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Premier Gear
Submitting Company: Lorentz Bruun Construction
Location: Portland
Cost: Confidential
Owner/Developer: Sturgeon Development Partners
Architect: LRS Architects
Engineer: Catena Consulting Engineers
General Contractor: Lorentz Bruun Construction
Subcontractors: American Concrete Cutting, American Direct, American Heating, Anderson Sand Blasting, Christenson Electric, Civilworks, DB Steel, DeaMor Associates, KNEZ, Michaels Precast, Otis Elevators, PMG Asbestos, Rayborns, Speedy Glass, Valley Scapes, WH Cress

The conversion of the Premier Gear and Machine Works factory celebrates the space’s industrial history by maintaining much of the wood structure and retaining the crane rail elements. The factory consists of three buildings and takes up a city block, with the full space transformed for creative office use.

In addition to the wood structure, the building retains exposed decking and 20-foot-high ceilings. Other original elements include sawtooth skylights, hoists, jibs and crane rails repurposed as bridge supports for the second-level addition.

Upgrades involved a comprehensive seismic retrofit that included the installation of brace frames. The project team utilized glulam to supplement and accent the existing steel beams instead of adding new steel structures. This was done for both aesthetic and sustainability purposes. Glulam production emits significantly fewer greenhouse emissions and burns only a fraction of the fossil fuels needed to manufacture steel.

The challenge of taking three older industrial buildings occupying an entire city block and combining them into one high-ceilinged, Class A office space by seismically retrofitting, adding a second floor and installing more than 130 windows was substantial in itself. It was an even more formidable challenge to complete the project on time during the pandemic.