US Motor Bank Adaptive Reuse | Portland OR
Spring 2009
Mid-century modern buildings have often been regarded as alienating to humans. Their massive glass and concrete walls, open floor plans and lack of ornamentation offer minimal connection to the human scale. In celebrating technological advancement, new building materials and pioneering building strategies, many modernists forgot basic qualities of architecture which made their predecessors successful.
Design by Pietro Belluschi and Skidmore Owings and Merrill, The Motor Bank building is no exception. By elevating the entire building two levels above the street made for a functional and popular banking experience Portland residents enjoyed. Today Portland has changed, the automobile is no longer an exciting way to experience the urban site, but rather the antithesis of what an urban experience should be. A building which is disconnected from the street level has no connection with the pedestrian, it alienates them.
The new addition works to solve these issues; connect the pedestrian to the Motor Bank building, and continue a comfortable and inviting human experience throughout the design, while incorporating materials and an envelope system which enhances energy efficiency.
The most recognizable element of this design is the light well and curvilinear shape utilized in the rear of the building. By angling the south façade of the design allows daylight to pass through the site and reach the northeastern corner on the ground level. Sky gardens accompany set backs to provide small retreats from the urban noise, traffic and daily hustle and bustle experienced on Broadway.
Though the horizontal banding existing on the Motor Bank continues up the new façade, the bands now house a passive ventilation system and provide collection sites for photovoltaic shading devices. These technologies support the reactionary form the building takes on the southern facades, working to control day lighting and improve energy efficiency of the new Motor Bank building.
Design by Pietro Belluschi and Skidmore Owings and Merrill, The Motor Bank building is no exception. By elevating the entire building two levels above the street made for a functional and popular banking experience Portland residents enjoyed. Today Portland has changed, the automobile is no longer an exciting way to experience the urban site, but rather the antithesis of what an urban experience should be. A building which is disconnected from the street level has no connection with the pedestrian, it alienates them.
The new addition works to solve these issues; connect the pedestrian to the Motor Bank building, and continue a comfortable and inviting human experience throughout the design, while incorporating materials and an envelope system which enhances energy efficiency.
The most recognizable element of this design is the light well and curvilinear shape utilized in the rear of the building. By angling the south façade of the design allows daylight to pass through the site and reach the northeastern corner on the ground level. Sky gardens accompany set backs to provide small retreats from the urban noise, traffic and daily hustle and bustle experienced on Broadway.
Though the horizontal banding existing on the Motor Bank continues up the new façade, the bands now house a passive ventilation system and provide collection sites for photovoltaic shading devices. These technologies support the reactionary form the building takes on the southern facades, working to control day lighting and improve energy efficiency of the new Motor Bank building.
