A curving north facade evokes a ship’s prow or a plane’s wing, while the lapped-glass curtain wall is a visible nod to construction of early ships and boats. The design of the new Port of Portland headquarters not only honors both the marine and aviation industries, it also emphasizes a corporate commitment to sustainability. See all the winners TopProjects 2011

When the port made the decision in 2008 to sell its 160,000-square-foot headquarters building in downtown Portland and relocate to the Portland International Airport, it was seeking more than a new location. The port desired a more collaborative office environment in a sustainable building, said Martha Richmond, corporate marketing and media relations manager for the port.

The new headquarters building, at 7200 N.E. Airport Way, met those goals, and perhaps exceeded them, she said.

The building features three floors of office space atop seven floors of public airport parking, though that plan required months of consideration. Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects originally presented three different schemes, said Doug Sams, ZGF project manager for the headquarters building.

After reviewing designs for a parking garage only, a parking garage with office space on top, and both freestanding, the port chose the combined option as a way to most efficiently use available space. The 10-story building also offers views from the Portland West Hills to the Cascade Mountains.

Hoffman Construction Co. completed the $241 million, 205,000-square-foot, three-year project in April 2010. HNTB Corp., PAE Consulting Engineers Inc. and KPFF Consulting Engineers contributed to project engineering.

“This was a big step for the port, and they didn’t want a corporate feel,” Sams said. To satisfy port staff input, the ZGF design team came up with an industrial aesthetic with exposed structure, piping and wiring.

Another initial factor was consolidation and the idea that everyone would be able to see and talk and interact with one other to make decisions more quickly and more efficiently, Sams said.

The new offices let the port consolidate its workforce and shift to an open office environment with few enclosed office spaces to reflect its desired “One Port” culture. Open atriums provide visual connections between the floors, and the interior floor plan produces narrow office floors so that every employee has access to natural daylight.

The building has received 1,500 visitors in the past year, but it is appreciated most by those who work in it every day.

“Employees here think it’s a wonderful environment,” Richmond said. “The collaborative work areas sprinkled throughout the three floors are great spaces to gather for meetings,” she said, explaining that staff from various areas can assemble for a brown bag lunch in the stadium-seated atrium.

But it is the Port of Portland’s commitment to sustainable practices that is best showcased by the new building and has been most recognized locally, nationally and internationally. The building is in final review for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design platinum certification, and was listed as one of the world’s 10 most high-tech green buildings by Forbes.com.

Heating and cooling are derived from 200 closed-loop, ground-source geothermal wells drilled 300 feet deep, while radiant ceiling panels and zoned temperature controls account for heat gain that varies with the sun’s position. Solar-controlled monitors automatically adjust interior horizontal blinds and dim overhead lights.

Perhaps the most innovative environmental feature of the building, and the element that has garnered the most attention, is the living machine system. What appears as a series of decorative planter boxes in the lobby is actually an on-site ecological wastewater treatment approach by Worrell Water Technologies. The system produces quality recycled water out of both gray and black water to be reused for toilet flushing and in the HVAC cooling towers, and can treat up to 5,000 gallons of the building’s wastewater per day.

“It’s been performing really well,” Richmond said. “We’ve improved our recycling rate to 76 percent, and it’s amazing that there is no active use of fossil fuels to maintain indoor air temperature,” Richmond said.

“Really, what I’m most proud about is that it’s a design that looked at everything,” Sams said. “We didn’t just focus on energy (and) we didn’t just focus on water. It’s a holistic design for the port.”

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The Regional Allied Health and Science Center will be the first academic building constructed at Umpqua Community College since the campus was developed in the 1960s.

The 54,000-square-foot building, designed by , is a response to the growing demand for participation in the college’s allied health and physical sciences programs. The state-of-the-art facility will house nursing, dental assisting/hygiene, paramedic science offices and other health-related programs. The design also includes laboratories for biology, anatomy/physiology, chemistry, general science, geology and physics. A variety of classrooms and a tiered lecture hall will serve the allied health and science departments as well as general use.

“The design of the building respects the existing campus, yet expresses characteristics of today’s learning environment,” Opsis principal Jim Kalvelage said.

The three-story building makes campus connections with bridges to paths that lead to the Whipple Fine Arts Center and the future home of the Southern Oregon Wine Institute. Each level has a direct connection to the central commons and amphitheater, including a rooftop terrace, accessible from the third floor.

“This building becomes a location for students on campus to move through in order to find their way through different levels of campus,” Kalvelage said.

The center was designed with the goal of meeting the state standard of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification. The central atrium space will provide daylighting into the heart of the facility and facilitate natural ventilation, while radiant and chilled floor slabs will be utilized throughout the atrium and classrooms to reduce energy consumption. Existing trees and site features on the oak knoll behind the center will be preserved, and the landscape will feature drought-resistant plant species combined with bio-swales and rain gardens.

Construction is scheduled to begin as early as summer 2012, and a general contractor has not been chosen yet.

Other Opsis team members include associate Joe Baldwin and project manager Steve Nelson.

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NBS Real Estate Capital LLC recently hired Brett Hyland as senior vice president. He will oversee institutional marketing and investor relations, and also serve on the investment committee of Morrison Street Fund IV. Hyland has more than 20 years of experience serving institutional, tax-exempt investors. He previously performed services for Wall Street Associates, Safeco Asset Management Co. and U.S. Bank.

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Glumac recently hired five new senior staff members: Charles Foreman and Peder Trelstad as project managers, Leslie Franken as corporate payroll and benefits specialist, Ed Helbig as commissioning agent and Mike Henning as electrical engineer.

Foreman has more than 30 years of experience building commercial, institutional, medical and high-rise projects. He will provide project management support, and develop a newly formed division within the firm to provide construction management services.

Trelstad is joining Glumac’s construction services department for the Northwest region. He has more than 21 years experience as a mechanical engineer, most recently with Portland Mechanical Contractors.

Franken, who has been with Glumac since October 1987, was previously office manager in Portland. Franken will implement new office procedures and policies and the financial processing of payroll and benefits.

Helbig has 12 years experience in managing facilities at continuing care retirement communities and 14 years experience in the controls/building automation industry. At Glumac he will oversee commissioning of new and existing construction.

Henning is an electrical engineer with 12 years of expe­rience, including prior stints with Glumac and Sparling. He will supervise Glumac’s work in Eugene for PeaceHealth.

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CB Richard Ellis recently hired Devin Henery as a senior appraiser for the valuation and advisory group in its Portland office. Henery spent the last six years specializing in industrial properties while working as an appraiser for a local valuation firm.

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Multnomah County District Attorney Michael Schrunk recently received the MBA Professionalism Award, the Multnomah Bar Association’s highest honor, for 2011. Only candidates who exemplify, and not simply meet, the standards set forth in the MBA professionalism statement – such as fostering respect and trust among lawyers and between lawyers and the public – are considered. Schrunk has held the county DA position since 1981.

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Patrick Huey, a senior financial adviser at Advantis, recently was named a Five Star Wealth Manager for outstanding client service and overall satisfaction. Award recipients are among the top 4 percent of financial advisers and wealth managers in the Portland area.

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The Wallace Group Inc. announced that Shane Cochran recently obtained Structural Masonry Special Inspector certification from the International Code Council. He has five years experience as a member of the firm’s environmental, geotechnical and water resource engineering staff.

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URS Corp. recently added William Weyrauch as a principal geotechnical engineer for its Portland office’s commercial and industrial business line. He has 33 years of experience in geotechnical engineering and construction materials testing throughout the upper Midwest and the Northwest.

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Maul Foster & Alongi Inc. recently hired Bill Beadie as a principal industrial hygienist. He has 15 years of experience, and expertise in chemical exposure assessments, risk assessments, indoor air quality investigations and occupational noise evaluations.

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