Recently Architectural Record magazine profiled Portland's Skylab Design Group and its head principal, Jeff Kovel. Skylab is best known locally for designing the stunning Doug Fir restaurant/bar on East Burnside, but the firm has also designed numerous houses, retail, and other kinds of architecture.
Besides his exceptional design talent, another thing that impresses me about Kovel is his willingness to spearhead his own projects. I am convinced that this is a frontier that more architects ought to explore.
Educated at Cornell University's prestigious architecture school, Kovel spent a short stint at Architropolis before setting out on his own at only 26 years of age and no prospective clients. But he created his own business by spec-developing a house on a steep site thought to be unbuildable. And the risk paid off. The 1680 House, as it's called, is stunning, and it acted as a calling card for Skylab that has led to work for such marquee clients as Nike and ESPN. Kovel even designed a full-scale version of the Barbie Dream House that toy maker Mattel uses at trade show exhibitions.
Skylab has also been at work on a 100-year-old Alder Street mixed-use building that Kovel bought and rehabbed. It will serve as home for the firm as well as a couple other businesses. And while the firm so far has more residential and retail to its resume than housing, some forward-thinking developer could reap big rewards by letting Skylab take a shot at their next mixed-used condo. Kovel is one of a handful of architects in town whose talent is not being fully taken advantage of.
Portland needs these kinds of architects to be designing not just its cool restaurants and exclusive single-family homes, but our larger scale institutional, office and residential buildings.
Hey, I've got a new blog. Please check it out.
http://jerkbog.blogspot.com/
Posted by: Jerk Bog | July 12, 2005 at 10:36 AM