The "Fair-Haired Dumbbell"
A new office building currently under construction at the Burnside Bridgehead development in Portland OR. Client is Guerrilla Development with FFA Architecture and Interiors.
The signature element in the design of the “Fair-Haired Dumbbell” project is clearly the exterior patterning. This dusk viewpoint was chosen to reinforce the “dumbbell” massing of the project - two large rectangular volumes connected by a series of skybridges. A strong silhouette is created with light skins set against a dark sky. Foreground activity is implied with light streaks and color in the retail spaces.
A daytime viewpoint was chosen to set off this new project against the darker / glassier buildings next door, both still under construction at the time of the rendering. Color in the ground plane and entourage is toned down in deference to the patterning. Lighting is subtly modulated across the elevations to ensure a balance between the vibrant skin and activity within the building.