this is a discussion group that's very dangerous for PDX'ers. Its a tight knit community here......everyone knows everyone.......knows who we are on archinect also. you're not likely to get name throwing here.

You've pretty much hit all the better firms in town. Another one worth looking into is Bolighus www.bolighus.com

Vizwerks also, if you're into trade show/marketing/packaging stuff. I think Oshatz has passed away? Never heard of him other than the website.

firm 151 also if you can find anything, very small....but probably worth a look you never know.

there was a discussion titled portland,OR a couple weeks ago.....tons of entries.

if you search the discussions for portland, you can find the previous discussion.. it's mostly about culture, cost of living, and housing stuff.

I think vizwerks went out of business.

some quick opinions on some of the others..

allied works - probably the only nationally known architecture firm top notch stuff

boora - big hire and fire type of place

DOWA - mostly schools, medium sized firm

Holst - good reputation around town, medium sized, higher design quotient than average

Sienna - used to do a lot of mixed use housing, still has that and also does Fred Meyers, I have heard it's a good medium sized place to work

Skylab - very small 2 people, I think. Good work.

TVA - medium sized. Did the Nike campus. Corporate modernism, but fairly interesting, and I heard they're hiring.

ZGF - big corporate type firm.

all those are just personal opinions, I'm sure there are lots of people who would give you more positive/negative opinions. I've never worked for any of those firms, but have interviewed at several and know people that have worked/work at many of them.

vizworks is not out of business

thanks people. every little bit helps. are any of these firms open to drop-ins/tours? i've had mixed results with this in the past -info interviews seemed to have died with the dot com bubble- but i'd like to find out as much as possible before i waste both parties' time interviewing at the wrong firm.

i've grown to understand the incestous circles that prevail in each locale. when i was working in KC, i don't remember ever looking at web or newspaper based ads. everything was WOM. Boston's similar, but the constant influx of fresh meat due to the numerous Arch schools in the region helps a bit.

i'm also keeping an eye on the housing forum on the pdx-craigslist site. i'd like to cross-post a neighborhood question that i'm querying brokers: what neighborhood/area has the best longterm rental market? nike/intel yuppies out in beaverton and hillsboro, specifically orenco or murrayhill neighborhoods? or n.portland up to st johns blue collar neighborhoods?

thanks again.
.mango out.

I'm no real estate expert but st. johns seems like it's a little under the radar still so you might be able to snag some deals. However Orenco isn't horrendously expensive (yet) and you can ride Max to work 9assuming you work downtown, which is where most of the firms you listed are at), I don't know what the bus is like from st. johns.

That would pretty much be my list of firms for Portland.

Where's Orenco? How far away from downtown is it?

Orenco station is in hillsboro, probably around 30-45 mins to downtown on the max. I live in n portland, (not st. johns) and it's awesome. My neighboorhood is close-in, max accessible, and has a pretty vital area of restaurants and shops. Unfortunately, it's becoming more expensive, but I don't think rentals are that unreasonable, and I know there are other areas in nopo that are still affordable and reasonably close to the max line, which would

a. be a shorter max ride to downtown

b. be in the city. if you want to live in the burbs go to orenco station. if you want to live in town, try nopo

St. johns would be a little inconvenient, but after looking at the trimet website it looks like it would be around 15 shorter a ride than hillsboro.

I think st. johns value will improve more than the hillsboro/beaverton area, it has a good stock of homes and commercial areas, not just tgifriday's and the gap. That said, I may have some bias.

I'm interested in working at AWA this coming summer... can anyone share experiences or thoughts? i have a suspicion that they lose the more desirable projects to their new york office? where does brad do most of his work? thanks.

avoid boora and zgf like the plague.
zgf had a number of people jumping ship due to internal issues.

It seems like the job market was on fire (for Portland at least) last year. Any word about how it is now and what it might be like for in the near future? And if Mangus_m is around... how do you like Portland?!

Astrokel,

First off where are you now?

While it may not be as hot today as it was last summer, the current market still seems strong. The constant influx of Californians and the housing needed to accommodate them is keeping the city busy. The studio I run has had more difficulty finding the talent needed to perform the work than the work itself - not that I'm complaining.

I'm really enjoying Portland. It's exciting to be a part of it's transformation. It's not Boston or San Fran in terms of vibrancy or cultural amenities, but it's far better than any other city in the nation of comparable demographics.

I received a lot of assistance from this forum, both before and after arriving here, so I'd be more than happy to pay the goodwill I received forward. Feel free to contact me directly at mangus.web at gmail.com.

The firms really doing nice work in Portland, imho, and I know this first hand, are:

Allied Works - they do beautiful, nationally respected work. It's a bit reductive for my taste. But a lot of their big projects are designed in the Portland office. Nice office space, really smart and talented people.

Skylab - Really up and coming. They've grown quite a bit in the last couple of years, and will continue to grow. Jeff Koval also develops some of his own projects.

Holst - Some of the best new projects in Portland. John Holmes is a very nice guy, too.

Opsis - nice modern work with a sustainable focus. Cool office. I've heard that two of the three partners are heavy handed and make life hard for the employees.

WPA - I've heard good things about them, but hard to find online.

architecturew (www.architecturew.com) - very nice work. They also have an office in Japan, where most of their projects are. I think in Portland it's just one or two people.

Now for a few negatives:

Colab - the couple of times I've been in there, it felt very weird and oppresive. The work is kind of Columbia in the mid-nineties.

GBD - They're connected to a couple of the big Portland developers, and the office is apparently super-cutthroat. I know a guy who was fired for expressing an opinion contrary to one of the partners.

Sera - Has done some kind of hideous buildings around town.

The other firms on your list, generally, are friendly Northwestern corporate. Not exceptional, but not terrible either.

Other Portland info:

The food culture in Portland is pretty amazing for a city of its size. Wonderful restaurants.

More strip-clubs per capita than any other city in the nation.

Powell's is the single greatest bookstore on earth.

By the way, Portlanders don't just tell people it rains all the time. It really does -- if you're moving here, plan on five STRAIGHT months of rain, from overcast drizzle to downpours. No joke. You will wake up in month three cursing God for inventing water and you'll dream about parched deserts. It takes a uniquely cheery person to handle it. Summers are generally beautiful, though.

The Football team is known as the Ducks....and the reason for that is their real good swimmers....on the field.

Portland comes up as #1 city when I make my preference to be as far from sports nuts as possible on www.findyourspot.com And for that reason I want to move there.

So what's the deal with ArchitectureW? This is the first time I've heard about them, but I feel their stuff. Nagoya, Tokyo, Portland. Are they UO grads?

ArchitectureW is pretty nice, bt I must criticize. There is a house that is listed as "thermally heated" as opposed to...? Maybe they meant geothermally?

Anyway, when's the big shift to Portland?

Any opinions about what are the firms that are not only doing good work but are good to work for?

btt.

Nothing more on ArchitectureW?

architecture w is brian white in portland and micheal weenick in japan, both nice guys. brian went to school in tennessee and st. louis. his house that he remodeled was featured in dwell a couple of years ago and is nice.

very thoughtful firm, small not a lot of employment opportunities