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With 2018 slowly coming to a close, firms are prepping for the new year. This week Archinect has picked west coast-based firms who are still searching for the perfect candidate to join their team. Ranging from four major cities along the west coast, check out firms hiring in San Francisco, Los... View full entry
As legalized marijuana begins to sweep the U.S, the rapidly expanding cannabis industry has ushered in a new era of high-design shops trading out tie-dye and Grateful Dead tees for smoking devices that look straight out of an Apple store and products wrapped in designs by Pentagram. Electric... View full entry
In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture decided to run a pilot program to support two tall wood demonstration projects in order to test the potential of the increasingly popular building material. The first was a 10-story residential tower in Chelsea designed by SHoP. The second, a 12-story... View full entry
Portland's urban renewal agency has named three finalists to shape the redevelopment of the soon-to-be-vacated downtown post office blocks.
Not among them: a headline-grabbing but unlikely proposal for two massive skyscrapers, the taller of which would be nearly twice the height of any existing building in Portland.
— oregonlive.com
Prosper Portland has selected 3 finalists for the 14 acre post office site located in the heart of the city: McWhinney, Related Cos., and Continuum Partners. It comes as no surprise that William Kaven's two tower proposal was not selected. Broadway Corridor total development site of 32 acres... View full entry
Designed by Michael Graves, the pioneering Portland Building is at once considered to be a postmodern icon as well as the "ugliest building in Oregon". A rectangular block of four, heavily ornamented, salmon and turquoise facades, the building can easily be likened to a small, fancy French... View full entry
William Kaven Architecture have just released additional renderings of the firm's redevelopment proposal for Portland's Broadway Corridor, giving a more complete picture of their broader scheme. In addition to the initial release of Portland's tallest towers last November, the firm has now... View full entry
Architect Robert Frasca, FAIA, founding design partner of Zimmer Gunsul Frasca Architects (ZGF) and an influential figure on Portland and Oregon's architectural scene for several decades, has died on January 3 at the age of 84. ZGF has released the following obituary: It is with great sadness that... View full entry
This week, Donna and Ken are joined by Indianapolis architect and ARE Sketches author, Lora Teagarden. Lora is an architect with RATIO Architects and L^2 Design. On this podcast, we'll be discussing three news items from the website. First up is the controversy around the proposal for the... View full entry
William Kaven Architecture recently revealed their proposed design for the US Postal Site redevelopment project in downtown Portland, Oregon. Currently in the conceptual design stage, the firm has fleshed out major goals for Portland's central site. William Kaven have proposed a multi high rise... View full entry
"By investing in Framework, our city will now be home to the first skyscraper made from wood in the United States. This project not only reflects Oregon’s leadership in the newly emerging wood products industry of Cross Laminated Timber (CLT), it also demonstrates our city’s commitment to finding innovative ways to quickly deliver affordable units during our housing crisis,” said Portland Mayor, Ted Wheeler. — Portland Housing Bureau
LEVER Architecture's project, Framework, has been awarded 6M from the city of Portland as a recipient of the City's "Fast Starts" Affordable Housing Program. The program aims at providing financial and city level assistance in the development and deployment of affordable housing projects that aim... View full entry
“Whether there is or is not a Northwest regional style of architecture is debatable,” said John Yeon in 1986, “but what is certain is that lot of people want to think there is.” — Places Journal
In "A Fortuitous Shadow," Keith Eggener is inspired by the Portland Art Museum's recent exhibition on John Yeon's life and legacy to explore the concept of regionalism in architecture, beginning with the doubts expressed by the architect long associated with Pacific Northwest regional modernism. View full entry
One of the new luxury apartment buildings constructed in 1910 was the Belmont Court, on the city’s growing East Side. Plans called for a modern 24 unit-apartment building with a range of conveniences. More than a century later, the Belmont Court building still stands...According to Zillow, average apartment rents in Portland are about $1,600 per month. With studio apartments renting at just under $1,100 they’re not exactly cheap, but they cost less per square foot than newly built units. — CityObservatory
Drawing on research from housing blogger, Iain MacKenzie who runs Next Portland, Joe Cortright at CityObservatory shares some examples of affordable housing in Portland that had been considered luxury when originally constructed. The author argues that affordable housing has always been generated... View full entry
Launched in 1999, the inaugural Pickathon Music Festival was not so much a festival, but rather a small fundraiser for KBOO—a non-profit community radio station. Held in the woods nearby Portland, Oregon, the now annual summer event has grown into a sellout affair with lineups including Beach... View full entry
In each room, Ms. Gabe, tucked safely under an umbrella, could press a button that activated a sprinkler in the ceiling. The first spray sent a mist of sudsy water over walls and floor. A second spray rinsed everything. Jets of warm air blew it all dry. The full cycle took less than an hour. Runoff escaped through drains in Ms. Gabe’s almost imperceptibly sloping floors. It was channeled outside and straight through her doghouse, where the dog was washed in the bargain. — The New York Times
More than half a century ago, incensed by the housecleaning that was a woman’s chronic lot, Ms. Gabe began to dream of a house that would see to its own hygiene: tenderly washing, rinsing and drying itself at the touch of a button. Ms. Gabe built the self-cleaning house with her own hands and... View full entry
But it’s the tattoo that holds him. It runs from her wrist up her right arm, covering it wholly, and disappears into the shoulder of the dress, a complicated design in fresh, bright colors he cannot make out in a single glance. — Numéro Cinq
"Portland" is a short story about an architect, and an odd one. While set in Portland, Boullée's Cenotaph for Sir Isaac Newton is visited, along with an elaborate tattoo. Another excerpt: He is—or was—an architect for a large firm with a reputation in San Jose that has had several scores... View full entry