2281 NW Glisan

2281 NW Glisan in Portland, Oregon by Allied Works Architecture


The following text and images are by Brad Cloepfil's Portland, Oregon-based firm Allied Works Architecture. Featured is 2281 NW Glisan, a mixed-use project, also in Portland.

The more particular the act of architecture, the greater the resonance created by it. When a building establishes a strong position, a determined sense of inclusion and exclusion, it can clarify a moment in history.

The 2281 NW Glisan Building is an urban in-fill project incorporating office and retail spaces with a penthouse apartment. A taut skin of glass, metal mesh, and stone tile wraps the neutral structural grid. Floor to ceiling glass on two exposures maximize the available light while the mesh panels serve as sunscreens and rails for operable doors.

The building asserts a simple volumetric presence in the existing context, while the transparency communicates the structure, function and activity of the building to the street.