Larry Ferar was beginning to consider retiring from the Portland design firm he founded that focuses on wineries and distilleries. He needed a landing spot for his longtime employees.

Principals at Soderstrom Architects, who have known Ferar for more than 30 years, saw an opportunity to bring in work that would diversify their firm’s portfolio. They began talking, and let the idea ferment. As of Jan. 2, a blend was made.

Laurence Ferar and Associates is no more, but Soderstrom agreed to take on five employees, including three architects. The practice is now known as Ferar Studio.

“They’ve been financially a very viable company over the last decades that they’ve been in business, and they bring to our market-sector mix a whole different clientele, which I think adds stability to both companies as the economy ebbs and flows,” said Dan Van Calcar, managing principal at Soderstrom.

“They also have a very similar design approach to us,” Van Calcar added.

With the addition of Ferar’s people, Soderstrom now has 44 employees.

Larry Ferar first worked with Cameron Hyde, a founding partner of Soderstrom Architects, in the early 1980s while designing Beaumont Middle School. Ferar went on to start his own firm, and shifted focus to wineries beginning with a project for Adelsheim Vineyard in Newberg. Ferar met the Adelsheims when his wife taught their daughter.

Ferar & Associates ended up designing six phases of various expansions as Adelsheim Vineyard grew along with the popularity of Oregon pinot noir. Ferar and Associates went on to design numerous other wineries and tasting rooms, including Alexana and Van Duzer. Also, the firm was responsible for a master plan and conceptual design for RĂ©sonance Vineyard.

The work has expanded beyond Oregon’s wine country to Canada and New Zealand, and consulting on winery designs in China and England. Larry Ferar has also worked as a consultant with Olson Kundig of Seattle.

For its Oregon projects, Ferar Studio often works with Andrew Scott Construction in McMinnville.

Ferar Studio also designs distilleries, an area where Reed Lewis, an architect who became Ferar’s first employee in 1988, has expertise. The firm designed Clear Creek Distillery in Portland, among others. Those projects have become a larger portion of the studio’s portfolio.

“Clearly there’s a growing interest in distilleries and distilled products,” Lewis said.

Distilleries must be designed according to strict building codes because of high-proof alcohol’s volatility.

Ferar and Associates’ first winery projects were for production facilities only. That meant an industrial feel, with space for barrels and crush pads. But in recent years, wineries have placed more emphasis on tasting rooms and special events spaces. Vintners and distillers typically clear a higher profit on wine and spirits sold in-house rather than in off-site stores or bars.

For wineries, the emphasis on tasting rooms contributes to a growing desire to connect visitors with the agricultural environment. Larry Ferar believes his firm has designed more wineries than any other local firm, but competition in the market may be growing.

Waechter Architecture was hired by Furioso Vineyards in Dundee to design a tasting room and winery. It opened last summer, and received two American Institute of Architects awards – one from the Portland chapter and one from the Northwest and Pacific Region.

“We like that project in the sense that to do a successful winery project, you don’t have to have done an enormous amount of these projects before,” said Ben Waechter, principal architect. “You just have to be a good architect.”

The Furioso design used a concrete base and a fully transparent glass tasting room.

“We view our jobs as architects to distill information and to come up with a clear and concise design,” Waechter said. “We rely on experts to tell us what makes a good winery or what makes a good production facility, and we use that criteria to come up with a good design.”

Fieldwork Design and Architecture was also honored in 2018 by AIA Portland for the design of Day Wines in Dundee.

Development of new wineries tends to be countercyclical to economic trends, Ferar said. In downturns, wealthy individuals look for hard assets like real estate and can get more for their money in design and construction.

Soderstrom’s new winery studio adds to its legacy that began in 1984. The firm’s principals were involved in the creation of Pioneer Courthouse Square. Subsequently, the firm has focused on work for schools, local government buildings and health care providers. Soderstrom has a long relationship with the University of Portland, and has designed several buildings on the North Portland campus.

Larry Ferar, who started with a studio in his garage on Corbett Avenue, said he plans to retire within the next several years. Ferar Studio is currently working on designs for Abbott Claim Vineyard near Carlton, Portland Wine Co. – known for its Love & Squalor brand – and a winery in Kentucky.

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for a proposal to replace an existing 118-year-old single-family residence at the corner of North Vancouver Avenue and Beech Street with a new four-story commercial building.

Applicant Brannon Soens of Fieldwork Design & Architecture is seeking approval for construction of a new 19,796-square-foot building at 121 N. Beech St., in Portland’s Boise neighborhood. Willamette Stone and Beech Street Land Partners LLC are the property owners and project developers.

The property’s market value was $364,500 in 2017, but city records show it was purchased for $810,000 in January 2018.

The design calls for three levels of office space above ground-floor retail space. The building would be set back approximately 7 feet from the nearest property to the east.

Metal and glass are proposed for the building. Ground-level tenant entries are proposed along Vancouver Avenue and Beech Street.

The applicant intends to transfer 2,000 square feet of floor area from a historic property located within two miles of the site, allowing a total post-transfer floor area of 20,000 square feet.

Public comments on the proposal are being accepted by Portland’s Bureau of Development Services through Sept. 17. In the meantime, the land use review for the application remains open.

A design review hearing has not been scheduled yet.

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Meyer Memorial Trust will build a new headquarters in Albina, with site preparation and construction to begin in late 2018, the organization announced.

The trust, one of Portland’s most prominent nonprofits, in January purchased an industrial lot at 2045 N. Vancouver Ave. for $4.96 million. The 25,000-square-foot parcel has been the site of Sergeants Towing since 1995.

Local developer Project^ will develop the new headquarters, and Fieldwork Design & Architecture will design the building, which is expected to be about 20,000 square feet.

The project will involve demolishing the existing cinder block and metal sheet structure, but timber supports inside will be “creatively used” in the new design, according to a news release. Initial plans call for a three-story structure.

A Fieldwork partner referred questions about the project to the nonprofit.

Meyer Memorial Trust CEO Doug Stamm acknowledged in a news release Albina’s history of urban renewal and gentrification that drove out many of the neighborhood’s African-American residents. The organization pledged to be “a good neighbor.”

“As new neighbors, we look forward to supporting efforts by many people and organizations, including the Albina Vision Trust, to ensure that as Albina evolves toward an exciting future, it remains an affordable, thriving and diverse central city community,” Stamm stated.

Many of Meyer Memorial Trust’s employees live in North and Northeast Portland, according to the news release.

The Vancouver Avenue property is near Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, Ex Novo Brewing and a CrossFit gym. It’s also close to the Hill Block, a vacant lot owned by Legacy Health that is under consideration for redevelopment by the hospital group and Prosper Portland.

Meyer Memorial Trust will move from its existing, 11,000-square-foot leased office at 425 N.W. 10th St. in the Pearl District. The organization, with 42 employees, anticipates moving into the new Albina office in early 2020.

The Albina property was purchased with money from the nonprofit’s endowment. The organization is considering financing options for the design and construction phases. The property is zoned central employment, with a design overlay (EX-d).

Meyer Memorial Trust has $800 million in assets, and donates to a wide range of causes, including preservation of affordable housing, restoration of the Willamette River watershed and support of rural museums.

In February, Meyer Memorial Trust announced Michelle J. DePass will succeed Stamm as CEO on April 30.

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The annual Portland Winter Light Festival will brighten the city Feb. 1-3. While the bulk of the displays will be set up at the traditional site near the Oregon Museum of Science and Industry (OMSI), exhibits will be scattered among three other locations in Portland.

Local architects play a big role in creating many of the festival’s displays. This year, Fieldwork Design & Architecture, ZGF Architects, Walker Macy, Waterleaf Architecture, Interiors & Planning and the team of Holst Architecture and 2.ink Studio will be involved in a variety of exhibits. Two works are Flamethrower Chandelier by Ryan Ramage, and a 50-foot-tall steel, flame-shooting dragon by Ivan McLean.

Besides the main displays at OMSI, other works will be at the World Trade Center/PGE headquarters, Salmon Springs Fountain, North Park Blocks and Cathedral Park. Admittance is free.

Also, the Portland Spirit and Sternwheeler will provide free rides, and a variety of artists will deliver story readings and performances.

Learn more about the festival at .

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