Again, the reason I went to Portland was to check out "green" buildings. One of the ways a building is qualified as "green" (at least in the eyes of the US Green Building Council) is through attaining a LEED Certification. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. There are several different certifications a building can achieve ranging from certification, silver, gold and platinum (in order of green, greener, greenest, greenester....you get the picture..) The powers that be through the USGBC LEED initiative rate each building based on several factors such as site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, indoor environmental quality, green materials (low VOC paints, sustainable woods, etc.), and regional priority. You can read more about it here!
The first building I want to share with you in detail is called The Gerding Theater. This building used to be an armory. The existing structure, or shell, has been kept in tact and all building has happened on the inside. GBD Architects did the renovation of the building. I was able to tour of the building and the tour guide described it like a ship in a bottle. Because of the historic nature of the building, the architects and the owner did not change the outside whatsoever. They also did not build up, but they still needed more room, so they dug down to increase space. They dug 27 feet down and hit Portland's water table- whoops!
Below you can see one of the most distinguishing features of the old building- the trusses on the ceiling. Believe it or not these babies are made of wood! They kept them during the remodel and I'm glad they did- without them the place would lose its character.
The window below is super skinny so that the guns could fit through when it was an armory, but nothing could get past. The brick is angled as well in order to get a wider range for the artillery. I don't know why, but I can't turn this picture around, sorry!
The picture below shows what you see when you first walk into the building. On the ground level there is a cafe, ticket counter, and concierge desk. I came to check out the theater a couple of times and got to talking with the concierge and told him why I was there. After my tour, he offered me a free ticket to the Janis Joplin show! It was great! I felt like a VIP in my front and center seat :)
I snuck into the balcony....
So, back to why this is a green building. Besides the fact that it is a reuse building, it employs some pretty great energy-saving techniques. Below you can see that the HVAC system comes from below the seats. In most buildings like this, the vents are located on or near the ceiling, causing the system to have to heat or cool from the top to the bottom and we all remember from science class why that doesn't work, right? Raise your hand. Yes? Exactly. Because heat rises. By putting the system on the floor you are heating and cooling the area right next to the users and that way you can save electricity because you don't need as much.
Also, the building collects rainwater from the roof and that is used in the plumbing system.
This picture was taken from the third level, which is restricted for executives and performers. From here you are able to see the amazing chandelier, which looks like little lightening bugs to me. I love lightening bugs. They might be the only bugs I like.
Also you can see the shape of the second level- it's an oval, made from concrete. The oval shape ties in the rounded ceiling trusses, making the space feel more cohesive. It is truly a building that does a fantastic job of combining both the old with the new. And let me tell you, that can be a hard thing to do! The concrete could be considered another green material- it's a humble, low-cost material that can be broken back down again.
I thought this was a great model of the building! It was on display on the third floor. They also had models for each set for every show that has been in the theater. They were fun to see, but I couldn't get very good pictures of them :(
This is a lower level gathering space- again concrete. The far right wall reaches through all levels.
The concept for the space was a campfire. This beautiful glass wall feature allows light into the space and acts as a central focus to the space. It is on the main level on the wall that connects all levels.
So, there you have the first building description in detail! This is the only tour I went on, so I won't be able to tell you as much about the other buildings. Hope you enjoyed :)
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