Portland projects and firms were well-represented at the recent 2021 American Architecture Awards.

More than 130 buildings from a list of over 400 received the award, which recognizes the best new architecture designed and constructed by American architects and by international architects with offices in the United States. It is described as the nation’s highest public award for new architecture and urban planning.

The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design, along with The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies presented the awards.

Oregon’s winners are:

Affordable Housing: The Louisa Flowers

LRS Architects and LEVER Architecture designed the 12-story affordable, multifamily housing for Home Forward. The building was completed in 2019 and was constructed by O’Neill/Walsh Community builders. With 240 apartments available, The Louisa Flowers is the largest, single affordable housing building constructed in Portland in 50 years.

Institutional: Oregon Conservation Center

Designed by LEVER Architecture, the Oregon Conservation Center renovation and expansion in 2019 completely reimagined the building. The exterior was replaced with steel cladding, as well as Juniper wood cladding and cedar decks that were sustainably harvested from the Nature Conservancy’s conservation sites.

Restoration and Renovation: The Portland Building

Built in 1982 as city administrative offices, The Portland Building is an award-winning icon on the National Register of Historic Places. However, it faced structural problems and needed exterior and operational system repairs. DLR Group completed renovation and restoration of the 400,000-square-foot, 15-story building, which included new exterior cladding and a seismic upgrade.

Schools and Universities: The Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact, University of Oregon

Ennead Architects, based in New York, designed the two L-shaped towers for the Phil and Penny Knight Campus for Accelerating Scientific Impact. The 166,000-square-foot structure is adorned with a glass curtain wall, while the inside uses cross-laminated timber in places as a connection to the surrounding environment. Bora Architecture & Interiors also worked as the architect of record for the project.

Private Homes:

• William Kaven Architecture – Royal
• Scott|Edwards Architecture – Slabtown 4

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PROJECT: Nestucca Valley School District K-8 School (Nestucca K-8)

LOCATION: 36925 U.S. 101 South, Cloverdale

SIZE: 8.96 acres with a larger undeveloped adjacent parcel of 28.3 acres

COST: $25 million

START DATE: April 2019

ANTICIPATED END DATE: May 2021

OWNER: Nestucca Valley School District

OWNER’S REPRESENTATIVE: Day CPM

ARCHITECT: DLR Group

ENGINEER: ZCS Engineering & Architecture

CONTRACTOR: O’Brien & Company

NUMBER OF WORKERS EMPLOYED: 100

SIGNIFICANCE OF PROJECT: This project involves a full remodel of an existing elementary school so that it’s able to serve students in grades K-8. The building also serves as a central location for the community during a natural disaster. The remodel encompasses 28,203 square feet, and a single-story addition is 40,745 square feet. The structure is wood-framed with glu-lams, an aluminum storefront, stained/polished concrete, an interior wood storefront, and a poured-in-place rubber surfacing playground with all new equipment. The new building includes classrooms, administrative offices, commons, a gymnasium, a kitchen, career and technical education labs, music space, and a secure front entry on the south side. New site work includes a stormwater management system, an entry plaza, outdoor learning areas, a community garden, and new vehicular circulation including parent and bus drop-off with parking. The existing school remained open during construction.

One of the biggest challenges affecting the entire project was the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted all aspects from lead times to manpower. O’Brien & Co. and its team persevered, and the project is wrapping up four to five months ahead of the original completion date and under budget. To keep all parties involved safe, the company kept a “Social Distancing Officer” on site at all times and required temperature checks at check-in. Also, mask use was required at all times, and the firm followed all AGC and CDC COVID-19 safety guidelines.

“Building Blocks” is a 91��Ƶ feature that spotlights noteworthy projects either under construction or approaching the start of construction. To submit a project for consideration, please visit: djcoregon.com/building-blocks.

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For DLR Group, designing its new office space in Portland became a case study.

When the coronavirus pandemic hit three months into the design phase, the firm paused and readjusted its plans.

“Because of COVID, the main reason people would go back (to the office) is to collaborate and socialize,” said Tim Ganey, principal and lead designer of the project.

The firm is relocating from the Commonwealth Building to a two-story building (with a basement) at 110 S.W. Yamhill St. A 16,000-square-foot tenant improvement is being performed by Fortis Construction.

Collaboration became the primary focus of the design, in large part because officials noticed that something has been missing from virtual collaboration meetings, Ganey said. Staffers spent months discussing the central values they wanted the new space to reflect: a culture of sharing, a culture of making, and connection to place.

The focal point will be a three-story, daylit atrium with a roof deck and an open mezzanine. It will be a place for gathering and presenting ideas.

Acoustical fins will hang from the atrium, and echo voices while dampening background noises. The fins also will divert direct sunlight, cooling and lighting the space.

The office’s layout was chosen to represent Portland via three components: the river, neighborhoods, and the grid network.

The ground floor breaks up into “neighborhoods,” where desks and small hubs are clumped together. This consolidates resources and creates multiple connection points for collaboration. But the neighborhood approach also allows work spaces to be scaled down and avoids large groups of people in one area.

Initially, the collaboration hubs were designed to have walls around them, but the pandemic shifted the design to leave them open.

“It’s lucky,” Ganey said. “Had we designed and built before COVID, then all these enclosed spaces wouldn’t be able to be used.”

The hubs are designed to be able to accommodate walls around them in the future if needed.

A main diagonal pathway representing the Willamette River runs across the office, uniting all neighborhoods and collaboration spaces. Through there, the firm will be able to display some of its work on walls.

“Being able to connect the space from front to the back was a highlight in the design process,” said Abbey Cwiek-Garrett, principal and lead interior designer.

By chance, the structure is at an angle and has a natural tectonic shift to the river, Ganey said. The neighborhoods could be positioned in a grid that shifts around the main diagonal pathway.

A motive behind the river, neighborhood and grid approach is to create movement around the office and get people up and moving. In a study with the University of California, Berkeley, DLR Group found movement in an office lends to serendipitous moments where impromptu encounters can spark new ideas.

Creating a design for the space was “a little funky,” Ganey said. There were two levels, an atrium, and no ADA accessibility.

The project turned into a design laboratory of sorts, Cwiek-Garrett said. Staffers were challenged to design better features.

A universally accessible ramp was designed to curve along the back wall and around the design library to the second floor.

DLR Group’s Portland staff also has an outdoorsy culture, which designers wanted to reflect. A vertical bicycle was built into the back corner of the office because at least 25 percent of employees ride a bike to work. A spot was also created for yoga on the mezzanine.

The new location sits along the MAX light-rail line, which is one reason the building was chosen. More than 70 percent of DLR Group employees don’t drive to work.

The project team is aiming to achieve both Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold and International WELL Building Institute certification.

“Anything that we can impact in this design to improve energy and impact on the environment, we did,” Ganey said.

Work is expected to finish in February.

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In east Multnomah County, crews are taking advantage of summer to replace a pair of elementary schools. One is East Gresham Elementary, at 900 S.E. Fifth St. There, general contractor Bremik Construction is leading construction of a new, two-story school and demolition of the original single-story building, which was designed by Edmundson & Kochendoerfer and built by general contractor Johnson & Sterner in 1950.

Subcontractors are scrambling to put the finishing touches on a new, 76,000-square-foot building scheduled to open in time for the 2019-20 school year. Concrete tilt panels atop a slab-on-grade foundation and structural steel comprise the backbone of the building, which will feature 24 classrooms along with specialized learning rooms, gathering spaces and flex spaces.

The new school will also include a media center overlooking the cafeteria, a music room, a covered outdoor play area, a gymnasium, and new vehicle parking.

DLR Group designed the project for the Gresham-Barlow School District, which is paying for it with money from a $291 million bond approved by voters in 2016. Designers aimed to provide a new school with four key improvements: better daylighting and HVAC systems; a better learning environment with modern technology; better safety and security; and better parking for buses and parents’ vehicles.

Meanwhile, NorthStar, a New York City-based contractor, is handling demolition of the old school, which is riddled with asbestos in piping insulation and other items. NorthStar crews licensed by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality were required to seal off one room at a time with plastic sheeting and regulated air flow to abate the asbestos.

School district employees, meanwhile, removed furniture, cabinetry and any other equipment that might retain value. Blackboards, drywall and other materials were removed, and demolition was expected to continue through July, Bremik Construction superintendent Grant Lang said.

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A Vancouver, Washington-based firm plans to break ground in August on a seven-story AC Hotel by Marriott on the Vancouver riverfront.

The $50 million hotel, expected to appeal to business travelers, will have 150 guest rooms and two floors of above-ground parking on the second and third floors. It’s the latest ground-up project for Vesta Hospitality, which in the past has mostly used a different strategy.

“Our primary focus has been acquisition of product and repositioning for better value of product,” Vesta CEO Rick Takach said.

The building will also have about 5,000 square feet of top-floor office space that Takach said he may take for Vesta.

In the case of the AC Hotel, Vesta took a gamble on the chance to be part of new development on Vancouver’s south-facing Columbia River frontage.

“We wanted to be down on the waterfront,” Takach said.

The project comes amid a rapid transformation of the area. Gramor Development is overseeing a massive 20-block redevelopment of a former Boise Cascade paper mill site nearby.

The AC Hotel will occupy land leased by the Port of Vancouver USA. Takach agreed to build the hotel to Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design gold standards as a result of negotiations with the port. He also agreed to build 160 parking spaces for the fast-growing area.

Takach said he turned his attention to the port’s land after declining to meet Gramor’s asking price for a parcel at The Waterfront Vancouver.

Takach said he’s interested in bringing in additional investors for the AC Hotel project, which is in an opportunity zone. The tax designation helped attract construction financing from Rockbridge Capital of Columbus, Ohio, a frequent Vesta partner.

DLR Group is designing the AC Hotel, and Camas, Washington-based Robertson & Olson Construction is serving as the general contractor. Otak is the engineer, and Urban Resources Inc. is the developer’s representative. Robertson & Olson’s experience working on the Vancouver waterfront and its relationships with subcontractors made it an obvious choice, Takach said.

Meanwhile, Vesta is also closing in on a purchase of the Cannery Pier Hotel, a 15-year-old, 46-room hotel that juts into the Columbia River in Astoria. Vesta is under contract to buy the hotel for $13 million, Takach said. The property is being offered by the estate of Astoria developer Robert “Jake” Jacob, who died last year.

Takach is waiting on approval of a waterway lease from the Oregon Department of State Lands before the transaction closes.

“I think it’s arguably an irreplaceable asset,” Takach said, noting development of the hotel took more than a decade.

Takach said he meets with Vesta’s acquisition team every Friday to review hotels for sale across the United States. Currently, the company owns 12 hotels, but that could change, he said.

“It’s a good time to sell,” he said.

Notably, the company has avoided the crowded hospitality market in Portland’s Central City. Takach described Portland’s hotel market as “in one word: scary.”

More than 1,900 hotel rooms are in development or under construction in central Portland, including the 600-room Hyatt Regency at the Oregon Convention Center, the 486-room Toyoko Inn, the 251-room Ritz-Carlton at Block 216, the 170-room Hyatt Place in the Pearl District, the 250-room Hyatt Unbound and the 179-room Moxy.

“As an industry, we try to do this to ourselves every few years,” Takach said of the rapid expansion.

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An audit of the Portland Building rehabilitation project released Wednesday by city Auditor Mary Hull Caballero found a lack of transparency in the project’s budget amid a 10 percent cost increase. In addition, the audit faults the city for failing to distribute nearly $1 million in funding set aside for minority contractors and falling short of meeting certain goals and aspirations set for the project.

The massive renovation is forecast to be completed ahead of schedule, but costs have grown to an estimated $214 million, 10 percent more than the initial $195 million budget. The design/build/relocate team of Howard S. Wright and DLR Group began work on the three-year project in late 2017.

According to , the project team in late 2016 began eliminating elements from the scope of work in order to stay within the allotted $195 million budget. Those exclusions included tenant improvements on two and a half floors of office space and a first-floor child care center, as well as furnishings and technology equipment. Four months later, the project team began requesting funding to add back those exclusions as separate projects outside the given budget. While the project team was open about the individual funding requests, the audit finds, it was not transparent about the cumulative cost of the add-backs and the resulting escalation of the overall project cost.

The audit also found that the city has yet to disburse about $950,000 in project dollars set aside for equity grants aimed at addressing historical inequities in contracting and improving workforce diversity. In July 2016, City Council approved setting aside $1 million, about 1 percent of the project’s hard construction costs, to be dispersed periodically throughout the project in support of disadvantaged subcontractors and workers. Aside from a $50,000 contribution in late 2018 to a Metro workforce study, no other community benefits grants have been awarded.

A grant opportunity announced in April 2018, using funds from the Portland Building project and two other city projects, drew 39 applications, including 12 Portland Building-specific proposals. Despite available funds and interested applicants, the audit states, the city’s Office of Management and Finance did not award any funds as scheduled by October 2018, and as of the end of the calendar year had not communicated with applicants about the status of their applications or informed them as to why the grants were not awarded.

While the project is on track to meet minimum requirements – including elimination of moisture penetration, seismic upgrades and HVAC replacement – the audit found that discussions were not held with City Council or the project’s oversight committee about what has been done to reach beyond minimum requirements to achieve advanced goals and aspirations set forth in the project charter. Examples provided in the audit include aspirations and goals likely to not be met in the building’s accessibility, sustainability and historic preservation.

A response to the audit issued by Mayor Ted Wheeler and Tom Rinehart, the city’s Chief Administrative Officer, states that the project team has been open about items proposed outside of the budget, and that furnishings, technology equipment and child care center build-out were never part of the project scope. Also, the response states, the undisbursed equity funds will be released once the Community Opportunity and Enhancement Program is established through Prosper Portland, as directed by City Council.

The audit is a follow-up to a 2016 report issued under Caballero while the project was still in its planning stage. That report predicted that the project scope could narrow because of the city placing constraints on the project’s timeline and budget, leaving the scope the only project element open for flexibility.

The Auditor’s office will follow up in one year with recommendations made in the audit. Also, a separate audit of the construction contract is under way, with results due to be reported later this year.

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When voters within the Beaverton School District in 2014 approved a $680 million bond measure – the largest school bond in Oregon history – district officials knew they had a huge task in front of them. To simplify that effort, one of their first decisions was to use one design for four new elementary schools.

DLR Group worked with the school district and the city of Beaverton to create a suitable design. Emerio Design and other firms also contributed to the effort, and now Kirby Nagelhout Construction is serving as general contractor. Crews have already built three of the schools – Sato, Vose and Hazeldale – and are now working on the fourth.

William Walker Elementary School is rising at 2350 S.W. Cedar Hills Blvd., slightly west of Oregon Route 217. It will replace a building demolished last summer, and offer 87,200 square feet – enough to accommodate up to 750 students, according to the district – on two stories.

“This is the fourth and last of a prototype build,” Beaverton School District project manager Megan Finch said. “(The previous building) was pretty much the original 1950s structure. There weren’t any sort of standards with the buildings (then), and we have a lot of variety, which is sort of hard to manage. So, one of the good things about these protos is that the maintenance is way easier. When you have a problem in one building you can bet it’s going to pop up in the others, so you take care of the others before it happens.”

The bulk of the classroom space will be on the upper floor, allowing use of skylights and ceiling-to-floor windows to let in substantial daylight and increase energy efficiency. A highly efficient thermal wheel, also known as a rotary heat exchanger, is being employed for the HVAC system to reduce energy costs even more.

“They’re beautifully bright (classroom) spaces, which I think is really helpful for the students,” Finch said. “It helps improve test scores, it improves learning, and it makes the environment better to be in, in my opinion.”

Currently, construction of William Walker is taking place in four main zones. In sector A, which will house special education classrooms and administrative space, interior metal-framed walls are in place and rough-in is in progress. Sector B includes the commons, cafeteria and gymnasium area; there, all the roof joists are in place and roof decking now covers the space. In sector C, crews are finishing erection of structural steel and installation of steel decking in preparation for the second-story concrete deck pour. Sector D, which will host mechanical and electrical rooms and other back-of-house functions, is roofed, framed and mostly roughed-in.

Also, massive concrete footings are being poured and additional formwork is being constructed for a 10,000-square-foot outdoor, covered play area.

The school district also is partnering with the Tualatin Hills Park & Recreation District on the project, due to the adjacent Cedar Hills Park. There, a new synthetic turf field and other amenities are being finished and will be made available to the school district. In return, the William Walker playground will be open to the public when school is not in session.

“And that’s really a thing for the whole community,” Finch said. “That park wasn’t really developed, and so they’ve put a bunch of improvements in there – bathrooms, (space for) different activities, volleyball, a splash pad and of course a synthetic turf field. It’s going to be quite an improvement.”

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Marriott International has recognized national design firm DLR Group as the best interior design firm of 2018 for its work with the hospitality giant.

The Design Excellence Award was presented to DLR Group representatives last month at a conference in San Diego.

“It’s an immense honor to have the largest hotelier in the world value our design contributions,” DLR Group Global Hospitality Leader Tom Mitchell stated in a press release. “As a longtime collaborator with Marriott, our team feels incredibly humbled by and grateful for this distinction.”

The award is given to one firm annually and recognizes the hospitality design work carried out for Marriott’s “classic” and “distinctive” select brands.

DLR Group’s Hospitality Studio has designed Marriott brand hotels from coast to coast, including a Moxy Hotel in Portland. It will be located at 585 S.W. 10th Ave., on approximately a quarter of a block that formerly held a surface parking lot and food carts. Construction permits for the 12-story, 197-room hotel are currently under review. Minneapolis-based Graves Hospitality is the property owner and developer of the project, which is being built by general contractor Howard S. Wright, a Balfour Beatty Company.

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to reflect the status of the Moxy Hotel project.

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The crown jewel of Greater Albany Public Schools‘ $159 million capital bond is now entering the construction phase, and general contractor Gerding Builders is seeking sub-bids for all scopes of work.

The start of a full rebuild of West Albany High School calls for 108,000 square feet of new construction. The school, built in 1953, will gain an auxiliary gym, a commercial kitchen, a cafeteria with a commons area, eight new classrooms and an administrative wing.

The addition, designed by DLR Group, will be located to the south of the existing high school. It will also include a new bus drop-off area, a separate parental drop-off area, additional parking, relocated tennis courts and a relocated shot put area for track and field.

Renovations include modifications to the existing stadium storage areas into new team rooms; modifications to the existing gymnasium roof, ceiling and HVAC system; a renovated restroom; and connections to the existing school.

Voters in May 2017 approved the bond measure for updates and improvements of school district facilities. The state of Oregon later awarded the district a $6.9 million capital construction matching grant, and because of that the district chose to sell only $152 million in bonds. Then favorable bond sales provided $28.5 million more to boost the total bond program to $187 million.

The estimated costs for the West Albany project rose as high as $62 million, the Albany Democrat-Herald reported in August. But value engineering dropped that figure by roughly $11.4 million.

Construction is scheduled to start in April and finish in time to accommodate the start of the school year in fall 2020.

All bids connected with this project are due by 2 p.m. on Jan. 23. Prospective bidders can learn more by emailing Mark Steinauer of Gerding Builders at marks@gerdingbuilders.com.

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Two years after voters in the Gresham-Barlow School District approved a $291 million capital construction bond, construction work is in full swing on several of the district’s large projects.

Major expansions are taking place at Gresham and Sam Barlow high schools, while North Gresham Elementary and East Gresham Elementary schools are being entirely rebuilt.

Both elementary schools are being constructed using concrete tilt walls, which workers were busy installing last week at East Gresham Elementary School. Carpenters and laborers with general contractor Bremik Construction teamed with crews from NessCampbell Crane + Rigging to hoist the concrete panels into place.

Bremik Construction broke ground on the project last March and remains on schedule to finish the new two-story campus with capacity for 500 students in time for the start of the 2019-20 school year. The project will replace the original school, which opened in 1954, with a new 76,000-square-foot facility containing 24 classrooms, seven specialized learning rooms and several flex spaces for learning and collaboration. A media center, music room, cafeteria, covered outdoor play space, gymnasium and parking will also be included.

“Right now we’re just tilting the concrete panels and walls,” said Grant Lang, Bremik’s project superintendent. “We’re welding the panels to the footings and together and we’re setting up steel.”

In addition to wall installation, crews are busy prepping to install joists, decking, and wide-flange beams for the building’s second floor.

Subcontractors working on the project last week included Volt Electric, Steel Erectors Northwest Inc., A-Line Concrete Cutting, Goodfellow Bros. Inc., and Unobtanium Ironworks.

The project was designed by DLR Group, and Cornerstone Management is performing construction management.

The new campus will meet four design imperatives set forth by the district, including an improved learning environment with modern classroom and learning spaces, improved daylight and HVAC systems, modern safety and security improvements with secured entry to playfields, playground and the school itself, and improved community interaction with the building.

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