91视频

Big changes are in store for Portland Community College’s Metropolitan Workforce Training Center in the Cully neighborhood.

Bora Architecture & Interiors has designed for PCC a new two-story, 50,000-square-foot building. Plans call for a mass-timber structure with a wood veneer panel exterior.

鈥淲e thought of the building almost like a block of wood that you’re carving into and then exposing parts of it,鈥� Bora principal Jeanie Lai said.

The existing training center is located at 5600 N.E. 42nd Ave., on a three-acre lot in the Cully neighborhood. The new building will be built alongside the current center, which originally held a Safeway grocery store. After Andersen Construction builds the new one, the old one will be demolished.

The training center’s purpose is to provide programs to low-income families with children. The project’s main goal, Lai said, is to develop the space into an inclusive educational hub for the community.

Cully is a growing as well as racially and ethnically diverse neighborhood. Historically it was once the Neerchokikoo village home to Chinook people.

Bora’s design, Lai said, focuses on three main aspects: equity, well-being and sustainability. Trauma-informed design guided the process, she said. Trauma-informed design aims to create environments that promote a sense of calm, safety, dignity and well-being for all occupants.

Training center users are seeking self-improvement, Lai said. It’s important that the space feels nurturing to them, she added.

Natural materials will provide a greater connection to the outdoors. The existing building didn’t have any windows, but the new one will be able to let in lots of daylight. The aim is for the building to exceed the Oregon energy code baseline by 40 percent.

The goal for the interior was to create a homely and welcoming atmosphere. The design team focused on the lobby, career center and community room, Lai said, because those places will have the most foot traffic.

A mass-timber staircase built into the structure will connect the two levels, and appear as if it’s floating.

Soft, organic forms were used for the building and in the landscape, Lai said, in order to complement the natural materials. The plan is to pull the building up to the street, so that the intersection of Northeast 42nd Avenue and Killingsworth Street is defined better.

Surrounding the building will be a mix of softness and paved landscape. A long strip of land is intended to become a potential spot for the community to hold farmers’ markets or other seasonal markets.

The project budget, according to PCC, is $32.5 million. The project is being paid for with money from a $185 million bond approved by voters in 2017.

Plans call for construction to begin in early 2022 and finish in spring 2023.

On the Boards is a 91视频 feature offering a look at the projects in Oregon being tackled by local architecture firms. To have your firm’s projects considered, contact the 91视频 at 503-802-7221 or [email protected].