Works Partnership Architecture is excited to complete their elegant portland office space project, FrameWork. The building provides a clean interior for a variety of tenant uses, while being structurally honest to the materials used and their aesthetic properties.
Framework is a direct adaptation of the historic small plate timber structures that weave through the building fabric of the central eastside of Portland. Structurally little different than neighbouring 100 year old structures, the elimination of the masonry perimeter walls necessitated a shift in identify. Traditional wall and window are able to give way to a simple glass vitrine that allows the warmth of the wood interior to be clearly seen from the street. The retail frontage in the concrete base is allowed to take on a more sculptural reading, relating by contrast to the taut glass skin above.
The building stands 5 stories tall with mixed concrete and timber on the base floor and a repeated exposed timber structure on levels 2-5. This project only represents the beginning of revitalization a long history of advanced heavy timber construction in the Pacific North West. The natural local materials are not only environmentally friendly, but they also serve to speak to the rebirth of an architectural culture in timber design. We look forward to many more interesting Mass Timber projects from the Portland area and anticipate Works Partnership Architecture to play a major role in the development of these beautiful, and intrinsically valuable structures.
Framework is a direct adaptation of the historic small plate timber structures that weave through the building fabric of the central eastside of Portland. Structurally little different than neighbouring 100 year old structures, the elimination of the masonry perimeter walls necessitated a shift in identify. Traditional wall and window are able to give way to a simple glass vitrine that allows the warmth of the wood interior to be clearly seen from the street. The retail frontage in the concrete base is allowed to take on a more sculptural reading, relating by contrast to the taut glass skin above.
The building stands 5 stories tall with mixed concrete and timber on the base floor and a repeated exposed timber structure on levels 2-5. This project only represents the beginning of revitalization a long history of advanced heavy timber construction in the Pacific North West. The natural local materials are not only environmentally friendly, but they also serve to speak to the rebirth of an architectural culture in timber design. We look forward to many more interesting Mass Timber projects from the Portland area and anticipate Works Partnership Architecture to play a major role in the development of these beautiful, and intrinsically valuable structures.
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Images courtesy Joshua Jay Elliott.
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