By: scott.huish//December 12, 2020//
Redfox Commons is an adaptive reuse project in Northwest Portland that transformed two former industrial structures into a light-filled campus for creative office tenants. The site was a gateway to the 1905 Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition and was later part of Guild’s Lake District, a significant industrial sanctuary.
The original heavy timber structures were built in the 1940s for J.A. Freeman & Sons. Recognizing the historic and environmental significance of the old growth wood structure, the renovation preserves and restores the original lumber. The existing trusses were sand blasted and remain exposed, highlighting the natural beauty of the wood.
New 80-foot clerestory windows were added to each roof to bring light into the large, open floor plates, which are distinguished by column-free spans of 100 feet. To uphold the project’s heritage, both buildings were completely rebuilt using an industrial vernacular of ribbon windows and weathering steel cladding.
During demolition, wood from an overbuilt mezzanine was salvaged to create a new timber and glass entrance that connects the two buildings. More than 6,500 linear feet of 4×12-inch boards were reclaimed, varying in length from 12 to 24 feet, in order to express the project’s heritage and environmentally conscious design.