Following our previous visit to New York-based Valerie Schweitzer Architects, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Portland, OR this week to explore the work of LEVER Architecture.

Founded in 2009, the firm has become recognized for its innovative use of mass timber, including designing the first building made from US-produced cross-laminated timber with Albina Yard in Portland. Previously, our editorial has featured the firm’s report developed with Atelier Ten which sought to combat common myths about mass timber construction, in addition to its participation in the world’s tallest full-scale building earthquake test in San Diego which featured a 10-story building made of cross-laminated timber.

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for several positions at their Portland studio. For candidates interested in applying for the position, or anybody interested in learning more about the firm’s output, we have rounded up five projects featuring timber by LEVER Architecture that exemplify the firm’s ethos.

Albina Yard, Portland, OR

A 16,000-square-foot office building in North Portland, Albina Yards is the first building in the US to be made of US-produced cross-laminated timber. The project’s glue-laminated timber frame and CLT panels were manufactured and prefabricated in Riddle, OR, with the goal of “paving the way for broader market adoption of renewable mass timber construction technologies in Portland and the US.”

“At the street level, the floor plan is organized around activating a small l-shaped infill site in a mixed residential/light industrial neighborhood,” the team explains. “The side-loaded structural core connects the public entry to a day-lit CLT egress stair that opens onto a private south-facing courtyard. The retail space also connects to the street with a café/bar adjacent to the courtyard space. The upper floors have expansive views of Mt. Hood and downtown Portland, and are also divisible into four smaller units.”

L’Angolo Estate Winery, Newberg, OR

A family-owned winery on a 23-acre site, L’Angolo Estate Winery seeks to create a tasting room experience that “reflects the family’s approach to winemaking—a direct expression of the Oregon soils and climate without embellishment.” The resulting scheme is inspired by broad-canopied Oregon oak trees with two cantilevering roof structures interlocking at the point of arrival to the tasting room.

“The public space opens to the vineyard and valley to the north, south, and east with a structural wood glazing system,” the team explains. “Two large sliding doors centered on the tasting room bar bring the vineyard into the space but also serve as a passive cooling system in the summer when used with the upper clerestory windows. The material palette is limited to Douglas Fir, exterior cedar siding, and dark anodized aluminum.”

Union Way, Portland, OR

Union Way saw the renovation of two 5,000-square-foot properties in Portland, OR. Serving as an “urban connector” between two streets, the scheme is anchored by a day-lit covered passage, inspired by small, shop-lined alleys and passageways found in Paris and Tokyo. At the entry, meanwhile, the building enclosure is set back 20 feet at each street to form a large vestibule framed by cantilevered gates that fold back during the day.

"The walls are clad with FSC-certified Pacific Albus siding farm grown three hours outside of Portland, and delivered from the forest to our fabricator for installation on site,” the team explains. “Twelve new skylights reinforce a visual connection that blurs the boundaries between interior and exterior. Large framed openings and high clerestory windows form a rhythm along the interior façade to balance the interior light levels in the shops and restaurant.”

Creative Studio and Campus, Glendale, CA

The Creative Studio and Campus saw the transformation of an 85,000-square-foot Cold War-era aerospace factory and surrounding industrial landscape into a digital animation studio and campus for a large entertainment company. The resulting scheme sees the parking between two existing buildings repurposed as a tree-lined promenade, which links a series of “outdoor rooms and patios” to a large central wooden deck. The deck, which serves as a central campus common space, provides direct access to shared campus amenities including a cafe and fitness center.

“As the location and placement of the openings in the roof and walls of the existing structure were limited, extensive daylight modeling was conducted to inform an optimized placement of openings and focus the light in the building common spaces,” the team explains. “A large day-lit common space and adjoining gallery spaces receive the most natural light, while workspaces receive more controlled indirect clerestory northern light. To alleviate the scale of the single-story building, primary internal circulation is continuous through the building and terminates at views of the newly composed landscape.”

Adidas North American Headquarters, Portland, OR

Honored at the 2022 Wood Design Awards, the Adidas North American Headquarters comprises two new buildings on the company’s existing campus, designed in collaboration with Studio O+A. One building, titled the Gold Building, sees a six-story glass-curtain facade covering a structural system of pre-cast concrete columns and girders, glulam beams, and CLT panels. The second building, named the Performance Zone, comprises a 31,000-square-foot wellness facility constructed of the same structure with an interior accentuated by stadium-esque wayfinding and self-referential design motifs such as sneaker patterns and fabrics taken from the Adidas archive.

“The placement of the two buildings around a new central sports plaza transforms the existing plaza into a more cohesive campus landscape, strengthens connectivity internally between the existing buildings, and alters the landscape connections to the adjoining residential neighborhood,” the firm explains. “The project is inspired by the dynamism of small-stadium environments where spectators and players engage in an active dialogue. The architecture of the two buildings connects creative work, community, and sport.”

Meet Your Next Employer is one of a number of ongoing weekly series showcasing the opportunities available on our industry-leading job board. Our Job Highlights series looks at intriguing and topical employment opportunities currently available on Archinect Jobs, while our weekly roundups curate job opportunities by location, career level, and job description.