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LEVER Architecture‘s design for the Meyer Memorial Trust headquarters in North Portland continues to draw plaudits 鈥� the latest from the American Institute of Architects.

The project was named one of the , along with projects in New Orleans, San Francisco, Iowa City, Iowa, and elsewhere.

For the three-story nonprofit headquarters in Portland, diversity and equity were given high priority 鈥� a key consideration on North Vancouver Avenue, part of a historically Black neighborhood that has undergone gentrification. The combination of high-performance sustainability and ambitious equity goals likely impressed the committee, said Chandra Robinson, a LEVER principal who served as lead project architect.

鈥淪ustainability and equity are really tied together,鈥� she said. 鈥淐limate change and severe weather 鈥� it affects a lot of folks. The folks who can’t get away are minorities and people of color; they are disproportionally affected.鈥�

O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders served as general contractor, and 80 percent of the subcontractors for the $10.8 million project were minority- and/or woman-owned businesses.

鈥淭he whole building is focused on issues around equity, in terms of the project team, the contractors and subcontractors who did the work,鈥� LEVER principal Thomas Robinson told the 91视频 in a March 2021 interview.

The project included 鈥渟tretch鈥� contracts 鈥� jobs that subcontractors had not performed previously, or at least for a large project. The casework subcontractor was one example: Summit Wood Creations, a Portland business operated by Reyna Badillo, a woman of color, had residential project experience but limited commercial experience.

鈥淕iving people stretch opportunities is important,鈥� Chandra Robinson said. 鈥淚t’s about equity.鈥�

The 19,800-square-foot building, which was completed in October 2020, uses regionally sourced materials such as Willamette Valley white oak and mass plywood. The hybrid structure is largely supported by traditional stick-built timber, while also employing large glulam beams and steel to support cantilevers. The cutting-edge mass plywood came from Freres Lumber in Lyons.

The structure, at 2045 N. Vancouver Ave., was built with a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum goal. Portland’s Project^ served as developer.

LEVER worked with Sustainable Northwest to source lumber, in some cases to the forest of origin.

鈥淭his building is providing a gathering space of significant scale that is also inspiring in and of itself while observing other structural systems,鈥� the AIA jury stated. 鈥淭his project provides positive transformation without gentrification, being a building of the community. The development through this engagement process has led to spatially detailed, well-executed spaces throughout the building.鈥�

The AIA jury comprised architects from Chicago, Los Angeles, Baltimore and New Orleans.