Sawyer’s Row

Located in Northwest Portland, Sawyer’s Row is a modern market-rate apartment building with an industrial aesthetic.

Project Details

Location

Portland, OR

Client

C.E. John

Year Completed

2013

Project Size

42,300 sq. ft.
40 units

Certification

LEED Platinum

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.

Neighborhood-Friendly Urban Design

Made of two three-story wood-frame walk-up buildings, Sawyer’s Row provides 40 units of market-rate housing to North Portland. Each building houses 20 units arranged on all three levels. Each building module is 50 feet wide and scaled to mimic a traditional storefront in a walkable city.

Human-Scaled Architecture

Rather than consume the site with a long, overbearing structure, the building is dispersed into four smaller parts, physically and figuratively. The reduced scale and proportions promote a residential neighborhood feel, setting the tone for new development in this area of the city.

Industrial Roots

Situated in a former industrial area, Sawyer’s Row is surrounded by an eclectic mix of industrial, commercial, and multi- and single-family buildings. Inspired by the unique characteristics of the site and neighborhood, textured cedar rain screen cladding system with cement stucco and steel canopies complement the unique historical and industrial aspects of the surrounding Slabtown neighborhood.

Engaging Exterior

The animation of the façade is achieved through the subtle patterning of windows and the slight shifting of floors, producing varying vertical bays and giving the impression of horizontal movement.