The Encore | 175 feet | 15 floors | Complete

[Castillonis]

Thanks for the photos Philodpdx

Pay attention to the glass they just installed at the entrance on the SE side of the building at the base. It is interesting.

[philopdx]

Update 3-08-08:



Closeup of Glass with Centennial Mills in the background:

[Okstate]

Great updates Phil.

[pdx2m2]

thanks for the photo updates....

after seeing the photos i drove by and checked out the low-rise building at 9th and overton...think it is live work units..the glass isn't finished yet although i like it...will be good to see what it's like with canopies etc.

[CMD UW]

I don't mind the brown spandrel colour at all.

[urbanlife]

wow, it really has been a long time since I have been in the pearl, I didnt even know this tower had capped out yet.

[philopdx]

Update 3-22-08:

[Sekkle]

Here are a couple pics I took yesterday (3/27/08). I think they came out ok considering I was driving over the Fremont Bridge and just tried to aim my camera out the passenger's side window.

[pdx2m2]

Thanks for the photo updates...the first one from the freemont bridge really shows the building and it's relationship to the future park.

Last I heard the Fields Park was still on hold...anyone with news on the status of the Park.

[MarkDaMan]

^it certainly isn't on hold due to lack of money...the Pearl URD is FLUSH with money. Maybe they want to integrate it with the new centennial mills project?

[2oh1]

Originally Posted by philopdx

Update 3-22-08:

I'm trying to decide if I like or hate the row of Donkey Kong staggered balconies. That part of the building seems a little off...? I'm not sure about the whole building, really. I was expecting it to be so much more striking.

[MarkDaMan]

^it's a background building and nothing more. 937 on the other hand will be a talking point for years to come, regardless of what people think of it.

[tworivers]

I like the staggered balconies for breaking up what would otherwise be completely predictable monotony.

And I pretty much agree with Mark.

[pdx2m2]

I looked at the renderings again and think the impact of the staggered balconies will be greater once they are clad in the white metal panel...looks like all the short bands of metal panel get connected across the balconies...will be good to see how this turns out.

[Castillonis]

Notice the brick w/ a 3 dimensional surface versus the flat planar surface
800x600


Close up of the dimensional surface of the brick
800x600


I wonder how the brown material on the windows effects the absorption of the solar energy on the SE facing curtian and thus the HVAC.
Does the darker color increase the amount of energy absorbed?
Does the deck above act as an eve permiting early lower angle sunlight and blocking high angle afternoon sunlight after the ambient temp is higher.
The other big curtian is NW.

NOTE: I took these photos on Sat 05Apr08

[zilfondel]

dark colors absorb and transmit energy at a faster rate than lighter colors. So it goes both ways.

I think those panels have insulation behind them, however. Code (particularly LEED) makes you thermally decouple external/internal elements, particularly the floor slab from the curtain wall, which is what you are seeing.

Allowing light to fall inside the units will affect the solar heat gain of a dwelling far more than just about any other factor, except when you open a window and let the outside air in.

And yes, the decks do act to limit solar gain during summer. Note that horizontal sun shades are practically useless on the west side of a building - its better to use vertical ones.

[MarkDaMan]

Buyers reluctant to play pioneer
The Encore - The less-pricey building on the tip of the Pearl has sold just 12 units
Sunday, April 06, 2008
The Oregonian

"They're not as decisive as they once were." Tiffany Sweitzer Pearl District condo developer

Developer Tiffany Sweitzer, one of the Pearl District's most prolific developers, has two condo buildings within a few blocks of each other that symbolize the rise and fall of Portland's condo craze -- the Metropolitan and the Encore.

At Northwest 10th Avenue and Lovejoy Street, the modern Metropolitan rises 19 stories, wrapped in glass, concrete and cream travertine. The building, one of the city's priciest, hit the sales market in 2005 when condos were the rage. Three-bedroom penthouses with towering views fetched $3 million.

Sweitzer, president of Hoyt Street Properties, ran a lottery to sort through the potential buyers. About 500 people entered to make deposits on the building's 136 condos.

Construction finished last fall, and the buyers had to close their purchases. But 70 backed out. Some couldn't get a mortgage. Some just weren't interested any longer. Some got new jobs.

Sweitzer and her staff managed to make up a lot of those losses, selling 35 condos in the past six months. The building is about 80 percent sold.

Then there's the Encore, just three blocks north on 10th and Northwest Overton Street. The curved, 16-story building rises next to land that will become the Pearl's largest park. The sales prices are a bit more moderate than the Metropolitan but still pricey.

Sweitzer opened sales for the 177 condos early in 2007 and the building is scheduled to finish late this year.

The tally so far: just 12 sales.

The unsteady economy, tightened lending and a glut of condos aren't helping. But the Encore is a tougher sell because it sits on the Pearl's northern edge and next to railroad tracks, leaving Sweitzer and her staff to sell buyers on a life as temporary urban pioneers until the neighborhood fills out.

Sweitzer says today's buyers are different. They're less willing to buy a concept without a condo to inspect.

"They're not as decisive as they once were," she said. -- Ryan Frank

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/o...540.xml&coll=7

[pdx2m2]

As always thanks for the photo updates.

The south balconies are also acting as sun shades and helping with the solar gain problem mentioned above. Sunshades / balconies are only effective on the southern exposures as they block the high summer sun and allow the low winter sun to enter the units. They also provide some shading to the wall surfaces although as noted these are not as critical as the vision glass as the walls are well insulated.

[philopdx]

Update 4-12-08:

[pdx2m2]

thanks for the photo updates...

i like that they are finally wrapping the northwest decks with the white metal panel...looks like only one is done so far but I think it will look good and increase the visual power of the horizontal white bands.