Portland Spaces Debut Party NearlyRuns Out of It

Last night the anticipated new magazine Portland Spaces, edited by former Oregonian architecture critic Randy Gragg and published by Portland Monthly, arrived on the scene with a party in a decked-out warehouse over in the Northwest industrial area near Pyramid Brewing.

If the turnout for this shindig was any indication, the magazine ought to do well. When it came time for Randy to speak shortly after 8PM, the room he spoke from (there were two adjoining spaces for the party) actually reached its limit and some of us wound up watching from closed-circuit flat screen TVs in the overflow room. It felt a little surreal, but thanks to the genius stroke of having free hors d'oeuvre from Burgerville in the form of little cheeseburgers, cups of fries and shakes (plus free booze at the bar), the big-brother effect went down a whole lot easier.

The jam-packed gathering also was somewhat of an odd mix. On one hand, you had lots of art and architecture people, most all of whom know Randy. And on the other hand, there was also, if you'll forgive the stereotyping, a cleavage and Range Rover contingent. A cynic might say this represents the marriage of Randy and Portland Monthly's demographic (which, in full disclosure, I've freelanced for). But in the end it doesn't matter. It's about the product, the magazine itself, which was handed out in little goody bags with jars of Burgerville spread (or what I still think of as "special sauce"). And that could wind up being an interesting pairing--Randy and the magazine, that is, not the magazine and the fry goo.

I've only made a first run-through of the magazine, but it was fun seeing the successful brisk and well-designed graphics of Portland Monthly applied solely to homes and architecture, underscored by Randy's erudition about local planning, preservation, and architects. (Two writers from Willamette Week I like a lot, Zach Dundas and Mike Thelin, also contributed to the first issue.) For example, there's a spread of four pages tracing the lineage of housing design in Portland that includes pictures and small bits of text on everyone from Van Evra Bailey, Pietro Belluschi and John Storrs to Brad Cloepfil, Bob Oshatz and Rick Potestio.

In addition, there are more in-depth looks at individual projects in smart ways, like the under-construction 2121 Belmont project seen through the eyes of three people: an architect from Ankrom Moisan involved in the design, someone from the neighborhood organization, and an architect previously part of the design commission. The cover-story is a house by Jeff Kovel and his superlative firm, Skylab. That's probably a good example of a cool modern project you'd be less likely to find in, say, Oregon Home. (Although I do remember seeing a few cool Rick Potestio projects there from time to time in years past.)

Regardless, it's always great to have more voices and resources devoted to covering design and architecture in Portland.

And speaking of Randy Gragg, if you didn't get a big enough dose from the magazine, or would like to hear more about the making of it--and more about architecture in Portland--next Wednesday, January 16 at 6:30, I will be interviewing Randy as the debut in a new discussion series that I'm doing in partnership with Design Within Reach called "Designs On Portland". The event is free and will be held at DWR's studio in the Wieden + Kennedy building. We'll be doing one about every other month. More to come on the discussion in the days ahead.

Comments

[John]

I'm not exactly clear what the magazine is about, and the Portland Spaces website says almost nothing. What is the emphasis of the magazine? The general built environment in Portland? Is it about Portland Architecture? Portland Real Estate? Portland Design? Portland Neighborhoods? Portland Urban Planning? Is it primarily about Modernist and Green Design in Portland? Who is the target reader? Is it essentially a magazine for the stereotypical Pearl/SoWa resident? Is it a localized Dwell magazine for the Portland market? Is it intended to be hot off the press news and stories on design/architecture/planning in Portland or just general stories on these topics that aren't specifically urgent like biographies on architects and histories of design?

Just wondering because I am trying to figure out if its what I'm looking for.

[charles]

It was quite the shindig. I must confess to a bit of disappointment with first issue. It seemed a bit more Portland Monthly than Randy/critical analysis. I love your blog Brian for both taking positions and also sparking dialogue. I found the first issue of Spaces interesting but not challenging or provocative. I appreciate trying to create something different from other home mags and I'm hoping this venture will evolve with time and feedback.

[Brooks Jordan]

Brian,

Thanks for giving the magazine's release some context. I saw it at New Seasons this weekend and am eager to read it.

And, in reference to the comments above, I am more than willing to give them time to figure out what the focus of the magazine is.

Oh, and love the characterization of this demo:

"cleavage and Range Rover contingent"

[bg]

Randy said the primary target demo of magazines such as this is, are the 51 and up, white female. Similar to the Portland Monthly, of course.

Take note of the advertising to get a sense of whom they are targeting.

[Bret]

"15 Hot Places to Buy Your Third Vacation Home"

[Randy]

Jeesh folks,

How 'bout READING the magazine before dissing it!

Brooks, I did say the 50-up female set is the typical readership of regional home design magazines, but you might recall I also said that we want to expand that. The reason we think we can is because Portland Monthly has broken out of that target already. It's younger and more gender balanced than other city magazines.

If you read the magazine and still have criticisms, tell us what you think we can do better.

[Ashley]

Can someone tell me the venue where the debut party took place?

[Agustin Enriquez V]

The venue was in an empty bowstring warehouse--the floor where the magazine was unveiled was covered in sod. The location was across the street from Portland Brewing in NW Portland.

"If you read the magazine and still have criticisms, tell us what you think we can do better."

If part of the magazine's target audience is architects, it would be beneficial to have drawings of the projects showcased (at minimum floor plans).

[truth]

some of us also call the "cleavage and Range Rover contingent" CLIENTS.

[truth]

oh, and the spaces website, portlandspaces.net now has it's very own blog... some articles from the magazine, with more pics, and other articles as well.