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Expertise: Architecture

Center Commons

A catalyst for revitalized neighborhood livability, Center Commons is an urban mixed-use development of seven buildings that combine residential with retail and intimate private spaces with shared areas. Highlighted by a plaza that is part street, part pedestrian mall, and part park, the project is regarded by TriMet, Portland Development Commission, and the neighborhood as a model for transit-oriented, in-fill development.

A Model for Transit-Oriented, In-Fill Development to Revitalize a Neighborhood

Featuring preserved landmark vegetation, high-density and energy-efficient housing, the city of Portland’s goal for controlling urban sprawl while preserving green spaces is integral to the Center Commons design. With an emphasis on developing the community through accessibility, the project incorporates walkway shortcuts from public spaces to adjacent light rail and bus lines to strengthen the relationship between housing and transit. The Otak team met several times with the Center Neighborhood Association where many issues were addressed with the community to optimize project elements including the overall design parking, density, and amenities.

Philip Pittsenbarger Earns Green Globes Certification

Posted on by OTAK Team

It’s time again for Otak to laud a member of our staff who’s taken tangible steps toward being a more sustainable, environmentally conscious professional. Congratulations to our own Phillip Pittsenbarger, project architect, on earning his Green Globes certification.

Philip joined Otak’s architecture group 5½ years ago, specializing in multi-family housing and hospitality, and has current work in our public sector practice. Since college, sustainability has always been a primary interest of his due to his strong connection with the outdoors. He saw the need to tie nature and the built environment together, and strove to become a designer capable of doing their work with the least amount of impact on the planet possible. His portfolio includes projects at the federal and state levels, including for national parks.

Why Green Globes?

Philip saw the greater push for more accredited professionals within our architecture group, and wanted to pursue something different than a standard LEED certification. He identified Green Globes as an alternative thanks to its growing popularity among public projects, and wanted to learn about sustainable building principles and use it as a framework to keep in mind on any project. To him, all projects should be as sustainable as possible, and with emphasis on energy-efficient envelopes, water conservation, and sustainable materials, he began his work on earning the certification.

What is Green Globes?

Green Globes is a green building accreditation available to professionals who work in the built environment. According to the Green Building Initiative (GBI), Green Globes is a comprehensive, science-based building rating system that supports a wide range of new construction and existing building project types. Environmental objectives pursued through Green Globes lead to lower energy and water bills, reduced emissions, optimized health and wellness benefits, and minimized waste.

When asked about what his accreditation allows him to do, Philip defined the process as one of technical mastery and attention to detail. He directly interfaces with a Green Globes auditor, and works to facilitate meetings, organize paperwork, and be the lead on the overall sustainability efforts on any given project he might be working on. He says Green Globes does a great job of integrating sustainability into the overall design-build process, so things are not value-engineered out of the project.

Future Work

The hallmark of Philip’s efforts comes back to one value of his—that sustainability is not a money issue but a central aspect of any project. Through this recent certification, Philip is able to understand important benchmarks and track the health of a project all while getting owners recognition for their sustainable, resilient building. The system is far from perfect, but to Philip, it’s a good start.

Congratulations, Philip, and we look forward to supporting the rest of your project work on our team.

Oregon Dental Service: Milwaukie Plaza

With the goal of sustainably expanding their offices, Oregon Dental Service (ODS) set their sights on a 50,000 square-foot industrial facility within the Willamette River Greenway. The Otak project in Milwaukie, Oregon focuses on the adaptive reuse of the poured-in-place concrete structure – while developing the 7.55 acres of land it’s built on – to create a modern cooperate office environment.

Industrial Reuse for a Sustainable Office Environment and Community Landmark

The building – originally constructed in 1956 as an industrial facility – is surrounded by residential development and, in its prior form, presented a stark image highly visible from major arterial access. The new design softened the original structure with the use of transparent additions to the building, improving the ascetics and natural lighting in the process. Design for the ODS Milwaukie Plaza allows views into the interior, as well as light, to break down the looming mass of the building. Creation of an interior street with light wells punched into the building contributed to natural lighting as part of a modern office layout. The application of these architectural devices creates the corporate image that ODS sought while creating a more appealing visual landmark for the surrounding residential community. Daylighting, sustainably-harvested hardwood floors, and the reuse of an old factory led to this project’s recognition for several awards, including acceptance into the US Green Building Council’s LEED – Existing Building pilot project.

The Yards at Union Station

What began as an underutilized quasi-industrial site in Portland’s Pearl District neighborhood was transformed into a nationally-recognized example of successful urban redevelopment. The Yards at Union Station would mark the district’s first housing project, and it set the tone for subsequent redevelopment in the area. An existing development of four and five-story buildings would grow to include turning 7.5 acres of decommissioned rail yards into a vibrant addition to the newly minted residential community with an emphasis on affordable housing, altogether offering a total of 724 rental and for-sale units for tenants of varying income ranges.

Brownfield Site Development to Revitalize Portland’s Historic Union Station Railyards

Constructed in 1896, Portland Union Station is an established landmark for the city that’s easily recognizable for both it’s Romanesque and Queen Anne architecture as well as its 150-foot clock tower. Sitting adjacent to the Yards at Union Station project site, terra cotta and molded brick of the Union Station building – which was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1975 – provides the basis for a cohesive motif in the neighborhood. Use of the rail yards contaminated the soil meaning The Yards at Union Station would be developed on a brownfield site. The opportunity to clean up the site for redevelopment allows for the space to be safely reinvested in the community. This sustainable design also includes stormwater planters, energy-efficient lighting and native plantings among other features. With a priority on equity the city of Portland emphasizes that its investment make sure projects address the community’s greatest unmet community needs not only in housing but in economic equity. With over 200 jobs created, this project also exceeds the City’s MWESB goals for diversity in contracting on its way to becoming a viable residential neighborhood in the heart of the city.

South Cooper Mountain: Main Street

The South Cooper Mountain, Main Street development is a public-private partnership that consists of three multi-family buildings as well as 40,000 square-feet of commercial space and community-use facilities. The site design includes low-impact stormwater management techniques including vegetated planters and swales. Landscaping consists of native and drought-tolerant plant species and the site’s transit design of the TriMet stop will support multimodal transportation.

Affordable Housing with A Sustainable, Accessible Design

In support of the project’s residential uses, the site received funding through the Metro Affordable Housing Bond, administered by the City of Beaverton as well as Oregon Housing and Community Service (OHCS) tax credits. As a first for South Cooper Mountain, an urban plaza was also included in the design to complement the project’s varied utilization. That park project consists 0.25-acre plaza that will be owned and operated by Tualatin Hills Parks and Recreation District (THPRD). With affordable housing goals accounted for, the project is also designed to exceed high universal design standards, going above and beyond code to provide accessible features. In designing the residential buildings, a sustainable approach in accordance with universal design principles includes solar-ready and electric vehicle (EV)-ready infrastructure. All together, these sustainable elements position the South Cooper Main Street project to be certified with at least Earth Advantage Silver standards. A multi-day design charrette with City of Beaverton staff delivered a site design that met the needs of the community, the jurisdiction, the developer and future residents and tenants. With a true multidisciplinary approach, Otak managed everything from land use planning and entitlement to site surveying and construction documentation to complete the design for this mixed use development.

4th Street Condos

Located in the heart of downtown Lake Oswego, the 4th Street Condos are designed to add a luxury cornerstone to the community.

With 15 units across four stories and 40,963 square feet of space, the project includes a below grade parking garage and rooftop amenity deck.  All units have outdoor terraces while the penthouse units feature wrap around decks.  All unit are double, master suite designs with one penthouse being a 3-bedroom layout.

Mosaic Mixed-Use Condominiums

The Mosaic is a high-rise mixed-use development located at the intersection of University Street and Ash Avenue in downtown Tempe, AZ. The project is comprised of multi-level on site parking, street level retail, grocery store, and a residential tower. The goal of this development is to provide urban scale for sale housing and amenities to transform a primarily vehicular/commercial oriented intersection at the edge of downtown into a vibrant pedestrian friendly environment.

The Mosaic is a building of many uses and has been design to express those distinctions. The urban grocer and retail hold the street edges. The tallest element, the residential tower, has been located to the north edge in order to relieve the University face from the buildings greatest mass. The placement of the residential tower minimizes its exposure to the harsh western sun and maximizes exposure north and south, the primary view corridors. The grocer is the major use along University with the corner at Ash occupied by an entrance for the residential/retail uses.  Parking levels above the grocer are screened by a perforated masonry wall.  The east edge of the parking garage is screened by the grocer and retail space, with residential units above.

Al Bateen Hotel & Residences

The Al Bateen Wharf is designed as a five-star business hotel and high-rise condominium in Abu Dhabi. In addition to the main hotel and apartments, there are extensive five-star amenities such as restaurants and coffee shops. The facility also includes a large conference center, banquet hall, health club, and spa. There are a number of water features and swimming pools along with several sidewalk cafes on the waterfront promenade. The design opts for simple volumes wrapped with a fluid and transparent veil-like screen. While maintaining visual transparency, the screen creates a sustainable building through the use of diffused natural lighting, façade elements to achieve energy savings by passive cooling, and shielding from intense sun. The design also carefully considers natural and local materials in relation with marine life.

Dubai Creekside Redevelopment

With our collaborating partners, we have led an international design and technical team tasked with planning and designing a cultural and heritage destination compris­ing both sides of Dubai Creek for 1 ½ miles through the historical center of Dubai. The project consists of 143 separate buildings to include retail, residential, hospitality, cultural, and entertainment uses, connected by a network of public spaces, covered “souks,” and marinas.

Parking garages, parking access, and vertical circulation have been designed to accommodate 12,000 cars in 2 levels for the entire length of the redevelop­ment. In January 2008, the gov­ernment mandated that all future buildings will achieve U.S.G.B.C. LEED Gold certification, and we were selected for this separate contract and to assist the United Arab Emirates to draft the “Emirates Green Building Council” documents, establishing the local criteria for LEED status. In 2008, Dubai Creek Redevelopment was considered the world’s largest LEED certification project.

Jinan Olympic Park

Jinan Olympic Park is the result of a design competition won in November of 2007. Adjacent to the Jinan Olympic venue, the 6 tower Olympic Park complex is comprised of 6 signature office buildings. The tallest building, 55 stories, is made up of both office and a 5-star business hotel. The buildings form an urban garden at the surface, with 2 underground levels of urban shopping and parking.