Rhino Redevelopment

Commercial Multi-use Redevelopment - Portland, OR - 138,632 SF - 2007 - Planning and Feasibility Study

The Rhino Redevelopment project reuses/ redevelops a 1920’s industrial half-block into office, retail, residential, and parking space in the River District of Portland, Oregon. The existing building remains, in renovated fashion, to provide an anchor to a new office ‘bridge’ that spans a new entry court and lands on a new automated parking structure. The parking structure serves as an armature to new retail and residential additions.

The form and material palette of the project draws upon the history of the area. The trussed exoskeleton of the office ‘bridge’ recalls the vocabulary of the bridges which span the Willamette River. The planted walls of the automated parking structure suggest the verdant West Hills above the city. The colorful, corrugated siding of the upper residential units evokes the cargo containers which used to line the neighborhood when it was a rail yard.

Several aspects of the project which reduces the carbon footprint of the building are:

- Automated parking system to park a high volume of vehicles within highly compact footprint.

- Parking structure wrapped and ventilated in a green wall system

- Providing of green roofs to both office and residential units.

- Reuse of an existing building rather than its demolition.