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Blu Dot
Submitting Company: Waechter Architecture

Location: Portland
Start Date: April 2019
Completion Date: January 2020
Owner/Developer: Blu Dot
Architect: Waechter Architecture
Engineer: KPFF
General Contractor: R&H Construction
Subcontractors: Accurate Concrete Cutting, American Heating, Clean World Maintenance, D&R Masonry Restorations, DeBenedetto’s Commercial Flooring, Don Rhyne Painting, Dynalectric, General Sheet Metal Works, Goldwal Construction, LaRusso Concrete, Minority Abatement Contractors, Portland Millwork, Rayborn’s Plumbing, Steven W Broders, T-Plus Steel Fabricators, Uncommon Cabinetry, Viking Automatic Sprinkler, Vista Interiors, WH Cress

Historic renovation projects are hugely popular in Portland, and for good reason. The city’s stock of historic brick masonry buildings, whether old offices, warehouses or firehouses, is ripe for re-use and has been very popular with up-and-coming companies looking to relocate their space.

One such example is the nearly 100-year-old Blu Dot Furniture building in The Pearl, a three-story warehouse that had already experienced a series of renovations over the course of its lifetime. This led to a complex makeover designed by Waechter Architecture and carried out by general contractor R&H Construction that peeled back existing elements of the structure before rebuilding it to a new standard that pays homage to its original appearance.

To do this, an existing mezzanine was partially demolished to increase the daylight streaming the space. A wing of offices was removed and infilled bays butting up against the main public pedestrian paths were opened up.

As work progressed, many of the valuable old materials were salvaged, including heavy timber beams from the mezzanine that were then donated to a local fabricator. The grid of original heavy timber columns also was a highlight of the renovation and now complements a white-washed display space.

The interior was given a thorough facelift, and now features two-inch by two-inch battens lining curving walls to provide texture. Further, horizontal break lines in the battens point to display plinths, door thresholds, and mezzanine guardrails.

Finely crafted detail work involving integrated grills, plinth nosing, and concealed cabinetry all combine to make the space new, yet respectful of the past.