More from the Williams corridor: Visiting Sakura Urban Concepts' Hakoya Lofts

Although we all know the market for condominiums is not what it was a year or even six months ago, many projects were well underway as the housing market and broader economy began sliding. But while it's not the best fiscal climate for projects like the Hakoya Lofts on North Williams Avenue at Shaver, which recently completed, the array of small housing and mixed-use projects in this area of close-in North Portland's Boise-Elliot neighborhood continues to impress. This is the most active area in the city for small architecture firms and development companies to make projects happen.

The Hakoya Lofts, intended as condos and now rental apartments, were developed and more or less designed by Sakura Urban Concepts. The head of Sakura is Taka Nakagawa. Born and raised in Nagoya, Japan, Nakagawa relocated to the United States several years ago, first in Los Angeles and now in Portland. Initially here he was the general contractor for Quality Homes, which renovated numerous historic houses here, particularly in the Irvington neighborhood. Nakagawa is not an architect, but he acts as the creative director for Sakura and comes up with the look of their properties, which are then completed with the help of a separate architecture firm, DMS Architects.

Visiting the Hakyoa Lofts recently with Nakagawa and colleague Eli Haworth of Sakura, I was struck by the simplicity of this mixed-use building. I like this project a lot. A favorite feature, which doesn't necessarily show up well in the photos, was how the upper stories are gently cantilevered over the nearly all-glass first floor. Not that Hakoya is at this level, but it reminded me just a little of the seminal Villa Savoye by Le Corbusier, outside Paris.

Ultimately the Hakoya Lofts lack that level of refinement, not only in comparison to a legend like Corbusier but also in comparison to the work by other small firms rising in Portland, such as Path Architecture's Williams Five condos. The Hakoya Lofts aren't clunky, but perhaps the fact that the design concept has to be translated, more or less, from Nakagawa to DMS, means that the ultimate level of detail and refinement is hard to achieve. I don't know much about DMS (their portfolio is mostly single and multi-family housing), but I wonder if either having an in-house architect at Sakura or a veteran architect to help guide Nakagawa's concepts might help Sakura's projects take that extra step. At the same time, DMS may be just as much of an up-and-comer as Sakura. And any criticism I may have of the tiny details comes within the context of liking Hakoya and Sakura without reservation.

The upstairs units have one window that actually is a glass garage door, allowing the space to be flooded with natural light and fresh air. The Hakoya Lofts, like most all of of Sakura's work, is sustainably designed with energy efficiency in mind. There are solar hot water heating panels, radiant floor heating, dual flush toilets, all natural linoleum and bamboo flooring, and low VOC finishes.

Hakoya also has completed a few other projects in the area. On Martin Luther King Boulevard near Russell Street is the Black & White Building, with 10,000 square feet of renovated retail/commercial space from an old concrete box of a building. Behind that is the Mado House, a four-plex that offers a residential scale and rich materials in keeping with the neighborhood, but adds needed density. Sakura also has done remodels of older homes, and Oregon Home magazine named their house in Irvington as one of its best renovations of 2006.

Sarkura, which also comes with its own YouTube video courtesy of realtor (oh, sorry, "Realtor") David Krause, could easily be included in the new wave of architects and developers coming of age in Portland, such as the aforementioned Path Architecture as well as William Kaven, Seed Architecture, Kevin Cavenaugh, Architecure W, and several others. For all the large condo towers that have risen here in recent years, I'm most excited about what's happening at a smaller scale in Portland's existing neighborhoods.

Comments

[Dr. Mary Ready]

I personally loved the style and execution of this building. It is ideal for people who want their office and living space separate and allows for economy of transportation (i.e. not traveling and saving time and money and the environment)
i have seen other projects that Taka Nakagawa has done, and I am very impressed with his economy of line, quality of work and high end accoutrements.I have spoken with others who live in his designs and they are very happy...that is the best compliment a builder/designer can have.
If one compares him to Corbusier, what higher compliment can you give?

[Glass Bubblers]

Yes those are seems very good design and planned community architect design.....

[Brad Cooley]

Just visited these lofts and was impressed with the straightforward presentation of the spaces. The shotgun style frontdoor to garage door window worked really well.

What struck me most after sitting down in front of the window was the great light coming from the stairwell leading up. The skylight above the stairs illuminated the way up to the next level like a beacon. Very cool. Most times during the day the natural light emphasizes the space well. Bonus is the great mural across the street that all the units look out towards.

Outside the building had good presence on the corner without being overwhelming. With less than ten double height units above the ground floor retail it is a very compact design with no parking.