Recently I spoke with Kurt Schultz, a principal at SERA Architects, about the new development the firm has designed at North Mississippi near Albina for developer Trammell Crow Residential.
Word of this project has been around for several months, but it initially was to be developed by Randy Rapaport of Belmont Lofts fame. It also looked at first that Mahlum Architects would be the architect, with ultra talented Rick Potestio taking a lead. Randy planned a multi-housing development focused on artist housing and amenities. But Trammell Crow, a bigger and more mainstream national developer, just wants housing and public spaces, not the artist stuff. And now that Potestio has left Mahlum, SERA stepped in as architect (although aspects of the Mahlum design remain, I'm told).
Although it would have been great to see Potestio working on this larger scale, what I’ve seen so far by SERA seems like a thoughtful development the neighborhood should find favor with.
Consisting of 188 units and about 9,000 square feet of retail, this is a huge development that takes pains to fit in. All the parking is underground, and because the development fronts Mississippi Avenue retail on one side and single-family houses on another, the project is conditioned and scaled differently on each side. The Mississippi-oriented side is a 5-6 story mixed use building, while the Albina side features two smaller 3-story apartment buildings with diagonal roofs that match the pitched-roof vernacular in a contemporary way.
The entire site is bisected by a series pedestrian connections and a plaza that Trammell Crow’s Tom DiChiara hopes eventually will attract a restaurant tenant. In addition to glass, the façade on the middle section will include different colored fiber cement panels. Then penthouses will have a profile corrugated metal panel running horizontally and set back. SERA’s Schultz told me that because to the south of site is industrial area, and north is historic houses that are more refined, the design seeks to incorporate both by aping the proportions of buildings to north but use some of the more industrial materials.
This project also represents another big step for SERA Architects. The firm used to be a relatively small one known for historic preservation. But under design director John Echlin and principals like Schultz, the firm has fostered a contemporary architectural identity rooted in strong sustainable principals. In the Mississippi project, I don't see signature architecture like Holst tried to design for the Kurisu project. Rather, this is a behemoth of a project that is endeavoring to become part of the existing neighborhood fabric. No argument about those goals - I'm glad we have designers trying to do both.
This housing project also comes on the heels of SERA’s design of The Civic condo and apartment complex for Gerding/Edlen Development and the especially handsome Union Gospel Mission project on West Burnside. I like the look of UGM a little better than The Civic, but it’s clear SERA has become a bigger player on the local architectural scene.
Many residents and retail tenants in the area are overwhelmed and frustrated with this development. The plans include bumping out the sidewalk, which impact the traffic; for peds, pedals and powered vehicles. I realize the scope of the project is ambitious, but it would be better received if plans were reconfigured to work within the existing space and not impact the neighborhood as significantly.
Posted by: Erin | May 17, 2007 at 12:45 PM
no real complaints from this neighbor. although there certainly is a lot of concern about the sidewalk widening. just got a flyer this morning!
personally, i think what makes mississippi uniquely pleasant is that the street has very slow very limited traffic. unlike say hawthorne.
the widening will only add to this character.
what i am more concerned about is that the developers working on large projects in the hood seem to be getting these variances without the neighborhood getting much mitigation.
Posted by: george | May 17, 2007 at 03:19 PM
Rick Potestio left Mahlum? Seem like he just joined up a couple of years ago. What is he doing next?
Posted by: SChally | May 18, 2007 at 02:05 AM
Just one question: how to add your blog into my rrs reader, thanks so much.
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