Archinect - News

LEVER and Atelier Ten seek to ‘debunk four mass timber myths’

2023-04-06T12:08:00-04:00

Portland/Los Angeles-based LEVER Architecture has published a new report in collaboration with engineering firm Atelier Ten addressing what the authors call “common myths about mass timber construction.” The report, in which the firms describe and debunk four myths related to mass timber, hopes to “promote a more nuanced discussion in the industry to truly capture the potential wood has to offer.”

The first myth addressed by the report is that “mass timber buildings are carbon neutral.” The team note that while mass timber construction can be an important pathway toward carbon neutrality, other critical factors need to be considered. In particular, the team warns that many aspects of a building’s life cycle are often not captured in analyses on carbon neutrality giving an “incomplete picture of the carbon footprint.”

For design teams seeking to achieve a carbon-neutral building, the report s...

Glass curtain wall begins to wrap around LEVER Architecture's hybrid mass timber building in Los Angeles

2022-08-10T14:38:00-04:00

LEVER Architecture’s 843 N Spring Street is nearing completion as new images have been released depicting its glass curtain wall going up on the hybrid mass timber office building.

Located directly across from LA’s Chinatown Metro stop, the 145,000-square-foot, five-story building is set to be one of the first major Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) office buildings in Los Angeles. It comprises roughly 82,000 square feet of 3- and 5-ply CLT panels and concrete topping slab, with exposed steel columns and beams. In addition, exposed timber panels cantilever over the balconies.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by LEVER Architecture (@leverarchitecture)

According to LEVER, this approach has resulted in an estimated reduction of 1,357 metric tons of carbon compared to traditional building methods, the equivalent of keeping 287 cars off the road for a year.

Joining the building’s office space is 7,000 square feet of street-level and second-floor retail space. It ...

Take a first look inside Adidas' new North American Headquarters

2022-05-25T18:13:00-04:00

When it premiered last fall, LEVER’s new building for the Adidas North American Headquarters in Oregon was talked about as a potential game-changer for an industry still struggling to find answers about the future of workplace design. Celebrated as one of the most inspiring corporate office concepts in recent memory, the effort was included in the 2022 Wood Design Awards and recently got the profile treatment from FastCompany.

Photo: Jeremy Bittermann.

In collaboration with San Francisco's Studio O+A, LEVER was able to erect two new buildings on the apparel giant’s existing Adidas Village campus just north of Downtown Portland in University Park.

Photo: Jeremy Bittermann.

One, a six-story glass-curtain facade design called the Gold Building, features a variety of collaborative work considerations such as flexible workstations, a café, and several maker spaces contained within what the firm deems as a “unique hybrid structural system” composed of pre-cast concrete columns and girders, ...

LEVER Architecture to design new home for Portland State University's School of Art + Design

2022-04-13T14:15:00-04:00

Portland, Oregon-based design firm LEVER Architecture has been selected to design a new space for Portland State University’s School of Art + Design. LEVER was selected from a group of 11 firms competing for the project.

The multiple-award-winning firm, which was recently named the Jury’s Choice winner in the 2022 Wood Design Awards for their work on the Adidas North American Headquarters, has designed an array of innovative projects that also include Meyer Memorial Trust, the Artists Repertory Theater renovation, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. LEVER is known for its use of mass timber as a sustainable building material, its research focus, and its client-centered design approach.

“Portland State is thrilled to be working with LEVER on this important new building for our campus,” said Portland State University President Stephen Percy. “The new home for the School of Art + Design will serve as a beacon for the important role our creative community plays in the Po...

LEVER Architecture's 843 N Spring Street is set to be one of the largest Cross-Laminated Timber buildings in Los Angeles

2022-01-06T14:04:00-05:00

A 5-story, 122,000 office and retail building, set to be one of the largest Cross-Laminated Timber (CLT) buildings in Los Angeles, is taking shape. For 843 N Spring Street, this month continues the installation of what will be 82,000 square feet of CLT panels in the hybrid timber structure designed by LEVER Architecture, developed by Redcar LTD, and built by Shawmut Design and Construction. Its tiered vertical garden courtyard was designed by landscape architecture firm James Corner Field Operations.

843 N Spring Street is described as an “environmentally forward-thinking new office prototype.” The building combines office spaces and the outdoors through open-air circulation spaces, a rooftop deck, and balconies. Integrating a former two-story indoor market, it features a rooftop PV array, over 200 bike stalls and EV charging stations, and biophilic materials. The site’s landscaping is irrigated by a 15,000 gallon cistern that captures onsite rain water. According to a press releas...

LEVER Architecture unveils designs for a new mass timber structure in LA's Chinatown

2021-07-16T12:59:00-04:00

A former shopping center near downtown Los Angeles is getting a makeover thanks to an innovative new design that promises to take CLT building to brand new levels.

LEVER Architecture is bringing mass timber construction to LA's Chinatown with a sizeable new office building that will add four new levels to an existing 1990s commercial structure to create an oasis in a high-density urban setting.

Image courtesy of James Corner Field Operations

The 145,000-square-foot structure aims to push boundaries for the building material that is rapidly growing in popularity thanks to its reputation for safety and sustainability. Lever’s design layers a series of open-air spaces throughout the building in an attempt to connect users to the outdoors thanks to a landscape from Field Operations. The naturalistic element is further enhanced by a tiered internal courtyard garden that provides sectional variety and takes its visual cues from the Bradbury Building and New York’s Oneonta Gorge.

Image co...

Lever Architecture among recipients of the USDA's Wood Innovations Grant for material innovation and exploration

2021-05-14T12:50:00-04:00

Portland-based LEVER Architecture is known for its work with material innovation, specifically cross-laminated timber (CLT) and mass timber construction. Founded by Thomas Robinson in 2009, the practice has received much notoriety and was recognized as one of the Architectural League of New York's Emerging Voices in 2017. Since then, the practice has developed impressive mass timber projects and restorations such as the Oregon Conservation Center, Redfox Commons, and Albina Yard, their first US building made from domestically produced CLT.

Funding from the grant will aid the firm in its collaborative project Forest to Frame: An Architecture of Resilient Forestry. In partnership with Sustainable Northwest and Ecotrust, the project will be a web-based platform for "researching and tracking regional wood products that will meet the building industry's changing needs, as well as a tool to better understand the forestry practices associated with these products," shares the firm.

Redfox C...