Until a few years ago, RiverEast Center was just an abandoned concrete warehouse in Portland, Ore., situated between an industrial sanctuary and the Willamette River. The building, a functional concrete box built in 1951 to store boxes for companies like Quaker Oats and Coca Cola, had remained vacant for 40 years for good reasons: It was outdated for warehouse use, had poor seismic conditions in relation to current code, contained a significantly sloped floor, had contamination issues, and had a lack of windows for possible office use.

Jeff Reaves, president of Group Mackenzie, a Portland-based architectural/engineering firm, saw it through the eyes of an architect: elegant 20-foot interior columns with capitals, Art Deco entrances, the impressions of old growth timber — used in the original concrete board forms — and a great downtown location. Reaves and Jay Haladay, owner of software firm Coaxis, formed an LLC to purchase and redevelop the building as a new headquarters for the companies. Bringing out the property’s luster wasn’t easy. The firm’s team of structural engineers, architects, interior designers and civil engineers often had competing goals:

• Preserve most of the building;
• Make the structure functional and comfortable as an office environment;
• Incorporate sustainable design principles; and,
• Make best use of its proximity to the river.

In April 2007, the building re-opened as RiverEast Center, a fully-occupied office building for 250 creative professionals, seven businesses and two non-profits. In October 2007, the building received LEED Gold certification from the USGBC. Sustainable features accounted for less than a 5 percent increase to the standard budget.The entire south side of the building is a dynamic double envelope that uses a system of glass panels, baffles and shelves to alternately capture and divert solar heat throughout the seasons. The envelope also acts as an effective insulating buffer between inside temperature and outside temperature (averaging 19 percent difference), and blocks harsh solar rays, providing a comfortable, quality interior space light source. The double envelope, wide use of natural light, reflective white roofing, special window glazing, daylight sensors, and energy-efficient fixtures, significantly reduce energy consumption beyond code requirements. In addition, the owners are buying 100 percent green power. To reduce water usage, the building features motion-activated faucets and dual-level toilets. PVC-free carpets, sustainably harvested and recycled materials, and low-VOC finishes were used in the project. Employees help reduce fossil fuel consumption by taking advantage of the central location, mass transit, 15 bicycle lockers and nine showers on site.

Reclaiming History

Retaining 100 percent of the original structure not only reduced new building materials, but also served to integrate the building into its surroundings. RiverEast Center is sandwiched between an industrial sanctuary and the Eastbank Esplanade, a popular pedestrian and bike path that parallels the Willamette River. To expand public access to the river, the team worked with the city to turn a city street into a public plaza connecting neighborhoods to the Esplanade. Large slabs of the concrete walls that were removed to introduce natural light into the office environment were used as part of the landscape design and also repurposed by local artist Linda Wysong as sculptures in the plaza, supported through a grant from the Regional Arts and Culture Council. Wysong entitled her installation “Portals,” and her statement addresses the history of the building and its perennial connection to the River: “Using slabs of concrete cut from the original Holman Transfer Building, Portals acknowledges the industrial history of the Eastbank and creates continually changing views of the city and the Willamette River.” More than 95 percent of the construction waste was recycled for the sculptures, site grading and fill, and a stormwater system that is a first for the city.

Saving the River

RiverEast received a LEED Gold certification in October 2007. Photo by Gary Wilson Photo/Graphic.

Portland backs up its reputation as a rainy city by averaging 37 inches of rainfall per year, which generates about 10-billion gallons of stormwater runoff. The city, concerned with pollution washing into streams and rivers, promotes stormwater management strategies that allow rain to naturally filter through vegetation and soak into the soil. RiverEast Center worked with the city to create a model stormwater system that additionally treats runoff from the parking lot, public plaza and adjoining city streets. As Portland’s first shared Green Street, public stormwater runoff is being treated in a privately maintained facility. The system reduces the load on the city’s over-worked sewer system and naturally filters runoff as well. “There were a number of legal concerns when you co-mingle private and public stormwater, but now that the agreement is in place, we hope to encourage other developers to collaborate with the city to reduce stormwater issues,” says civil engineer Matt Butts. The Portland Bureau of Environmental Services provided grants to the demonstration project as an example of how to effectively manage stormwater in a dense, urban area.

The stormwater system was designed by Group Mackenzie’s civil engineers and the landscape architects of GreenWorks PC. The system starts on the building’s roof, a city square block of area, sloped so rainwater can travel to the artistic scuppers on the south end. Catch basins next to the building collect stormwater from the roof and filter it through flow-through planters made of recycled concrete building slabs and native plantings. Parking lot swales with native plantings capture and clean runoff from the public streets and the private parking lot. The facility combines a standard flow-through planter and infiltration basin, creating a storm system that cleanses stormwater and allows it to meter flow into the Willamette River.

The once abandoned building is now bustling with new tenants. The industrial neighborhood has new jobs. The public has a new access for walking, biking and jogging. The city has a cleaner river.

“A building that attracted no interest from developers for 40 years now demonstrates what can be done to recycle a city’s history and creatively apply sustainable design principles to protect the rivers and the environment for the future.” says owner/architect Reaves.

RIVEREAST CENTER

SIZE: 99,000 SQUARE FEET
LOCATION: PORTLAND, ORE.

KEY PROJECT TEAM MEMBERS

OWNER/DEVELOPER: RIVERSEAST LLC
ARCHITECT/ENGINEERS: GROUP MACKENZIE, INC
CONTRACTOR: HOWARD S. WRIGHT
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER: GVA KIDDER MATTHEWS
MEP DESIGN ENGINEERS: INTERFACE ENGINEERING, INC.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: GREENWORKS, PC
ARTIST: LINDA WYSONG

PRODUCTS AND MANUFACTURERS

CARPET
SHAW
DESIGNWEAVE

DAYLIGHTING CONTOLS
LEVITON

PLUMBING
CHICAGO
CAROMA
ELKAY
KOHLER
SLOAN
CHICAGO FAUCETS
LASCO
OXYGENICS
OLSONITE

HVAC
PRICE
YORK

BUILDING MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
JOHNSON CONTROLS

MECHOSHADES
MECHOSHADE, INC.

LIGHTING
ALKCO
AXIS LIGHTING
BEGHELLI
BRONZELITE
BRUCK
CAPRI
DAC LIGHTING
DAYBRITE
FC LIGHTING
FOCAL POINT
GVA
KIRLIN
LEUCOS
LEVITON
LIGHTOLIER
LITECONTROL
LUMASCAPE
LUMINARE
METALUMEN
OMEGA
PAL
PINNACLE LIGHTING
TECH LIGHTING