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Not even face coverings could hide the satisfaction of architects Don Copper and Janet Olson while crews continued to wrap up construction of the 17-story 5 MLK mixed-use building in Portland’s Central Eastside.

Copper is a managing principal and Olson is a principal with GREC Architects, a Chicago firm known for designing lakeside high-rises in the Windy City or lush, sprawling parks in far-flung places like Abu Dhabi, U.A.E. But at the east end of the Burnside Bridge, general contractor Hoffman Construction is finishing a project in a much different setting.

鈥淭his is our first project in Portland,鈥� said Copper, who has worked with 5 MLK developer Gerding Edlen in Chicago on several occasions. 鈥淭he scale of the city, the 200-foot blocks, as opposed to Chicago with its 300-by-600-foot (blocks), it’s a significant difference in how we experience a place 鈥� because with the smaller blocks, even though it’s a legitimate city, it has a really manageable scale.鈥�

Beyond the city, Copper and Olson were inspired by the natural landscapes of the Pacific Northwest as they designed 5 MLK, which is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of East Burnside Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard. There, the gleaming new building sits kitty-corner from the 21-story Yard residential tower like a massive sentinel guarding the entrance to East Portland.

鈥淲e definitely looked at things on many levels of scale,鈥� Copper said, 鈥渂ut all of them in the context of Portland and the region.鈥�

That context ranged from the region’s natural features to the bustling area.

鈥淚’d say on the location and the site, we kind of saw what was happening here, which now has happened, and I think it’s really developed nicely,鈥� Copper said. 鈥�(Gerding Edlen) let us run. That’s the beauty of working with them; they have 鈥� business approaches to a building and we take the creative architectural design approaches, and the two mix really well.鈥�

5 MLK has two distinctly different faces. The northeast corner facing the Burnside/Martin Luther King Jr. intersection features the main entrance and lobby, which serves both residential and commercial tenants. The southwest corner, by contrast, is marked by a prominent sequoia tree and a rounded facade that serves to highlight the entrance to ground-floor retail spaces that front both Southeast Ankeny Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard.

The building’s southwest corner also has on the second through sixth stories a series of terraced outdoor patio spaces.

鈥淲e came up with this concept directive that we call urban landform,鈥� Copper said, 鈥渢o try and make the building like a natural landform that sort of cascades down and has waterfalls. And having all these landscaped terraces that once the landscaping is mature, the landscaping will hopefully become as much a part of the structure as the architecture and soften the architecture.鈥�

On the inside, 5 MLK is different from anything the firm has done before, Olson said. The goal was to start with a tree in the main lobby and adopt as many natural elements as possible. In addition, the lobby is intended to be a much more public space than those in similar buildings. Plans call for it to eventually host live musical performances and other events after the pandemic subsides.

鈥淚t really kind of is what that area of the lobby has evolved around 鈥� engagement with the tree,鈥� Olson said as she circled the large planter.

Other natural elements in the lobby come in the form of stone-clad walls that are intended to resemble Oregon’s ubiquitous basalt columns formed by volcanic activity, as well as generous natural wood finishes and furniture. Even the carpets and furniture have circular shapes and patterns as an ode to water droplets spreading steadily outward.

鈥淲ith things like this, where it’s a big statement, and it’s viewable from outside, if you’re a passerby on Burnside you can view this and feel a part of it even though you’re not inside,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淪o that, along with bringing in natural daylight.鈥�

To that end, there’s even a lobby skylight that is both a source of light and a connection to the rest of the building.

鈥淵ou can look up and see the terraces, and eventually the plantings will grow and you will see that,鈥� she said.

Floors two through five have a combined 120,000 square feet of office space and separate amenity decks, while floors seven through 17 hold 220 residential units that range from 510 to 1,174 square feet.

The unique sixth floor has a huge array of amenities to serve both residential and business tenants. These include a large fitness center, conference rooms, classrooms and more. Another amenity space on the 17th floor offers residential tenants additional entertainment areas, as well as a small, outdoor swimming pool.

Structurally, the building bears little resemblance to those built in the Midwest, where seismic resilience isn’t as important. 5 MLK has concrete shear walls and columns.

鈥淲here we could, we left those exposed,鈥� Olson said. 鈥淚n a handful of units we have exposed shear walls, like some in the entry, or in the bathroom, like a kind of surprise. Also, on the sixth floor it’s an element that separates two of the conference room spaces, and we’ve exposed it on both sides of that. It keeps that raw material aspect engaged.鈥�

The building’s seismic resilience was created in an interesting manner, Copper said.

鈥淭he two elevator cores are shear walls that almost create a box,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hey’re two U-shaped structures that go all the way up the building, and the elevators are inside those.鈥�

Structural engineers with KPFF decided to link them with very large steel beams at each end, Copper added.

鈥淚n this way the core is designed to fail at a certain level of force,鈥� he said. 鈥淭here’s a lot of reinforcing steel in this building that would not be in the same building in Chicago.鈥�