The evolution of office space has come to downtown Portland.

Nestled by the Willamette River in the Northwest Industrial District, the team of Project^, Hacker and Lease Crutcher Lewis made a statement with Field Office.

Field Office is more than 300,000 square feet of office and retail space in two distinct, contemporary, six-story buildings surrounding a central courtyard that is meant to break down the barriers between indoors and outdoors.

There are times to celebrate small, boutique projects done well. This is not that. Field Office is a $61.5 million, LEED Platinum-certified statement about what office space can be in the 21st century.

Project^ wanted the development to reflect the Pacific Northwest, “a region people move to for lifestyle, and to be engaged by the outdoors and to be outside,” said Jonathan Ledesma, a partner at Project^.

“For typical Class-A office, why do we find ourselves hermetically sealed in these boxes?” Ledesma said. Project^ wanted to “blur these lines between inside and outside.”

To that end, each floor has its own outdoor patios with garden spaces planted with native flora chosen by Lango Hansen Landscape Architects. That’s meant to democratize outdoor spaces so every tenant has access to outside work and play spaces.
Mike Sager, project manager at Lease Crutcher Lewis, said the project team wanted to “break the paradigm of having people sit in cubicles with artificial lighting.”

Plenty of contemporary office developers talk about breaking out of cubicle culture, but Project^ went further than most with Field Office. On the ground floors of each building, the large windows roll up like garage doors. Bicycle-share users can park their bicycles outside. Interior hallways are lined with Forest Stewardship Council-certified woods, including juniper, cumaru and Douglas fir.

On a recent visit, tech employees were seated on wooden benches and stump-like chairs throughout the courtyard, which includes a wetland space that is designed to accommodate winter rains. The plants will grow over time to appear more wild and natural. The flora was chosen around the idea of a restorative landscape reflecting what would grow there in a natural ecosystem.

The ground floor of the west building even includes a visually striking moss wall from Italian maker Benetti that acts like a furry and verdant green reminder of nearby Forest Park.

“We wanted to bring the outdoors in,” Ledesma said.

The entire roof area is committed to sustainability, save for a photovoltaic array.

The west building was completed first and has attracted large office tenants in Adpearance and Ampere. Other tenants include Four Point Legal; The Good, an e-commerce marketing firm; and Forth, an electric transportation nonprofit group. Commissary Café recently opened on the ground floor.

The slightly smaller east building is in want of an anchor tenant. A privately run gym, Formula Three Fitness, has opened there.

“We want a tenant that can appreciate what we’ve done with Field Office,” Ledesma said. “It’s a campus environment, not for one tenant, but for many tenants.”

Recruiting an east-building anchor tenant will presumably be the top priority for Field Office’s new owners. The project recently sold for $118 million to a joint venture of Goldman Sachs and Lincoln Property Co., brokerage firm Newmark Knight Frank announced recently.

Field Office came about from longtime partners. Both Lease Crutcher Lewis and Hacker had worked for Project^ previously, and were familiar with the developer’s large-scale vision and values.

Project^ acquired the site at 1895 and 2035 NW Front Ave. from Guardian Real Estate Services, paying $7.95 million in 2015, according to public records.

In building the development, the project team opted for a single, unusually tall floor of parking. That allowed them to fit 149 mechanized lifts that provide 298 parking spaces on a single floor. That saved the developer the expense of building a second floor of parking.

“We saved a substantial amount of money by not having to go down another floor,” Sager said.

The lifts also require a valet, adding another amenity for tenants.

“It’s becoming more common, but this is probably the biggest use of them,” Sager said.

The project team opted to place bicycle parking in an easily accessible ground-floor indoors area that includes wood paneling and six showers.

“It isn’t a dark room in the basement,” Sager said. “It’s a key element of the building. (The developers) really wanted to step up the presentation to commuters and make it nice.”

The development’s technological features include an innovative building skin to seal the buildings against inclement weather. The project team worked with Fred Shearer & Sons to pre-fabricate the metal stud framing and sheathing of the exterior walls.

The team then utilized a custom purpose-built robot to install the panels, saving time and money, the project team wrote in its TopProjects submission.

Lease Crutcher Lewis also had to go underground with a complex system to stabilize the buildings on the site, which is in a liquefaction zone. Consultation with the city of Portland geotechnical engineers resulted in 860, 6-foot-diameter columns reaching 20 feet in depth to provide soil stabilization and flexibility during an earthquake. To withstand pressure from the water table, the columns were tied into the mat foundation with rebar uplift anchors.

Approximately 50,000 gallons a day of groundwater were filtered and treated on site as heavy rains dealt another complication to construction. Water quality exceeded drinking water standards before being discharged into the city’s storm water system, according to Lease Crutcher Lewis.

Troutdale Elementary is one of three new elementary schools in the Reynolds School District that each share the same high-performance design. Funded by a $125 million bond passed by local voters, each school is designed to offer maximum energy-efficiency savings and a more productive learning environment.

Troutdale, Fairview and Wilkes are also the first three elementary schools to enroll in Energy Trust of Oregon’s Path to Net Zero, which offered incentives and support to help the district reach its energy goals.

Every classroom includes unique occupancy engagement strategies to conserve energy while improving health and comfort. Natural ventilation reduces reliance on active HVAC systems, and an indicator light lets teachers and students know when conditions are right to open windows and blinds for cooling with outside air.

Other energy-saving features include LED lighting, advanced daylighting, high-efficiency water heating, and variable refrigerant flow with heat recovery. Solutions like these help Troutdale Elementary save approximately 227,500 kilowatt hours and 1,300 therms each year, and the three schools combine to save more than $61,000 in annual energy costs.

Congratulations to Bremik Construction, BLRB Architects, KPFF Structural Engineers and all of the subcontractors and team members who made these projects so successful. Congratulations to Reynolds School District for their dedication and commitment to bringing these healthy, high-performance buildings to their students and community.

George Fox University’s newest building, the Hadlock Student Center, is a 48,000-square-foot space that serves as a recreation and athletic facility for students on campus. Together with the newly finished Canyon Commons, the center re-establishes the east side of campus as a bustling, welcoming area of communal gathering for students. Campus leadership has seen a 25 percent increase in enrollment in the past 10 years, and the demand for an area for sports and athletics use has been evident. This state-of-the-art building meets the steep need that the university had for a large enough space that can accommodate sports practices, games, and recreational activities.

Before construction began, four small campus buildings were removed and natural gas, city water, and sewer lines were installed, including about 400 feet of electrical lines that were buried underground. There were several delays along the way, including maneuvering through a compact worksite and dealing with product delivery delays that caused setbacks that were months long. However, the project team worked long hours to get back on track and complete construction as efficiently as possible. The project was completed last September at a cost of $12.1 million, which is considerably less than other recreation centers with similar features and size.

The new building features three basketball/volleyball courts, a suspended indoor running track with views of the courts below, a large indoor climbing facility, two dance/aerobics studios, locker rooms, and a 4,200-square-foot fitness center. There is also a rental center housed inside that provides outdoor recreation and camping equipment and a 5,400-square-foot space that is home to student government offices, club space, and a spacious student lounge with ample study areas. The center opens to the top floor with natural light and sweeping views of the wooded outdoors.

The building design is light and airy and integrates multiple building materials including brick, wood, metal, and glass. Some of the features include tilt-up concrete walls that frame the gym, wooden glulam beams around the fitness center, exposed wood ceilings, steel stud framing, interior metal panels, and terra cotta panels around the rock wall corner. The building meets the college’s goal of encouraging health and wellness, not just physically but academically and spiritually.

Hugh Bitzer, Associate at Soderstrom Architects shared, “Even after being intimately involved with the project planning process, it was still a shock seeing the initial transformation of the site from a series of older homes and dormitories into a 25-foot-deep pit running the length of the canyon. It made real the impact this building would have on the university and foreshadowed the work that was to come. Similarly, seeing the center fully occupied with students during the grand opening created a satisfying sense of accomplishment and made all the hard work pay off.”

After passing a $125 million bond for district-wide improvements, Reynolds School District started work on the full replacement of Troutdale Elementary School. The new two-story, 72,000-square-foot K-5 building features a learning pod design organized by grade level. The interior organization is intended to encourage personalized learning while providing close connection to the larger school community. The innovative “Fat L” classroom design offers flexibility of learning spaces to allow for multiple programs, activities, and group sizes in the space.

The campus is designed to honor the history and beauty of the great outdoors, especially that of the Sandy River and the Columbia Gorge. The entryway has a stunning, classic lodge-style sloped entry canopy with timber overhangs and angled roofs, and the school’s exterior uses ashlar pattern stone blocks reminiscent of boulders found in the river. Inside, there is a large mural that showcases community elements, local geography, and history of the area.

Troutdale Elementary is the first elementary school in Oregon to enroll in Energy Trust of Oregon’s Path to Net Zero initiative. The design of the school combines active and passive sustainable strategies including the use of natural light, energy-efficient sensor-controlled LED lighting, and a heat recovery system. The classrooms also are built to use natural ventilation cooling through individual passive air shafts that will reduce the use of HVAC systems and save energy. The school is projected to be 60 percent more energy efficient than other schools of its size and type.

The construction team began building the new school just 20 feet away from the occupied grade school, so they had a detailed site safety plan in place. Strong Columbia Gorge winds posed some challenges throughout the construction process, but in the end, construction was completed on time and on budget in October 2018.

Ridgefield has become one of the fastest- growing cities in the state of Washington, resulting in schools at maximum enrollment and some over capacity. A new middle school was of utmost importance, so plans began to construct a 145,000-square-foot facility to serve two schools: an intermediate school for grades 5 and 6, and a middle school for grades 7 and 8. The new View Ridge Middle and Sunset Ridge Intermediate schools share core spaces on a two-story campus with capacity for 1,200 students. The campus includes 44 regular classrooms with additional rooms for band and choir, as well as a dedicated wing for STEAM programs (science, technology, engineering, art, and math). There are two full-size gymnasiums, a black box theater and a large commons area that can be used alternatively as a performance space if needed. The campus also boasts a large multi-purpose area that is shared with high school athletic programs in the area.

Nestled in the heart of downtown Portland, Portland State University is a vibrant campus bustling with student activity. Campus leadership saw the need to renovate the existing Stott Center facility that was originally built in 1966 and home to the school’s athletic, health, and physical education programs. In addition, new construction needed to take place on a large multipurpose arena called the Viking Pavilion. The total project included an 87,200-square-foot renovation and a 55,000-square-foot expansion on the urban campus.

The renovation included a new Viking Athletics Hall of Fame, a renovated weight room, updated locker rooms, a café, and remodeled athletics administration offices. Additionally, there were five new general-purpose classrooms built, along with student advising, tutoring, and study spaces. The project also included the addition of a new sports medicine center for student athlete treatment that was developed in partnership with Oregon Health & Science University. The 3,400-seat multipurpose area provides space for hosting academic symposiums, concerts, dinners, graduations, trade shows, and much more.

Sustainability played a major role in the project from beginning to end. The Stott Center and Viking Pavilion earned LEED Gold certification and has several notable achievements. These include a 25 percent reduction in annual energy costs through efficient mechanical and lighting systems, a 46 percent water use reduction with water-saving flush and flow fixtures, reduced refrigerant emissions, and the use of reflective roofing and pavement materials. Furthermore, 98 percent of new wood on the project is Forest Stewardship Council certified.

The $42 million project was completed on time and on budget in October 2018. To help stay on schedule, the project was phased into four permit and bid packages with 12 sets of occupancy safety plans. Adhering to these plans helped ensure that students, visitors, and faculty were kept safe and up to date throughout the various phases of construction, in addition to helping streamline documentation for city approval. Fortis Construction Project Manager Justin Cook shared that working as an integrated, co-located team on the project was one of the highlights during the construction process and this team continuity helped create a beautiful end product.

“Situated in the middle of the PSU campus on a tight urban site, the modernization and expansion provides enhanced support for both PSU athletic and academic programs while improving access, safety and efficiency,” Cook said.

To date, the response to the completed project has been fantastic. “We have had an overwhelmingly positive response on the new arena from all of our fans, boosters, alums that have come back. It is something we are very proud of and think turned out even better than we hoped,” said Mike Lund, associate athletic director at PSU.

After Reynolds School District passed a $125 million bond in 2015, it commenced with a project to remodel 97,000 square feet of space and add an additional 48,683 square feet to Reynolds High School in Troutdale. The project included the addition of a new 3,700-square-foot commercial culinary space, where students learn about food service and hospitality while using commercial-grade equipment. Plans also included the expansion of a small commons area to a spacious 25,000-square-foot area with two levels. The existing commons space was fully revamped into two main levels that helped with unity and flow of foot traffic.

The project was completed over the course of two years, often while classes and activities were taking place. Construction teams stayed within the proposed timeline by working on weekends, evenings, and during school breaks, with the goal of completing as much work as possible during the summer months.

Pence’s construction team worked alongside Reynolds High School and the district throughout the project. The construction team established connections with the students as they worked in the building and many times students would bring them food and snacks from the culinary department. After becoming familiar with the student body and the needs that some of the students and their families faced, the construction team reciprocated the kindness and respect shown by the students by organizing a coat and donations drive during the winter months.

The $32 million project was completed in October 2018.

Over $30 million was spent to modernize and renovate the 60-year-old McNeal Pavilion on the Southern Oregon University campus in Ashland. The state-of-the-art construction project features a new LEED Gold building, certified through the U.S. Green Building Council. The structure, which just celebrated its first anniversary of successful use and operation, allows for bolstered academic, recreation, and athletic programs at the college.

The project primarily focused on developing a modern and highly usable recreation facility. The result: a three-story, 100,000-square-foot building that offers a 1,400-seat competition gym, locker rooms, classrooms, multi-use room, weight room, and climbing wall. Other features include a two-court recreation gym with a two-lane suspended running track with group exercise rooms, as well as office and support spaces.

In addition, the existing dance building auxiliary gym and racquetball building at the pavilion were overhauled to provide a revamped, upgraded space that is easily accessible and practical. A second story was also added to this building to serve as athletic office space.

Before beginning the project, teams had to look at the age of the building and put plans in place to protect key components of the building that were to be saved, such as the wooden floors of the gymnasium. Teams also set up covers around the metal wall panels and windows in the building were water-tested. The first foundation pour was set to start in the winter of 2016, but weather conditions caused a delay. In addition, busy market conditions and limited workforce in the area posed a challenge, but teams were able to make up some time on framing and interior renovations, with final completion in March 2018.

Clark College’s culinary program was originally housed in a space that had no windows and very little visibility on campus. Recognizing a need to transform not just the space, but the whole program, a college leadership team worked to identify a vision for the program and enhance the experience for students involved. Part of the vision included a full renovation of the existing space into an open, state-of-the-art area to inspire learning and creativity. The result: the 19,600-square-foot Tod and Maxine McClaskey Culinary Institute.

The remodeled area required demolition on an outdated portion of Gaiser Hall, which had been built in sections over three decades. One of the primary goals of the remodel was to provide students an environment that blends instructional and public space together. There is now a production kitchen that accommodates five lines for student work, as well as a bread and cake room and cooler and chocolate lab for students enrolled in the baking and pastry arts program. In addition to the enhanced workspace, general food service was introduced to the school, which now offers a coffee and bakery kiosk, a student-run restaurant and a daylight-filled food court.

Some of the most stunning features include a new exterior patio with seating and umbrellas with large glass doors, exposed beams, an undulating wall and large interior windows inside the kitchen for students working in it. The $7.9 million project offers the technology and space that was needed to enhance the program and attract aspiring chefs.