Changing the Future

AIA Portland and AIA Oregon look forward        to new offices in Portland’s Pearl District

By Amy Rose Davis

PORTLAND - Portland’s Pearl District will soon have new tenants.

AIA Portland and Oregon will begin construction in the former Josefsberg Gallery building at 11th and Flanders street with opening scheduled for late spring/early summer to tie in with the AIA 150th anniversary.

“In the 15 years we’ve been a chapter, we have grown substantially in numbers and in the types of services and offerings we have,” says Saundra Stevens, Hon. AIA and executive director of AIA Portland. “We’ve just outgrown our current space.”

The AIA chapter has set high standards for the new space. “Our goal is to make this building LEED platinum and be carbon neutral,” Stevens says.

“We want to build on the tremendous momentum generated in this industry by the 2030 Challenge,” she adds. “As architects, we have a responsibility to design buildings that meet the challenge, and we’re taking that very seriously as a community.”

In order to meet some of these goals, the AIA chapter hosted a series of public workshops and charrettes last year to gather input from chapter members and others in the industry. Guided by a steering committee of four and with the input of members from around the state, the chapter produced a building program that will meet its needs well into the future.

“Between the two charrettes and our open house kickoff event, we probably had about 300-400 members participate,” Stevens says.

The Josefsberg Gallery building is a former stable building, and all the records indicate it is probably the oldest building in the Pearl District. Built in 1888, the building is a 5,000-sq-ft single-story building.

The architect of record on the project is Holst Architecture, but other members of the team include Architecture W  and Luma Lighting all of Portland.

The project includes a garden wall on one side of the building. “It will be a design feature to direct people to our front doors, but it’s also a functional green wall,” Stevens says. “It includes a metal sculpture and soil that will provide a growing medium for plants, and it will serve as a runoff for stormwater and rainwater.”

The design calls for the water to run into the basement where it will be recycled for reuse in the building plumbing systems.

The HVAC system has presented some hurdles. “We’re looking at how to pull components together off the shelf and create a new energy model that includes natural ventilation, lowers energy usage and is replicable for other projects,” Stevens adds.

Green Building Services, a sustainability consultant in Portland, is working on the energy modeling for the new building, and Glumac Engineering also of Portland, is also helping with HVAC plans.

The project budget is $750,000, and the chapter is pursuing a capital campaign to raise the necessary funds. The chapter itself “ponied up $100,000,” Stevens says.

The chapter is also investigating a state of Oregon program that would allow it to take some available tax credits through corporate partnerships.