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Holst Headquarters

Holst’s new office in the Eastside Exchange building is an open, industrial office fit for architects.

Project Details

Location

Portland, OR

Client

Holst

Year Completed

2019

Project Size

8,500 sq. ft.

Sustainability

Eastside Exchange is a LEED-CS Silver-certified building. In choosing materials, fixtures, finishes, and furniture for the office, we made choices to avoid harmful materials and support the health and well-being of our staff. We identified five materials to “red-list”: added formaldehyde, halogenated flame retardants, perfluorinated compounds, phthalates, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in wet-applied products. In addition to avoiding those materials, we specified all LED lighting, zoned controls, and occupancy sensors to support minimal energy usage.

Land Recognition

We have a responsibility to not only acknowledge but also elevate Native communities and their needs. This project sits in the area currently known as Portland, which encompasses the traditional village sites of the Multnomah, Wasco, Cowlitz, Kathlamet, Clackamas, Bands of Chinook, Tualatin Kalapuya, Molalla, and many other tribes who made their homes along the Columbia River.

Educating ourselves is an important action. We encourage you to explore the stories of these communities through Native-led resources like David G. Lewis, PhD’s The Quartux Journal and Leading with Tradition.

Holst's New Home

Located on the third floor of the Eastside Exchange building, what was originally an awkward U-shaped plan broken up into separate office suites is now an open office that facilitates collaboration and maintains intimate workstation “neighborhoods” without hierarchy. Working within the historic building’s twenty-foot bay width, each six-foot-wide workstation maintains close access to daylight and views of downtown Portland or the burgeoning Burnside Bridgehead neighborhood.

Industrial Inspiration

The interiors’ material approach takes cues from the former warehouse building’s industrial quality. A raw but refined aesthetic combines clear-coated steel, plywood, and a greyscale palette contrasted with plentiful greenery and sunlight throughout. This creates an appropriate, durable, sustainable, and long-lasting background for our work and daily activities to take center stage.

Visual & Physical Connectivity

Glazing along the central public egress corridor, along with doors connecting to the library and kitchen, creates a visual and physical connection that enables circular flow through the office.

87% of staff sit within ten feet of a window

Commitment to Design & Technical Excellence

Four conference rooms of various sizes, along with a phone room, privacy room, library, and large open kitchen provide a plethora of spaces for formal and informal meetings of all sizes with varying privacy requirements. A dedicated workshop supports in-house model-building, 3d printing, and other small construction projects.

Collaborative Neighborhoods

Each workstation neighborhood features its own informal meeting space and access to pin-up space on felt-wrapped acoustical paneled walls or custom-designed steel and plywood rolling pin-up carts.

A Glowing Example of Our Work

With the design of the new Holst Headquarters at Eastside Exchange, we have created a physical demonstration of our commitment to design and technical excellence, functional ingenuity, and economic and resource efficiency—a space that feels like home now and into the future.

How do I become an architect?

What is the difference between Architecture and Engineering?

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How do architects turn designs into buildings?

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Would an architect speak to my class about architecture?

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Holst invites curious minds to ask questions about architecture.