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Expertise: Residential Architecture

Otak Partners with Earth Day Oregon to Support Nonprofit Depave

Times are challenging as we all face the impacts of COVID-19. But as our day to day lives have been disrupted, mother nature continues on unabated. Flowers have come up, migrating birds have returned, and temperatures are rising. 

In recognition of all that nature provides, Earth Day is celebrated throughout April. While this year there won’t be group events as we practice social distancing, Otak is still taking this time to celebrate the great outdoors. 

Otak has again signed on as a business partner for Earth Day Oregon to recognize, support and celebrate our planet and those organizations that work hard every day for our natural world.  Through Earth Day Oregon, Otak donated to Depave, a nonprofit that works to turn paved spaces into greenspaces to create more livable cities. We understand the environmental and social benefits greenspace can have and gladly stand behind and have volunteered for the many projects Depave has undertaken to green the landscape of Portland. We look forward to working together with Depave on its next project. 

On the homefront, Otak’s GO Committee and Operations Team remind us that Earth Day is really every day and there are things we can do in our daily lives to get back to nature. 

    1. Start a small garden. You can build raised beds in your yard, or simply pot some herbs and veggies to grow on your porch.
    2. Bike and walk more. Do you live near your local grocery store? Consider if it is possible to walk or bike for your next trip to the store (while following proper PPE and social distancing guidelines). A win-win for getting outside and getting your essential errands done.
    3. At Home CompostStart a home compost. Many of us are already doing this. Check-in with your local trash service to see if they offer compost pick up. If not and if space allows, you can start composting in your backyard by purchasing something like a “Bio Monster” or “Worm Factory” bin and use the compost for your garden.
    4. Shop locally, eat seasonally. With stay-at-home orders in place during the opening weeks for farmers’ markets, your local market or farm might be offering pick-up or delivery!
    5. Play Earth Day Bingo! Get the family involved in this great activity from the City of Kirkland.

Getting outside is one of the recommendations for keeping COVID-19 at bay, as well as a way to maintain your mental health. We want our employees to stay healthy so we encourage you to get out and show your love for the planet, on earth day and every day!

 

 

15 West Apartments

15 West Apartments is a five-story, 120-unit residential building with a ground floor parking structure and live/work units on an irregularly shaped site. In an effort to expand housing in the area, the building is surrounded by a heavily trafficked vehicular couplet and limited pedestrian activity.

Adding Residential Availability to a Popular Urban Environment

With limited pedestrian activity, special attention was paid to building massing along the couplet streets, while pedestrian-oriented details were incorporate along the single pedestrian friendly street forming the triangle. At the main intersection, the ground floor contains live/work units, which provide desirable interaction with the urban environment.

The Tabe

The Tabe, an urban infill apartment project, provides 19 market rate apartments in four stories, with a mix of one-bedroom, studio, and two-bedroom townhouse units.

Urban Infill Housing, Neighborhood-Conscious Design

The project maximized the allowable building area, while also being sensitive to the scale of the existing urban architecture. Otak provided planning, architecture, and landscape architecture services for this fast-tracked project. The result of the development is a thoughtful building design that provides additional housing options for Portland’s Mt. Tabor neighborhood.

44th & Belmont Apartments

The 44th and Belmont Apartments building adds multi-family housing to booming southeast Portland. The site’s split zone allowed our architects to design a unique four-story building that has three stories in front to conform with zone regulations.

Creative Multi-Family Design Solves Unique Zoning Challenges

Offering 63 units that range from three-bedroom units and two-story townhomes to studios and one-bedrooms, the building also has two live + work units with street-level storefronts. The building’s features include a rooftop community room with a deck, kitchen, special amenities, and views of downtown Portland. An interior courtyard – designed by Otak landscape architecture – includes a fire pit and flow-through planters. The design includes floor joists salvaged from historic homes that had previously been on the site. Despite unique zoning constraints during the permitting process with the City of Portland that technically consider the project two separate buildings, those challenges were overcome to build it as one structure.