Area rugs? Hmmmm more like astro turf. The roof reminds me of some hideous office lighting.

Well......On second thought, how about those millions going towards some much needed bridge building/repair work in the area instead???:shrug: Just sayin'

This can't be real??????

How about an astro turf rug runner for the hallway?

It's real. They are climbing vines attached to cables - every couple floors there is a "shelf" extending from the face of the building with planters and connections for the cables.

There are other renderings, but to my knowledge this is the only design direction currently being pursued. I hope to be able to post the other views of the building soon. (they show the north & east elevations)

BTW - the green screen is not likely to be as thick as shown in this view. The design is still conceptual, and this rendering is meant to show the greenery at its fullest extent (with some artistic license). Most of the year the growth will be much less full, and in the winter will be practically non-existent so as to let as much daylight into the building as possible. And the green screen is only on the west side - there is one "panel" on the south elevation at the SW corner (highly oblique in this view), but that's it.

The rooftop is a giant PV array angled down to the south for solar collection. The underside of the roof visible in this view is a "space frame" truss system supporting the PV's above. The other views will illustrate this condition much more clearly.

fyi, see this for more examples:
http://www.vegitecture.net/2009_10_01_archive.html

I think this is an incredible idea. The rendering looks pretty funny --I mean, I laughed when I saw it-- but I can see how it could have an awesome presence when completed, as well as being highly functional. Especially if the greenery isn't quite that carpet-thick ;). Many thanks to scottb for sharing this with the forum.

It would be nice if they give the final design a good going-over/tweaking/refinement, but this will be pretty amazing if completed. I hope they took human factors/work environment considerations into account in its design. It's too easy to get over-focused on one area (e.g., looks/design/statement, energy savings) at the expense of other factors. Just ask the folks who work in the Portland Building.

Now, if we can get the Living Building up and running we'll have a couple of noteworthy buildings to liven up the SW downtown. It would be nice to have even more in order to help bridge that part of the DT with the South Waterfront, and bump up the density. The planned Milwaukee light rail extension will help as well.

I think it's a great concept and I have high hopes for the actual built product. Unfortunately, the renderings are a bit... erm, low budget. But whatever works, I guess. Its a very technical approach to a problem of efficiency... It's pretty obvious that we have little idea of what it will actually look like when built (the experience of being under the screen on the street, for instance).

One thing's for sure - this building is going to grab a LOT of attention. This, plus the Oregon Sustainability Center, are going to garner a heck of a lot of press and photography.

Question: how big is the roof? And high much higher than the current roofline will it be? It looks like it will be adding a little bit of height to the current building.

Can you elaborate a little on this? There is only the one rendering so far that has been released, are there others? Also, the version posted here is very small, and so much of the detail is being lost. I'd like to understand what you mean by "low-budget"

As I have said before, there are other views "in the can", one of which is a close-up of the west entry that also shows the green screen feature in more detail. Soon, I promise :)

The roof is actually larger than the building below - it extends out about 10-12 feet from the perimeter. The highest point of the roof is approximately 40 feet above the existing parapet, so yes it will be a taller building as a result. The intent is to "create a dialogue" with the Hatfield Courthouse a block to the north - one of the other views will show this relationship.

Absolutely - this project has already gotten the attention of the White House, and it is seen as a "poster child" for the creation of green stimulus jobs.
BTW - what is the status of the Oregon Sustainability Center? Is it still moving forward?

haha - i love it. Face it, this is nothing more than a rendered diagram. Give it some time to gel, and maybe we will actually have something you can actually give some constructive criticism to. I say - keep going, develop it further. I fear though, that the boldness of the concept renderings will be lost in translation and may result in something a little underwhelming. I look forward to seeing more before I pass such harsh judgement.

That is usually what happens with bold ideas in the development world. I hope this turns out well for the city because it is going to bring us alot of press one way or another.

From the SERA website:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...3at54258PM.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...3at54348PM.png

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...3at54237PM.png


Rendering of present building (for comparison):


http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v1...3at91348PM.png

From the last rendering it looks very much the same other than the roof.

The first shot reminds me of scenes from "Life Without People"...

That said - I've been a "student" of Downtown Portland since the late 70's and I've always disliked the Federal Building to the point that I would have been happy had it been replaced by a 7-11 (kidding). Anything is an improvement. But, somehow, this still looks a bit awkward. But is certainly better than what's currently there!

Now, what can we do with One Main Place...?

Thanks for posting these pics, Pacific NW!! Not a bad looking building, to say the least.

Ah.....this is more like it. Not nearly as overwhelming as what we saw previously. It looks like the vines/vegitation will be mainly on the west side, for summer cooling and winter light attracting. I would think they will have to keep it all from overgrowing periodically, and good luck to the window washers!!

Is it possible they're taking a shock and awe approach by releasing an over the top graphic first, and then releasing more realistic renderings?

SHOCK!!! "It's hideous!!!"
Awe... "Maybe it's not so bad after all."

I'm not convinced the west side of this thing won't end up looking ridiculous when it's done, but if it isn't a disaster (and it probably won't be), it'll certainly be great for our city's reputation, so I'm all for it. It''s hard to even imagine what it'll look like when done since I've never seen anything like it before.

I'm curious about how those fins will hold up under the stress of a wind storm. Granted, we tend to get those in the winter, when the fins would have less growth on them. Still... I don't want to see the federal building sailing its way up 3rd Ave :)

...then again, maybe I do. That would be quite a show.

it would probably be no different than any building with balconies on it. I am guessing they will be stripping this building down to its structure and re-skinning the building, when they do this, the fins will be completely attached to the structure however way they choose to do it. But I do agree, I do hope this doesnt turn out looking odd, but so far I am pleased with the second set of renderings.

Nice
 

I like the new look. When the original building was announced in the Oregonian along with a rendering, I was really disappointed. Another clone from Portland's unimaginative architects at SOM. I even wrote the paper saying we needed to give other firms in town a chance to design some of these larger projects. I don't believe SOM (Skidmore, Owing & Merrill) still has an office in Portland, do they?
I think an evergreen vine would look best but it makes a lot more sense to have one that sheds its leaves to let in some winter sunshine. It's a vast improvement on the original.

hits the NY Times

Portland High-Rise to Get 250-Foot-Tall Trellises

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: January 16, 2010

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- They haven't figured out yet how to get the pruning done, but architects and federal officials plan one of the world's most extensive vertical gardens in downtown Portland -- what amounts to a series of 250-foot-tall trellises designed to shade the west side of an 18-story office building.

It is not a new idea to use greenery vertically as ''living architecture,'' running plants up the sides of a building to keep it cool.

But even in a city with a reputation for rainfed greenery as well as for green architecture, the wall of the Edith Green-Wendell Wyatt Federal Building would stand out....

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2010...ef=global-home