[MarkDaMan]

There's a rendering on the front page of the Oregonian's Business section if anyone has an available scanner.

Laika hub bears likeness to Nike
Tualatin - Phil Knight shares his grand plan for the new headquarters of the animation studio he acquired in 2003
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
MIKE ROGOWAY
The Oregonian

Nike's landmark 211-acre campus, in a Portland suburb, features on-site gyms for employees, is surrounded by an earthen berm, and was designed by Oregon architect Robert L. Thompson.

On Monday, animation studio Laika Inc. unveiled details of its new headquarters on a 30-acre parcel in a Portland suburb. It just happens to feature a gym, a berm and a Thompson design.

No surprise, since both are controlled by Phil Knight, who founded the former in 1964 and acquired the latter in 2003.

Laika announced its move to Tualatin from Portland last year, but hadn't said who would design the new facility or how it would be laid out. In an interview Monday, Knight said the project reflects his vote of confidence in the studio and its filmmaking ambitions.

"I've been around the company for several years now and it's got a lot of creative people. And I think we've got the ingredients to be successful," he said. "So it's either get in, or get out."

Laika's first film, a stop-motion picture based on the spooky children's book "Coraline," begins shooting next Monday in a temporary facility in Hillsboro. The novel took place near London, but director Henry Selick plans to give the movie an Oregon touch and set it in Ashland.

Due in theaters late next year, "Coraline" features the voices of popular teen actress Dakota Fanning in the title role and Teri Hatcher of "Desperate Housewives" as Coraline's mother. It will be distributed by Focus Features.

After acquiring the former Vinton Studios in 2003, Nike's chairman set about transforming the Portland animation house into a production house in the image of California's Pixar Animation Studios, hiring veteran Hollywood talent and pledging to finance its first two films himself.

Knight's son, Travis, works as a Laika animator and serves with his father on the studio's board of directors.

In the past 15 months, Laika has grown from a little more than 100 employees to about 350. Laika expects to employ 600 when the Tualatin site opens in 2009.

The four buildings on the Tualatin campus were designed in consultation with Laika animators and tailored to the filmmaking production cycle. The campus will have separate buildings for computer-generated animation and for stop-motion film, plus a 300-seat theater for screenings.

The Tualatin site will provide a creative center for the studio, Knight said, and the facilities for a steady pipeline of films.

"This will take care of us for a while. This will give us the capacity to do both CG (computer-generated animation) and the stop motion, two movies at once," Knight said. "Ultimately, maybe you'd want to be able to do a third, but there's no plans to draw that up yet."

Knight paid $6.7 million last year for the undeveloped Tualatin land near an industrial park. Laika declined to say how much it will spend to build the campus, but the cost of making each of its first two films could easily top $50 million.

Bill Foster, director of the Northwest Film Center, said the scale of Laika's ambitions stands out in a state where business decisions tend to be conservative. Rather than try to bootstrap a studio and limit the upfront investment, he said, Knight has chosen to take a gamble on a grand idea.

"I think they have a long-term vision and they're laying out something that's going to unfold over a decade or more," Foster said.

The studio's launch hasn't been without setbacks. Last month, Laika parted ways with former Pixar animator Jorgen Klubien, who was to write and direct Laika's first computer-animated film. Laika is looking for a writer and a director to take over the project, and Knight said the studio remains committed to a computer-animated movie.

"We think we've got good people to make the CG," he said. "It's just hard getting the script. It's not an easy process for anything, but we're making progress and we're confident we're going to get there."

Mike Rogoway: 503-294-7699; mikerogoway@news.oregonian.com; blog.oregonlive.com/siliconforest
http://www.oregonlive.com/business/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/business/1173155118222080.xml&coll=7

[WonderlandPark]

Tualatin? Bleh. When I was at Vinton, probably 1 in 5 biked to work. Now that will drop to about zero.

[pdxstreetcar]

whats the point of the berm surrounding the property?

[edgepdx]

whats the point of the berm surrounding the property?

Make sure the unwashed masses can't see what the Oompa Loompas are up to. The entire Tualatin, campus style design is really disappointing, but pretty par for the course for Knight. From what I understand he's somewhat reclusive and shy and the design of the Nike campus seems like an outgrowth of his personality. Instead of engaging the community he is fortified against it. Not good for creativity of the workers in my opinion.

[WonderlandPark]

Couple of people I know at Laika are not happy having to commute and may leave if they go down there.

[65MAX]

I believe it. Most creative types like living and working in an urban environment (like NW, where their studios are now), so having to commute to the burbs will be a real hardship. There's a ton of vacant and underutilized blocks in NW that Laika could have used to build a HQ.

[WonderlandPark]

When I was there on Gary & Mike (99-01) I knew plenty of people without cars, some could walk from apartments in NW, a bunch biked. In addition, lots of people were brought on temporarily for short term projects like commercials. WTF are all these people supposed to do? Buy cars? Get stuck in some extended stay hotel with Applebee's as the only dinner choice other than schleping into the city? Bad move, IMO. If I had a job offer there, I would consider the campus a negative, I really don't want a half hour (at best) drive each way added to my work week. I want to have the options of pho or a burrito for lunch, want to have a drink after work, and most of all, be close to places that I like to be. I guess I could be called that "creative class" and this move is a turn off for me.

[Urbanpdx]

They would be a great tenant for the Burnside Bridgehead project if the city and county would abate the business taxes for them.

[MarkDaMan]

^rumor has it that the PDC was working with Columbia Sportwear to anchor the Burnside Bridgehead. I've heard Gert Boyle recently said that it wasn't currently in their plans, but she didn't say definitively not.

Would be awesome if Laika or Columbia would locate in the Centennial Mills buildings. However, it doesn't suprise me Knight doesn't want to pay the Mult/Portland tax, look at how Nike drug Beaverton to hell and back over their proposed annexation and an increase in what, $15,000 in property taxes?

[nehalem5]

However, it doesn't suprise me Knight doesn't want to pay the Mult/Portland tax, look at how Nike drug Beaverton to hell and back over their proposed annexation and an increase in what, $15,000 in property taxes?

Though I get irritated at corporations not wanting to pay a few thousand dollars extra tax, unfortunately thats their fidiciary duty, leave no penny behind. In Oregon at least, its up to the employees and the personal income taxes to support the things that make a society function.
that being said (I know its probably too late) but Portland should maybe waive every tax to get Laika into Portland to provide that critical mass of talent. Creative firms/freelancers would be sprouting like mushrooms after an Oregon rain all over the central east side, occupying refurbished buildings by Beam and designed by Works.
I can almost imagine a Laika anchored bridgehead with a huge neon animated sign, across from the made in oregon sign.

[MarkDaMan]

I can almost imagine a Laika anchored bridgehead with a huge neon animated sign, across from the made in oregon sign.

that would be sweeeet...except I highly suspect the 'Made in Oregon' sign will soon be 'University of Oregon'

[cab]

Its not about the money with Phil Knight. He likes the Campus feel, where he can control everything. The city is a little to close the the creative chaos that Phil can't control. You could have paid him to locate in PDX and he'd still decline and isolate himself behind a berm. A little delusional god complex.

[MarkDaMan]

Its not about the money with Phil Knight. He likes the Campus feel, where he can control everything. The city is a little to close the the creative chaos that Phil can't control. You could have paid him to locate in PDX and he'd still decline and isolate himself behind a berm. A little delusional god complex.

what the hell was with the Beaverton/Nike annexation crap then? That was just plain weird, especially after Nike won a 30 year protection from Beaverton through the Oregon Legislature.

[cab]

Control. He wants to limit anyone else from being able to influence him. The money being thrown around during the annex thing was nothing, especially to a huge company like Nike. Take a walk around the Nike campus, its an amazing place, but it screams control. A friend of mine worked at the campus a few years back and swears he saw a worker "painting" leaves on a bush green.

[mcbaby]

phil knight is a dork

[Urbanpdx]

whats the point of the berm surrounding the property?

I believe it avoids hauling massive amounts of excavation spoils to other locations or land-fills. Seems to me that it saves large amounts of fuel, pollution and money to use this material on site.

[Snowden352]

Just a note on animation:
Pixar is located in a suburb.
Disney (during its heyday) was located in a suburb
every significant american animation studio is or has been located in a suburb
moving Laika to a suburb doesn't mean anything except that maybe some people will have to commute

I, for one, am excited Phil Knight is willing to invest time and money into what could be an excellent studio. I think there's a lot of talent in the region and this is a positive development for it.

He didn't have to do shit, if he didn't want. Why the bitching?

[nehalem5]

He didn't have to do shit, if he didn't want. Why the bitching?



True that, but this is Oregon...we can dream can't we?

[Urbanpdx]

The best thing about Knight deciding where to locate and invest is if he makes the wrong move and it doesn't work out, we don't have to pay for it, he does.

[zilfondel]

Just a note on animation:
Pixar is located in a suburb.
Disney (during its heyday) was located in a suburb
every significant american animation studio is or has been located in a suburb
moving Laika to a suburb doesn't mean anything except that maybe some people will have to commute

Yes, you're right: in order to operate an animation studio, you must locate in a suburb. Brilliant!

Whey the angst? Disinvestment in the central city, mostly. Not-very-efficient use of space in the burbs, given land prices.

Perhaps we should do like Phil & erect a giant concrete barricade around the city of Portland, like they are in Jerusalem, to keep the soulless/uncultured barbarians [suburbanites] out?


Snowden, I take it you are the anti-academic? Can't question how the world works, now can we.. we're just mere saps. :sly:

[WonderlandPark]

Most studios are within the city of LA, or a city touching it. If you took the equivalent to Tualatin, then its LA equivalent would be like in Pomona, where there are no studios. Studios are urban creatures 100%, they took the large plots (Laika is by NO means a large lot, plenty of land that size a hell of a tlot closer) of land that were closest to the city when they were built, this first, Hollywood, then the west side, then the valley/Burbank. They didn't just skip way the hell out there for ego sake.

[Snowden352]

Zilfondel, that's exactly what i was doing. Don't keep calling me or anyone else "saps."

Unless you wanna take this outside...:)

[GreenCity]

Figured I'd use some of this time I have laying around and scan in this rendering for the thread...

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/183/413998356_8363e57668.jpg

For something that's supposed to be a center for creativity and innovation, this seems a pretty poor showing. Large grass spaces with no real landscaping except for the little parking lot blinds, blocky industrial complex buildings with little apparent access for natural light, and am I the only one that finds a full fitness center a touch odd for an animation studio? Taken all together it seems to be a little too much Nike and not enough Vinton. I feel sorry for the animators.

[Snowden352]

Eh, I take it back. The site's a loser. Blah.:yuck:

[MarkDaMan]

^mmm_hmmm :P

[65MAX]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/183/413998356_8363e57668.jpg


I don't see anything here that couldn't have been accommodated on a few blocks in NW Portland. So why does this have to be in Tualatin?

[MarkDaMan]

^cause Knight's limo can get in and out undetected. Truthfully, I'm surprised they didn't locate in the woods across from Nike. Kaiser was going to build a hospital there, but Nike cancelled the deal two years ago. I thought at the time it must be for Laika, but I guess not.

In all seriousness, it sucks they are in the burbs, but this is 600 good paying jobs in the community, and with success with a few films, it could easily grow to 1500 or more. This is still good for the region, especially if it causes a cluster effect like Intel did.

[65MAX]

Agreed, but having a cluster of studios in NW Portland would have been better.

[zilfondel]

Probably because he couldn't build 22 acres of parking in NW Portland like he wanted.

[PDX City-State]

That is horrible. I think this is a good moment for the baby eater smiley. :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat: :babyeat:

[MarkDaMan]

^That's so wrong on so many levels :haha:

Here's Gragg's take

Mellow design for Knight studio
Friday, March 09, 2007
RANDY GRAGG
The Oregonian

There are many things architect Robert Thompson would like the world to know about the new campus he's designing for Laika Inc., the animation company Nike founder Phil Knight is trying to build into one of the world's great film studios.

But high among them is a feature the campus won't have: a berm.

For the past 20 years, nearly every article written about the Nike World Headquarters he designed for Knight has prominently mentioned the grassy mound surrounding the campus, so Thompson can be excused for a little over-sensitivity.

Besides, there are plenty of other points of comparison between Nike and Laika. Like Nike, Laika is in the 'burbs. (After a quick sniff at Portland, Knight went to Tualatin.) It features Thompson's brand of classical, highly formal Modernism, a la Mies van der Rohe by way of Richard Meier. And it's well short of state-of-the-art sustainable design.

Yes, the Laika campus plans follow the Nike recipe, for sure. But that said, the Tualatin design also promises to be very, very different.

"It will be more intimate and a much smaller scale," Thompson says, leafing through early computer renderings. "Hopefully, it will be an elegant, neutral environment that allows highly creative people to do what they do with all the flexibility the industry demands."

Indeed, from the curving entry drive that drops 20 feet to the main entrance turnaround, to the ensemble of composite aluminum, ribbed metal, glass and woods layering the buildings and the interwoven formal gardens, Thompson's Laika campus is, in a word, more subtle.

That's because the biggest difference between Nike and Laika is intention. Thompson designed Nike's first phase so that it could be easily converted into generic, rentable office space. Back then, Knight knew failure, having endured a near company-busting business slump in the deep recession of the early '80s. In time, as the company and Knight's confidence grew, so did the campus architectural heroics as it grew to house more than 5,000 employees in a setting befitting the Olympics.

For Laika, Thompson is designing four buildings that are all about a projected 600 creative people making films.

The huge, stop-motion studio will be mostly a big box gridded with lights and heavy black velvet curtains so that it can be easily rearranged into shooting studios of anywhere from 10 to 40 feet square. The character-animation studio Thompson describes as "a lot like an architecture office," with a big open space and work modules. Also included are a fitness center, cafeteria, lounges and, of course, a theater.

But the most striking feature may be the gardens: a series -- or, as Thompson calls it, "a chain" -- of stark, highly formal plantings that align with the building's most prominent windows to create a grid of continuous-view corridors right through the buildings.

For a company whose employees will be focused in creating virtual realities, the actual reality of the work environment promises to be a small paradise.

Thompson is teaming on the project with the Dallas-based Mesa Design Group. After having worked with the firm on the Ericsson Inc. Headquarters in Plano, Texas, Thompson is happy to say, "We've finally found someone who gets what we do."

Much like the Nike campus, Laika will be a follower rather than a leader in eco-friendly design. Despite being in a region where even medical science buildings and a theater built inside a historic armory routinely earn top-of-the-ladder "Platinum" Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ratings, Thompson says Laika will be shooting only for a second-from-bottom "Silver" rating. So far, passive solar design, alternative energy sources and stormwater management have not been drivers in the design.

But while Thompson chafes at quick comparisons between two Phil Knight (or "Phight" as the stamp on the drawings reads) campuses he sees as entirely different, he can take pride in the key similarity: his own recognizable style. In a city in which most architectural firms' buildings tend to blur together and into the background, Thompson's always stand out.

Indeed, had Nike's World Headquarters been any less architecturally demonstrative, no mention of the architecture would ever have been made in all the articles about the company. More subtle as it may be, Laika's campus will be similarly noted should Knight's vision for animation achieve the same success.

Randy Gragg: 503-221-8575; randygragg@news.oregonian.com
http://www.oregonlive.com/living/oregonian/randy_gragg/index.ssf?/base/entertainment/117330993110860.xml&coll=7

[suntzu61]

So the site Plan for this thing has a ton of vegetation slated to go into it. The only problem we had with creating this image was the short time frame and the fact that it takes 14-18 hrs to render it with all the trees in it. So every time there was a change to trees it took another 14-18hrs to render it (so finally we bagged most of the trees). Also we were learning a new software program to do the trees. I do think my rendering of the park Ave West tower did turn out better than this one though. Plus in the end it comes down to what the customer wants you should all know that by now :)

[suntzu61]

here is a bigger not scanned image of the campus...Also would like to add that almost every green space on this image has trees that will be planted there. If i can post the tree version we rendered I will. Enjoy!!!
http://img206.imageshack.us/img206/3833/liakasite5x7notlabeledcn6.jpg
liakasite5x7 (http://img90.imageshack.us/my.php?image=liakasite5x7notlabeledkg2.jpg)

[suntzu61]

hmm seem to be having problems with imageshack atm....trying to fix it and update previous post

ok fixed enjoy!!!

[James Bond Agent 007]

It looks like a community college.

[der Reisender]

^i thought the same, except the walls make it seem prison-like

[zilfondel]

Hey, Silver ain't nothing to sniff at. Until we start building carbon-neutral buildings that work off the grid, that is.

*edit* - whats up with the walls around it? That seems a tad strange, to tell the truth. They can't be that concerned about security, can they?
Otherwise, it seems rather appropriate for such a complex... perhaps it's the community colleges who need to get their ass into gear and stop copying office parks!

suntzu61 - we really appreciate your posting of this rendering! And welcome to skyscraperpage!

[65MAX]

So Bob Thompson makes a point of emphasizing that there's no berm, yet there's a wall surrounding the compound. How is that any better? Still anti-social IMO.

[cab]

Can anyone argue after seeing this rendering that Phil is not all about control over his working environment? This thing is filled with the strait lines of order and control, nothing deviates from the direct lines. I've always felt that creativity comes from the edge of chaos (which cities tend to be near). This thing is so far removed from the creative edge, I just don't see it working over the long term unless Phils sigular vision is enough to create a winner. Edgy creativity sure as hells not coming out of this box.

[sirsimon]

^ Valid points, Cab.