91ÊÓƵ

Sideyard
Submitting Company: Skylab

Location: Portland
Start Date: May 2018
Completion Date: September 2019
Owner/Developer: Key Development
Architect: Skylab
Engineer: catena consulting engineers
General Contractor: Andersen Construction Submitting Company: Skylab Subcontractors: Acousti-Level, All Trades, American Heating, ASI Structures, Buffalo Welding, Caliber Plumbing, Cosco Fire Protection, Culver Glass, DR Johnson, Eddy Excavation, Elite Electric Group, Freres Lumber, J&S Masonry, Loy Clark, Martin Sheet Metal, Mid-Valley, Paulson’s Flooring, Point Monitor, Schindler Elevator, Skyline Sheetmetal, Spray-Lock SCP, Sterling-Pacific, Superior Gunite, Teufel Landscape, The Harver Co., UFP Woodburn, WCTJ, Western Rebar, Westlake Consultants

It may not be the largest building to be constructed at the Burnside Bridgehead in recent years. But Sideyard, the brainchild of Skylab Architects, is arguably the most distinctive of them all. And with neighbors that include the Fairhaired Dumbbell, Yard and Slate, that’s saying something.

Sideyard is a five-story, wedge-shaped commercial building that sits in the shadow of the 21-story Yard residential tower just to west. Not only does its location in the middle of the new Couch Street couplet provide its distinctive shape, the construction typology carried out by general contractor Andersen Construction features mass timber, including cross-laminated timber floor plates, which completes its distinctively Portland persona.

The ground floor features storefront along Third Avenue and office space in the four floors above. Meanwhile, a pedestrian staircase runs from the adjacent Burnside Bridge down to Third Avenue and its retail/restaurant spaces.

The ground floor features large amounts of glazing, while the upper floors are wrapped in dark brick masonry, evoking the surrounding Central Eastside Industrial District and its historic masonry structures.

At around 20,000 square feet in floor area, the building is small for a new commercial building, yet developer Key Development is confident the location and aesthetic will pay off in the end. Exposed wood framework on the inside, all sourced from Oregon, adds to the natural feel, along with mass timber used in the stair treads and landings. Meanwhile, a two-story volume public plaza helps highlight the mass timber at the pedestrian and bike levels. The project is also seeking LEED Silver certification for core and shell construction.