91视频

Editor’s note: To see more photos of Emerick Architects’ new office space, click here.

Renovating a historic space for a growing architecture firm isn鈥檛 a simple task, but one local company did it in record time.

After just one month of planning and two months of construction, Emerick Architects renovated the entire second floor of a 1913 downtown building on Southwest Fourth Avenue for its new office.

As is often common with historic renovations, it wasn鈥檛 an easy undertaking. The firm鈥檚 co-founder and president, Melody Emerick, said the 2,500-square-foot space had asbestos tiles under the carpeting and a drop ceiling that covered the top part of the large windows.

鈥淚t hadn鈥檛 been upgraded since the 鈥�70s and was vacant for years,鈥� she said.

Emerick and her husband Brian, both architects, formed their company in their home 16 years ago before spending 12 years in a space on Southwest First Avenue.

Their new office in the Title & Trust Building takes up an entire floor of what was one of Portland鈥檚 original 鈥渟kinny skyscrapers.鈥� Although the new space is only 1,000 more square feet than the firm鈥檚 previous offices, Emerick said the open floor plan makes the new location better suited for her 15 employees.

Once the cleanup was finished and the ceiling removed, work began to implement the design for a modern open office that was elegant as well as functional.

Part of that elegance came from incorporating some of the existing features of the space, not all of which were readily apparent.

鈥淲hen we took out the drop ceiling, we could see concrete beams,鈥� Emerick said, adding that the beams added to the office鈥檚 ambiance.

The drop ceiling also covered the transoms of large windows that open horizontally from a vertical center mechanism.

Inside the conference room sits another relic, a metal fire door with rollers on the bottom that was discovered hidden behind a wall. Now covered with photos held in place by magnets, the door easily slides back on a rail to reveal a large TV screen for showing videos or presentations.

鈥淲e saved all the parts and put it back together,鈥� Emerick said.

With multiple sources of light from the office鈥檚 many large windows, employees work at ergonomically-designed desks by Clackamas-based Cardinale Fine Cabinetry Inc.

Design of the space took 鈥渙ne very busy month,鈥� Emerick said, and Right Angle Construction Inc. completed interior work in just two months鈥� time. Viking Electrical did all the wiring and HyTone Painting took care of clear finishes and interior painting.

鈥淣ow we鈥檙e ready for the next 15 years,鈥� Emerick said. 鈥淎nd I don鈥檛 want to move again.鈥�