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Designers of the proposed Adidas Village expansion in North Portland are working to balance glass, wood and other materials in three buildings that would be constructed on the athletic apparel manufacturer’s campus.

Among the design team’s challenges is to integrate the proposed buildings with existing campus structures constructed in the early 2000s. The Adidas property is also surrounded by a residential neighborhood with little to buffer the corporate campus from people’s homes and the services they need, such as trash collection and delivery vehicles.

The expansion totals 191,586 square feet in three buildings. The project, valued at $143.5 million, went before the Portland Design Commission for design advice for the second time on Thursday.

The architecture remains at a preliminary stage. Renderings for the five-story south building show a structure largely made of mass timber and glass, with a bend at the midpoint meant to avoid the appearance of an imposing glass facade.

鈥淲e really worked to break that mass down,鈥� Lever Architecture principal Thomas Robinson said. He and project architect Dannon Canterbury presented the designs.

Lever Architecture has previously used cross-laminated timber in buildings such as Albina Yard. Robinson said use of CLT, which can be prefabricated and made to fit components off-site, would help accelerate construction.

鈥淭hese are also a lot quieter to build,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t’s a different experience.鈥�

The south building would have a ground-floor caf茅 and a second-story outdoor deck. The north and south buildings would have a soccer field between them. The field is currently on the site, but it would be slightly shifted and improved.

The north building would consist of three stories built atop an existing parking garage. A single-story loading facility is also proposed.

Commissioner Tad Savinar raised the issue of light emanating from the largely transparent south building. Robinson said lighting sources could be placed against the timber slabs so the light source would not be visible from outside the building.

鈥淎 lot of times we conceal the lighting right up against the slab,鈥� Robinson said 鈥淭he important thing is to try to not see the source. That’s a strategy we try to employ in office buildings.鈥�

Eight neighbors testified on Thursday. Some said a turnaround on North Sumner Street should be maintained with adequate space for residents’ parking and access for services.

鈥淲e do not have driveways,鈥� said Christina Edmundson, who lives on North Sumner Street. 鈥淪o if you remove a significant cul-de-sac, if we do not have a place to turn around cars 鈥� let alone UPS and things like that 鈥� I can’t even envision cars backing up.鈥�

Savinar pushed Adidas representatives to come to a 鈥済ood neighbor鈥� agreement with the Overlook Neighborhood Association to address issues such as Adidas’ employees parking and smoking in the residential area adjoining campus. Such issues are outside the scope of the Design Commission, but Savinar suggested a formal agreement could ease neighbors’ concerns.

David Ramos, representing Adidas North America, said the company was discussing such an agreement but had not come to a decision.

鈥淚t is a point of discussion with the leadership,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e’re not ready to commit to anything right now.鈥�

The company has met with the neighborhood association twice. Ramos said the parking crunch would be eased by moving the Adidas store to Montgomery Park, and adding parking to the North Portland campus.

The project team will return for design review at a later date.