The Strand | Complete

[bvpcvm]

Originally Posted by zilfondel

Eww, starbucks? There's already 150 of them in Portland! We need more independent coffee houses.

I was being facetious... though I'll bet it won't be long until one arrives.

[awg]

The buildings have just the right mass, they avoid the slab and work really well with the park.

What do you mean by slab?

[dkealoha]

I was just down there last night for Cirque du Soleil and the buildings up close are really nice. I love the color of the glass and the white panels in between the windows. It will be amazing for the people living there when it is warm out like yesterday. Walking by there along the river was so nice!

[der Reisender]

still amazed at the pace they are building the strand, feels like i've been down there in the last 2 weeks yet there is a major visible change. it definitely seems that they have done a good job designing the buildings, that restaurant that will be added in will have some nice (and probably expensive) river views

[MarkDaMan]

1 directly to the south, and one SW of it to the N of the substation

what's the deal with the substation? can/will it be moved elsewhere in the future?

[cab]

awg,

200ft, by 100ft buildings. See the new OHSU building or most of the pearl. Slabs are more like walls then actual towers.

[awg]

The slab doesn't bother me so much as uninspiring design--though I prefer a well-proportioned building as much as the next person.
I think it should be noted that an office building will almost always dictate a slab floor plate. Comparing OHSU's medical office building with high rise residential is not very helpful.

[MarkDaMan]

Comparing OHSU's medical office building with high rise residential is not very helpful.

I think OHSU has stunning architecture on Pill Hill...STUNNING! The shape of OHSU H&H has been a disappointment to me, though up close the building is fantastic.

[cab]

"office building will almost always dictate a slab floor plate" Why is that? Big pink is a tower not a slab. Most of the office buildings are towers, small and boxy, but still towers. The Pearl is filled with residential slabs, with the cave units that slabs bring to design. You can pretty them up with materials (see the eliot), but slabs will never have the same elegance as a true tower. Just think of the the PDX main train station tower if its proportions had been rectangle slab. Its the icon it is because its a true tower.

[pdxstreetcar]

its all about proportion, this is why i love the benson tower so much

[saeternes]

Not to mention that it provides LIGHT indoors...

[awg]

Big pink is a tower not a slab. Most of the office buildings are towers, small and boxy, but still towers.

This is not true. Big Pink is one of the largest slab floor plates of an office tower in the city (20,000 sf). It may even be the single largest (Wells Fargo is 18,000 sf). And because of its unique shape (which was derived from its unique site shape) it casts the largest and longest shadow in all of Portland (the diagonal is 239' compared to Wells Fargo at 188'. If there ever were a "wall of a building" in this city, this is it. See image below.



A standard office tower is very prescriptive about its dimensions. They are derived from a 10' deep office, a 5' corridor, 8'x8' workstations, and the elevator and stair cores. That's it. Tall buildings have fundamental building blocks that need to be addressed. Tall housing towers are the same--though the building block dimensions are different. That is why it muddies the waters to discuss housing towers and office towers. They are fundamentally different.

[zilfondel]

That doesn't even count the attached parking garage. Which. Is. Horrible!
If that thing were to come down, replace the parking with underground, and add some more office space... it would go a long way to help that area!

[CouvScott]

[Dougall5505]

Not much on this recently has anyone seen a rendering with all three buildings?




Looks like all three have topped out

[Dougall5505]

from the bridge pedal:

[tworivers]

Riding accross the Marquam today, I found myself thinking (again) that they should have built the tallest tower, closest to the river, twice as high. It would have de-emphasized the Marquam a bit, and added some height between downtown and South Waterfront. The three towers are too blocky and close to the same height for me. Oh well...

Nice shots, Dougall.

[Dougall5505]

im waiting for parcel 8 to be developed that could have some potential

[bvpcvm]

Originally Posted by tworivers

Riding accross the Marquam today, I found myself thinking (again) that they should have built the tallest tower, closest to the river, twice as high. It would have de-emphasized the Marquam a bit, and added some height between downtown and South Waterfront. The three towers are too blocky and close to the same height for me. Oh well...

Nice shots, Dougall.

IIRC among the original plans was to have been a 17-story tower, but the residents of the american condos or whatever they're called raised a ruckus about their views being blocked.

[cab]

Those buildings looked Beautiful from the Marquam Bridge. The water was reflecting off the glass surface giving it a strange gentle swaying look.