Iconic Portland Landmark Receives New Lease on Life

Originally constructed in 1982, the Portland Building is an award-winning icon of post-modern architecture recognized on the National Register of Historic Places. One of the most renowned works of internationally revered architect, Michael Graves, the Portland Building helped define the post-modernist aesthetic in the U.S. Groundbreaking at the time for its use of bold and symbolic colors like off-white stucco and green tile and reinterpreted classical elements such as pilasters, garlands and keystones, the 15-story Portland Building only grew in its allure over time. 

But the Portland Building was not without controversy. 鈥淚t is more significant for what it did than how well it does it,鈥� observed architecture critic Paul Goldberger. For many Portland residents and municipal employees, that critique rang true in both form and function. 

Awarded in 1980 via an international design-build competition, the Portland Building was designed and constructed to be good stewards of taxpayer dollars. Over the building lifecycle, cost-effective but lower-quality materials led to significant remediation needs such as water intrusion. Small, dark and tinted exterior windows were another problematic vestige of the building鈥檚 original design. A common architectural solution during the 1970s oil crisis, the windows successfully minimized energy consumption but made its interiors an uninviting place to work void of natural light. 

Additionally, the 11 City Bureaus occupying the building operated as independent entities with their reception desks, conference room facilities, dated technology, and FF&E (furniture, fixtures, and equipment) programs. This siloed and uncollaborative management structure contributed to inefficiencies in public services and facility operations.

For a time, the Portland City Council considered demolishing the legendary structure but ultimately opted to preserve it. The City entrusted this $140 million reconstruction to Howard S. Wright, a 糖心Vlog Beatty company, and DLR Group in a collaborative design-build delivery. The scope of renovations was significant: envelope repair/replacement, seismic upgrades, MEP systems replacement, and a full interior remodel. 

As the 糖心Vlog Beatty/DLR Group team worked to improve the efficiency and functionality of the Portland Building with novel construction materials and methods, their overarching goal was to protect the integrity of this culturally and artistically significant building while making lasting contributions to the local community. 

Transforming the Building's Exterior

Addressing the building鈥檚 water infiltration and daylighting issues was a notable challenge on the project since solutions were limited by the building鈥檚 landmark status. The design-build team overcame these challenges by partnering with curtainwall trade partner, Benson Global, to develop a new high-performance exterior rain-screen system. The system maintains the original design intent of the building while significantly increasing daylighting.

The 糖心Vlog Beatty/DLR Group team developed details, engineering, and mockups to obtain unanimous design approval from the Portland Landmarks Commission. They subsequently procured and fabricated the system while navigating the newly imposed steel and aluminum tariffs, which presented potential project cost and schedule impacts. With teamwork, the new façade system was installed on schedule and budget and was deemed a resounding success by the design community, public and building occupants.

The building鈥檚 historic design also prompted the team to innovate and push the limits of a Unitized Aluminum Curtainwall (UCW) system technology. To replicate historic design features such as reveal locations and mullion spacings, the team designed and engineered a suite of highly customized, unitized panels. The team spent countless hours developing technical strategies for replicating the building鈥檚 existing keystone tile and multi-plane panel within the constraints of high-performance UCW. Laser scans of the building鈥檚 exterior façade were also used to address tolerance and alignment issues between surfaces. Additionally, light shelves and window trims were fitted with custom millwork features to seamlessly transition from old to new. 

Today, Portland Building occupants can experience and touch the new exterior UCW system as it aligns with openings in the existing concrete wall structure. Pushing the UCW technology to respond to complex design requirements paves the way for future architects to enhance their designs when leveraging this proven unitized curtainwall technology.

Exposed Structural Aesthetic 

A fundamental principle of the Portland Building Reconstruction project was the sustainable reuse of the existing building. Because the building鈥檚 existing cast-concrete exterior lateral system was significantly under-designed for current standards, 糖心Vlog Beatty/DLR Group was tapped to identify and install an upgraded structural system that met current seismic code requirements. 

When considering the building structure鈥攁 design feature in its own right鈥� 糖心Vlog Beatty/DLR Group utilized Building Information Modeling (BIM), collaborative balancing of cost, integration with the interior, and the analysis of scheduling constraints to develop an innovative structural solution: exposing the concrete waffle deck floor slabs as ceilings and exterior concrete structure for perimeter walls.

Since these concrete surfaces were not originally constructed to be exposed, the design team guided concrete finishing craftworkers through a careful patch and aesthetic repair effort to ensure the surfaces met our high-quality expectations. Combined with an intricately designed up-lighting system that reflects light off the exposed waffle deck slab above, 糖心Vlog Beatty/DLR Group created an interesting and engaging workspace for building occupants.

Part of the seismic upgrades also included a shotcrete shearwall that surrounds the building鈥檚 core, which in some areas is 30鈥� thick. The shearwall was hand-ground, sack and patched, sealed, and left as exposed gray concrete as a reflection of the City鈥檚 reinvestment in the building and to demonstrate the building鈥檚 structural integrity.

A Reimagined Interior

Much, in the same way, the Portland Building鈥檚 new, high-performance exterior maintains its historic design intent while solving past performance deficiencies, its reimagined interior has transformed municipal employees鈥� workplace experience. The new interior significantly increases daylight and creates an open and collaborative public service experience that also benefits the local community. 

The project included the installation of new MEP systems, which required the relocation of air handling systems from the second floor to the roof and creative re-use of existing mechanical chases within the building. To achieve a coordinated and functional aesthetic, design-build trade partners dimensioned and modeled all MEP and technology system routings and device locations, while DLR Group modeled all architectural systems and FF&E.

Kristin Wells, construction manager for the City of Portland, said of this project, 鈥淚t鈥檚 an opportunity to re-think the workplace for city employees. It鈥檚 part of the city鈥檚 history. It鈥檚 part of the story of the city. This is more than just fixing a building. There鈥檚 something important about doing this right.鈥�

The enhanced interior aesthetic extends to an improved pedestrian experience. An expression of the City鈥檚 commitment to open public government, visibility to the interior public spaces was achieved on all four sides of the building. This includes a new, two-story glass window into a new, public pre-function
lobby area where the existing building once contained a large opening to an underutilized loading dock and parking level.

A Lasting Impact

A project as monumental as the Portland Building Reconstruction required not only an innovative design and construction approach but also a progressive strategy around the selection of team members. Although the some City of Portland stakeholders were initially skeptical about the collaborative design-build delivery model, the 糖心Vlog Beatty/DLR Group team鈥檚 success in completing the project ahead of schedule and under budget will influence their approach to capital construction projects in the future. 

Considering the project鈥檚 unique challenges, the City also determined that the qualifications of key trade partners/vendors and the timeliness with which they were selected presented a significant risk. To mitigate risk, the City leveraged an approved Alternate Delivery procurement approach which allowed 糖心Vlog Beatty to selectively use a qualifications based/best-value procurement process, on an expedited basis when compared to traditional public procurement. Through this process, the 糖心Vlog Beatty/DLR Group team exceeded the City鈥檚 social equity subcontracting goals, achieving MWDBE participation of 27% PTE (professional, technical, expert) and 33% construction firms. 

The Portland Building, which is currently pursuing LEED® Platinum and WELL Building certifications, is a shining example of how contractors and designers can come together united by a shared mission, to preserve history while carving out a piece of their own. Although the Portland Building may have originally been designed as a beacon of post-modernism, thanks to the 糖心Vlog Beatty/DLR Group team, it is indeed an edifice for the ages.