Grand Belmont | xx' | 7 floors | Complete

[cityscapes]

It reminds me of a brick Cyan in a strange way.

I'm happy with the design except for two things:

The brick seems too orange looking in the renderings, I prefer the darker version shown on the first pictures that were posted of this project.

The blank black wall on the back of the project looks pretty bad, imo. Why can't they clad that in brick as well, or anything prettier really.

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by cityscapes

The blank black wall on the back of the project looks pretty bad, imo. Why can't they clad that in brick as well, or anything prettier really.

My guess is that it's a concrete/cmu wall for structural and/or fire separation reasons. The brick used elsewhere is just a veneer, likely behind steel studs. There's a similar condition at the Janey in the Pearl, and I don't really mind it to be honest.

[urbanlife]

I like this one, would be awesome to see more like this throughout the Central Eastside.

[Abide]

That's a pretty depressing section of Grand to walk down. This building would do amazing things for the feel of the area. It looks fantastic.

[athorak]

The project is certainly welcome, but design is a thumbs down for me. It reads a little too much like some of the dreary orange brick midcentury buildings I remember from college.

[2oh1]

I think the slight staggering of the windows takes away from the design rather than adds to it. I'll be happy to see this built, but the design is meh. Maybe it's the color of the brick? In gray brick, it would probably be much better.

[soleri]

Originally Posted by athorak

The project is certainly welcome, but design is a thumbs down for me. It reads a little too much like some of the dreary orange brick midcentury buildings I remember from college.

I wanted to like this one but it's just too institutional looking, either an education building, or maybe even a hospital. The Multnomah County building down the street at Hawthorne appears to a close cousin. I hope Design Review helps out the architects here. This one does not sing.

[cab]

Love the project, but the second and third floors are pretty bad. Parking needs just ruin design. Its too important a building at that Location to nip pick as the rest of the building works fine. This is a huge infill location. Kind of connects Grand into an actual retail street from hawthorn to Burnside. This was a huge gap.

[eric cantona]

Originally Posted by cab

Love the project, but the second and third floors are pretty bad. Parking needs just ruin design. Its too important a building at that Location to nip pick as the rest of the building works fine. This is a huge infill location. Kind of connects Grand into an actual retail street from hawthorn to Burnside. This was a huge gap.

I agree. my feeling is that if the base is a different color/material then the whole thing works great. I envision dark-ish gray precast panels for the skin on the first three floors and keep the rest the way it is. needs to be better grounded, and using the same material throughout does not do that.

[pdxtraveler]

I like it.

[innovativethinking]

Way too much brick. Almost brutalist

[MarkDaMan]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

Way too much brick. Almost brutalist

Didn't you call Pearl West brutalist as well?

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

Way too much brick. Almost brutalist

Brick buildings such as this (or Pearl West) would not normally be described as brutalist. As it happens 99% Invisible just did an excellent podcast on buildings that brutalist. The name Brutalist isn't derived from the English word "brutal", but instead the French term for raw concrete "béton brut".

[innovativethinking]

Originally Posted by MarkDaMan

Didn't you call Pearl West brutalist as well?

Yea I did

[zilfondel]

Originally Posted by innovativethinking

Way too much brick. Almost brutalist

Brutalism is not what you think. Here are some helpful links:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brutalist_architecture

http://fuckyeahbrutalism.tumblr.com/


image via newyorker

[tworivers]

I can only assume that this design will evolve as it goes through design review. I'm not crazy about it as is, despite being excited about the idea of something substantial happening on that lot. The 2nd and 3rd floors being devoted to auto storage is the biggest strike against it IMO -- especially on that corner, having those floors be a dead zone will only add to, rather than diminish, the unfriendly atmosphere of auto-dominance in the immediate vicinity. But it also feels a bit conservative and staid in general, especially when you look at the buildings going up at the Burnside bridgehead. Not that every building should be as unapologetically cool as Yard and Block 75... it's just that the whole close-in eastside seems like it could absorb a lot more buildings along those lines, and this is a major gateway corner coming from downtown. I at least agree with eric cantona that the base should be differentiated from the rest of the structure. And maybe a different color of brick? Black? Dark grey?

[maccoinnich]

Originally Posted by tworivers

also feels a bit conservative and staid in general

To be honest I think it's probably too radical and daring for the Historic Landmarks Commission. Because it's in the East Portland / Grand Avenue Historic District they get to review it instead of the Design Commission. I don't envy the architects.

[65MAX]

There's a lot to like about this building. Wrap around corner windows, weather protected balconies, a block-long terrace on top of the podium with great views and lots of eyes on the street. This is most definitely NOT a "brutalist" building though. Some people may think it's "brutal" because it's modern and there's not much, if any, ornamentation. But that's not the same a a "brutalist" building, which is characterized primarily by huge expanses of poured-in-place concrete and an inhuman scale. Neither is present here.

My only criticism of this building is the orange color of the brick. It's too similar to the County building down the street. I would like to see either a darker, more textured brick pattern, or a lighter, neutral color.

[tworivers]

To be honest I think it's probably too radical and daring for the Historic Landmarks Commission. Because it's in the East Portland / Grand Avenue Historic District they get to review it instead of the Design Commission. I don't envy the architects.

Oh crap. Completely forgot about that. /faceplant

[Abide]

I think if this building used black brick, it would come across as rather hulking. Also, I'd like to not see one more building built in this city with a gray exterior. There seem to be a lot of gray buildings going up and the abundance of that color is getting depressing.