SERA Portland Headquarters

SERA had the fortunate opportunity to design and build a brand new space that embodies the firm’s sustainability, health and equity values.

Details

Name

SERA Portland Headquarters

Client

SERA Architects

Scale

40,000 SF

Status

Completed 2022

Location

Portland, OR

Sustainability

LEED v4 CI Platinum, ILFI Zero Carbon Pending: WELL v2 Platinum, Living Building Challenge CORE, Living Building Challenge Petal Certification for Materials, Health & Happiness, Equity, and Beauty

Services

Sector

Specialties

A living laboratory for flexible work

By providing a balance of focused and collaborative spaces, we’re giving our staff the opportunity to curate their daily work experience. When building fewer desks, it’s important to supplement with additional spaces for work. While we only have 135 desks in the office today, we have more than 500 seats in the studio - in conference rooms, collaboration zones, and quiet work areas distributed across the floor. We planned our space for flexibility - allowing for spillover.

Biophilia. Built in.

Biophilia—the idea that humans are inherently connected to nature and benefit from both subtle and overt cues that stimulate that connection — is a foundational aspect of the design of SERA’s new office space. Natural materials, live plants, soft textiles, and provides connections to nature with wild unfiltered daylight in the atrium create a sense of refuge, views, and energizing visual stimulation.

Human health and wellness

We center the individual experience and prioritize decisions that contribute to human health and well-being. Every detail supports people and their comfort–from the moment they arrive and experience the spatial, acoustical, and thermal variety that makes them feel at ease.

Daylight encourages the use of the stairs, integrates biophilic design into every space, and breathes new life into this architectural landmark in Portland’s urban core.

A plan built around collaboration, community, and focus

We focused the space plan on three major components:
Places for people to focus and perform individual tasks; places for people to collaborate and work interactively; and restorative spaces for socializing and relaxing.

Where these three major program areas meet each other, exciting things happen.

Sustainability guided our design

LEED v4 CI Platinum

WELL v2 Platinum

ILFI Zero Carbon

Living Building Challenge CORE

Living Building Challenge Petal Certification for Materials, Health & Happiness, Equity, and Beauty