For what it's worth, I think the updated tower design looks much more coherent and believable now. Impressive for SERA, given their often haphazard material combinations (I think of the Tupelo, a building I have to walk by just about every day and try to remember to forget). I guess I was more curious about the odd-angled wood beams at ground level than the Design Commission -- I wouldn't have minded seeing the architects take that general concept a bit further to add some warmth and personality at the pedestrian level.
I don't know what you guys are talking about complaining about PDX architecture
in general right now. I feel like the tides have turned big time thanks to firms like WPA, Holst, Lever, etc. If we keep getting buildings like Slate I am one happy camper -- makes it much easier to write off the MOR stuff as "fabric" architecture, for one thing.
