Social and urban activator, with timber structure. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture
12/08/2020.
[Portland - Oregon] USA
metalocus, ANDRÉS ROJAS
metalocus, ANDRÉS ROJAS
Based-Portland architecture firm Skylab Architecture was commissioned to design this building on the plot created when the City of Portland built the new one-way Couch Street couplet reconnecting the roadway to the Burnside Bridge.
Portland, Oregon’s largest city, sits on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, in the shadow of Mount Hood, northwest USA. It’s known for its parks, bridges and bicycle paths, as well as for its eco-friendliness.
Portland, Oregon’s largest city, sits on the Columbia and Willamette rivers, in the shadow of Mount Hood, northwest USA. It’s known for its parks, bridges and bicycle paths, as well as for its eco-friendliness.
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture. Photograph by Stephen Miller
Ground floor plan. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture.
First floor plan. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture.
Second floor plan. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture.
Third floor plan. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture.
Fourth floor plan. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture.
Section. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture.
Elevation. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture.
Detail. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture.
Construction. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture.
Construction. Sideyard building by Skylab Architecture.
This wedge building, designed by Skylab Architecture, is positioned centrally in the new Eastside community envisioned by the Burnside Bridgehead Framework plan.
Cross laminated timber is a new and sustainable building material championed by the general con-tractor for its regional relevance, availability, and simplicity of assemblage. Employing this mass timber system saved on both time and labor expenses. The project also used mass plywood for the interior stair structure, landings and treads.
Cross laminated timber is a new and sustainable building material championed by the general con-tractor for its regional relevance, availability, and simplicity of assemblage. Employing this mass timber system saved on both time and labor expenses. The project also used mass plywood for the interior stair structure, landings and treads.
“The goal was to provide a noble stage for community activity and future pub-lic/ private uses. Creating a series of comfortable and inspiring spaces simply framed with a palette of masonry, wood, glass, and concrete.”
Jill Asselineau, Project Director Skylab
Project description by Skylab Architecture
A leftover 9,000-square-foot berm space was created when the City of Portland built the new one-way Couch Street couplet reconnecting the roadway to the Burnside Bridge.
Sideyard was designed to fit this urban remnant property as a working-class building aimed at public transportation connec-tivity, pedestrian openness, and bicycle priority access.
It is positioned centrally in the new Eastside community envisioned by the Burnside Bridgehead Framework plan. The ground floor will be acti-vated by storefront along third avenue and work space above. This building program will reintegrate a pedestrian stair down from the Burnside Bridge level to third avenue akin to the original stairs that previously existed.
This wedge building will feature a new CLT structural system with open ground level commuter-oriented retail environments for daily guests and tenants. The workspace above will be wrapped in brick masonry with the building acting as an anchor for the Burnside Bridge and a gateway to the Eastside community.
This Central Eastside site is located at the geographic heart of the City of Portland and at the edge of the daily commuter flow of automobiles, bikes and pedestrians. The development helps to strength-en the connection between the Eastside community and the westside downtown urban core.
Also located in the neighborhood is the world-renowned Burnside Skatepark, constructed on an adjacent leftover city space beneath the Burnside Bridge and leased to the skate community. The building development team has additionally leased a small space under the bridge adjacent to Sideyard and the skate park for food carts. This will extend the Third Avenue ground level retail environment into the forgotten and unused urban spaces full of creative potential.
Since 1996, Key has been building uncommon places primarily in Bend, Hood River and Portland, Oregon. With every project they strive for a workable paradox: to fit into the surroundings while also standing out. Creating whole new opportunities for residents and businesses without unneces-sarily disrupting historic precedents.
More information
Architects
Project team
Skylab Design Team.- Jeff Kovel, Design Director. Brent Grubb, Project Manager. Jill Asselineau, Project Director. Nathan Cox, Project Architect. Jennifer Martin, Project Architect. Tony Tranquilli, Project Designer. Andrew Borell, Project Designer. Stephen Miller, Visualizer.
Collaborators
Civil Engineer.- Harper Houf Peterson Righellis Inc.
Structural Engineer.- catena engineers.
Mechanical Engineer.- PAE.
Electrical Engineer.- Evans Engineering and Consulting.
Landscape.- Shapiro Didway Landscape Architects.
Plumbing.- Caliber Plumbing and Mechanical.
Specifications.- JLC Architectural Consulting.
Manufacturers
Interstate Brick. Georgia Pacific Dens Element. Tech Lighting. Arcadia Storefront and Curtain Wall. DR Johnson CLT panels and glulam members. Freres mass plywood panels.
Photography
Stephen Miller.
Jeff Kovel, Brent Grubb. Skylab Architecture
Skylab Architecture was established two decades ago in 1999, in Portland, Oregon, USA, by Jeff Kovel and Brent Grubb. Skylab has grown to 27 employees. Both principals migrated to Portland after architecture school. Grubb spent a decade working for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill and San Francisco's Aidlin Darling Design after earning a degree from Ball State University in Indiana. Kovel, after completing his B.Arch. at Cornell University, landed a gig with a Portland-based firm called Architropolis, doing fast-paced projects for retailers and rock stars, most notably a Miami residence for musician Lenny Kravitz. He admired how Architropolis was willing to take on just about any project, of any scope or length.
The firm began developing a repeatable prefab module in 2008, during the Great Recession. From, its Hoke Residence, Skylab firm has gathered momentum with its innovative modular work and wide-ranging commissions, including hospitality work for the W Seattle hotel and the Summit Sky Lodge, an upcoming prefab ski resort in Utah or the just-completed offices of the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant (CBWTP) in north Portland.
The firm began developing a repeatable prefab module in 2008, during the Great Recession. From, its Hoke Residence, Skylab firm has gathered momentum with its innovative modular work and wide-ranging commissions, including hospitality work for the W Seattle hotel and the Summit Sky Lodge, an upcoming prefab ski resort in Utah or the just-completed offices of the Columbia Boulevard Wastewater Treatment Plant (CBWTP) in north Portland.
Categories
Our selection
