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Portland architect Miles Woofter has never lacked the confidence that he could meet big challenges. Three years after starting his own firm, that faith was shaken when Woofter Architecture‘s first design for its biggest client was shot down in a presentation at Portland State University.

鈥淚t affected everything,鈥� Woofter said. 鈥淚t affected me at home. It affected me at work. I was not able to sleep. I was working too much and irritable. That kind of stress is not good for anyone.鈥�

Just eight months earlier, Woofter Architecture had won the design contract for the $51.1 million Peter Stott Center renovation and expansion. The project includes a 3,000-seat arena as well as athletic offices, classrooms, weight training facilities and a sports medicine office. Construction is now proceeding and on track for completion by February 2018. But the small upstart firm responsible for design had to overcome a rocky start.

鈥淚 did not expect Woofter to get the project,鈥� said Dan Zalkow, associate vice president for planning, construction and real estate at Portland State University. 鈥淲e did not set out to hire a small firm.鈥�

Yet there was little Woofter Architecture, with a staff of three at the time, tackling the highly visible project in downtown Portland. Even with the help of national firm Sink Combs Dethlefs, the job was enormous. Then there was financial pressure. The project accounted for nearly 90 percent of the young firm’s revenue.

Then, eight months after Woofter Architecture took the job, Portland State University officials asked to see early exterior designs. But staffers had been working on interiors and programing.

鈥淲e weren’t in a position to present the exterior design to the university,鈥� Woofter said. 鈥淲e were put in a position to present to the university and it backfired because they weren’t happy.鈥�

That led to questions by stakeholders as to whether the firm could meet the school’s ambitious schedule.

鈥淭here were times early on, before he increased his staff, where we did talk about our opinion that he needed to increase his staff,鈥� Zalkow said. 鈥淥ur schedule was important. It seemed to us that they could use more resources to meet that schedule.鈥�

PSU officials wanted an inviting building that could match the school’s place in the city, within a tight budget. But they didn’t believe Woofter Architecture’s first attempt met those goals.

鈥淭he appearance of the exterior wasn’t appealing to most of the decision makers,鈥� Zalkow said. 鈥淚t didn’t fit in well with adjacent buildings and Park Blocks. Also, it didn’t feel very inviting. There was not enough glass. Entrances and the ground floor didn’t feel like it would bring people in.鈥�

Major changes were needed, and Woofter felt pressure to produce in a way he hadn’t faced in the past.

鈥淚f we hadn’t righted the ship and turned it around, I don’t know,鈥� he said. 鈥淧ortland is a small community and PSU is a big institution. I didn’t have a choice, it had to be successful. It was a challenging time, no question.

鈥淭he biggest challenge in my life has been running a small practice and winning a significant project at Portland State University.鈥�

Zalkow said that three main factors persuaded PSU to take a chance on Woofter Architecture in the first place. First, Woofter had a successful history with the school. In 2004, he had performed a design study for creation of a bike facility on campus. That would eventually become the PSU Bike Hub on Southwest Sixth Avenue. In 2007, he created the design for the student recreation center while working for Yost Grube Hall Architecture.

The second reason PSU looked to Woofter Architecture was its presentation.

鈥淲e were very intrigued by his proposal,鈥� Zalkow said. 鈥淗e got how this facility was going to be used for multiple purposes.鈥�

Lastly, Woofter brought in Sink Combs Dethlefs to help design the project. The 50-person firm had designed athletic arenas since 1962.

鈥淲e felt very comfortable with the team he put together for the project,鈥� Zalkow said.

Sink Combs Dethlefs was one of the few firms Woofter spoke to that believed his firm could deliver the project.

鈥淓veryone else I talked to was not enthusiastic and thought the project was going to be challenging,鈥� he said. 鈥淎ll the others thought we couldn’t do it.鈥�

But when PSU officials requested revisions, the design team responded. In going back to the drawing board, Woofter leaned heavily on his team, including principal Jonathan Bolch, who also worked for YGH.

鈥淭here were a lot of challenging moments,鈥� Bolch said. 鈥�(The Stott Center project) has ambitious goals and needs to please a lot of different stakeholders.鈥�

This time, the team looked at the exterior first and modified its focus to meet aesthetic and budgetary concerns.

鈥淚t needed to be a majestic civic building and a response to the (Park Blocks) and its place in the city rather than just an athletic building,鈥� Woofter said. 鈥淭he interior program on that tight of a site starts to dictate the expression of the building on the exterior.鈥�

The new philosophy led to a new design. By October 2015, the team presented a design that PSU officials loved.

鈥淲hen he redesigned it, it was seen as a beautiful design,鈥� Zalkow said. 鈥淲e expect the building to be active. He solved all our concerns.鈥�

Woofter was even able to accommodate PSU officials’ late request for four additional classrooms and consolidation of athletic offices into the building.

The Portland Design Commission issued its approval in March 2016. Then the project team secured permits on schedule 鈥� a rarity for a project of that size.

Currently, 140 contractors are working under four sets of construction permits and 12 sets of life safety occupancy plans that allow occupation of the building during construction. Currently, the schedule calls for project completion by February 2018.

Now, Woofter Architecture is transitioning to work on smaller projects.

鈥淏ecause of the location and the size and the team, (the Stott Center) broke down our process and the kind of design firm we want to be,鈥� Woofter said. 鈥淲e are looking at projects that we can do on our own. There is only so much we can do. We can’t stretch ourselves too thin. When we go after something, we go all out. You have to put 120 percent into everything.鈥�