|
The Edge Lofts / REI
"Edge"y New Building
Brings New Look to Neighborhood
by Sheila Bacon
In a part of town where boxy warehouses are slowly being
transformed into new businesses, office buildings, retail
spaces and residences, a modern new structure is catching
the neighborhood's attention.
|
|
|
The east
side of the new structure features a panelized glass
system.
Photo by Sheila Bacon
|
With a nearly all-glass east-facing façade, the new
Edge Lofts - with a new REI store at its base - is sure to
stand out in contrast to other less prominent buildings along
the west edge of Portland's Pearl District.
"Some people are going to hate it for that reason,"
said Kyle Andersen, lead designer with Portland's GBD Architects,
"but there will be just as many people who love it for
that same reason. I feel it's refreshing - something new and
modern."
Construction in the 347,000-sq.-ft. structure started in
September 2002, and completion is expected early this spring.
The REI store and parking spaces will be located on the lower
levels, with residential lofts housed on floors five through
11.
Nestled within a stone's throw from Interstate 405, the
project's site posed a challenge to builders. To be able to
lift and pick adequately, part of the job's tower crane would
have to pass over the freeway. To allow this required considerable
preplanning and permitting, said Dan Armstrong, Howard S.
Wright Construction Co. (Portland, Ore.) superintendent. Final
crane placement allows crews to adequately move materials
while keeping all but one-and-a-half feet of the crane's jib
from reaching over the freeway's shoulder on rare occasions.
"We had to get tight to the building on the west side
and still be able to pick our precast panels," Armstrong
said. "Ideally, we would have liked to put (the crane)
five feet further west," although such a move would have
meant more opportunity for the crane to interact with the
freeway. Swinging loads over the freeway is prohibited.
Careful planning and a little luck meant crews were able
to complete weather-sensitive work without delays. The structure
topped out one month ahead of schedule, said Armstrong, and
the roof was in place two weeks early.
The building's east-facing glassy façade is the result
of a unique system designed by GBD Architects and engineered
by Portland's Benson Industries. The modular system is fabricated
off-site, and then installed in panelized units. The streamlined
system made for quick and easy installation. Once the system
was installed, crews just caulked the joints where the glass
met the precast band at the structure's fourth floor.
The glass wall features no mullion caps, said Andersen;
instead, a structural silicone holds the glass to the structure
behind it.
"It's as glassy as it can be," said Andersen.
Project Team:
Owner: Caroll Aspen
General Contractor: Howard
S. Wright Construction Co.
Architect: GBD Architects
with Holst Architecture
Useful Sites:
|
print this page
e-mail this page
