Twelve|West is a 28-story mixed-use high rise in Portland’s emerging West End neighborhood that includes 17 floors of apartments, offices for the architect ZGF, and grade-level retail space. Conceived of as a catalyst for Portland-style sustainable development, the building is full of innovative strategies to minimize energy use with efficient systems including, most notably, four energy generating wind turbines atop the roof.  Within the building the designers used reclaimed materials to both create an identity for the building and to root it to its place in the city of Portland and the culture of the Pacific Northwest.  A dynamic pallette of wood, a ubiquitous material in the region, was incorporated throughout the public spaces in conjunction with art by local artists. Some of the wood elements created from locally-salvaged materials include ZGF’s reception desk, which was made from beetle-kill Oregon walnut, and the apartment lobby’s interior accent walls, crafted from Douglas Fir from the Sillwood Trolley barn. The barn was the city’s last trolley barn and a local landmark. Twelve|West maintains a dialogue with its urban context while pointing to a new way forward as a model of cutting-edge, sustainable design.

Reclaimed Materials (by application): Wood/Lumber

Key Info
Location: Portland, OR
Date of Completion: 2009
Architect: ZGF Architects LLP
Client: Gerding Edlen Development
Contractor: Hoffman Construction

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Archinnovations Magazine Article