breathe Building features Yoga Union and Fern Kitchen.

Fern is an acronym for 鈥渇eeding everyone real nourishment.鈥� It is owned by Tim and Julie Vogt. Tim Vogt said that being in the Breathe Building takes health conscious dining to the next level.

鈥淓verybody is concerned about the nutrients that are in their food,鈥� Vogt said. 鈥淏ut people don’t concern themselves with all of the contaminates that are in a building. This is a very clean, very fresh building.鈥�

Yoga Union will have two studios on the first floor, one large studio and a smaller studio. The large studio, which can be used for hot yoga, features a floor that can be heated by water from the basement.

Yoga Union’s co-owner Todd Vogt, the son of Tim and Julie, is ecstatic about his company’s new home.

鈥淭he way we aim our practice is that we’re connected to all things,鈥� Todd Vogt said. 鈥淭hat’s the kind of experience we need to have right now in our world. We’ve done our best here to undergo a project with that in mind.鈥�

The first floor of the building contains a space for childcare as well as men’s and women’s locker rooms that connect to a shared sauna with frosted glass panes on both doors leading into it.

Humphries helped build the sauna, volunteering to work on it over several evenings. Volunteer work is a large part of what has made the Breathe Building possible as many yogis from Yoga Union have donated their time and energy.

To get to the second floor and Prema Health, one can either take the stairs, or an elevator.

Prema comes from the Sanskrit word for love. Prema Health has 13 practitioners offering a variety of services, including an esthetician, naturopathic medicine, acupuncture, counseling, yoga therapy and message therapy.

Prema co-owner and naturopathic doctor Kate Smith is a longtime student and teacher at Yoga Union. She appreciates that the Breathe Building allows for a complete experience for everyone who comes there.

鈥淲e love the idea of having everything in one space and being able to offer so many great things for our community,鈥� Smith said.

Calarco agrees.

鈥淢ost yoga studios, you come and take your class, talk to a couple of people,鈥� Calarco said. 鈥淵ou could come to a yoga class here, drop your kid off at the daycare, have a meal at the restaurant, come up and have a message, go into the sauna, and by that time you can go back and take another yoga class. You can spend your entire day here.鈥�

The roof of the building is almost 2,000 square feet and offers a stunning view of the West Hills. When the weather is fair, Yoga Union will have classes atop the roof, though, they will have to be conscious of arranging the classes at the right time and keeping the noise to a minimum because noise carries from the roof.

While the Breathe Building may look to outsiders like something from 鈥淧ortlandia,鈥� when it opens, it will feel like home to those who have built it and inhabit it.

鈥淭he things that are going on here, feeding people real food, taking care of your health upstairs, practicing yoga downstairs, is all health- and wellness-based,鈥� Calarco said. 鈥淲e thought the health of the building was just as important as what was going on inside the building.鈥�