In the Pixar movie Ratatouille, Chef Gusteau’s motto was “Anyone can cook.” Food critic Anton Ego initially viewed that sentiment with disdain but eventually came to the conclusion that “Not everyone can become a great artist, but a great artist can come from anywhere.” In the architectural world, there are a number of barriers preventing […]
Change can be hard. According to The Social Readjustment Rating Scale, moving is one of the most stressful life events we humans go through — up there with divorce, a new job and poor health. All of which share a common denominator: change. Why is change so hard? The answer is fear. Fear of pain, […]
Today, we break ground on the ROSE/APANO Affordable Mixed Use Development in Portland’s Jade District! The project is the culmination of a thorough public engagement process, with project manager Gauri Rajbaidya and lead designer Travis Dang acting as facilitators for the development team. Next year, the project will bring undersupplied one-, two- and three-bedroom units, […]
This year, we’re excited to partner with ROSE Community Development for Willamette Week’s Give!Guide. Give!Guide makes donating to outstanding Portland nonprofits simple – with plenty of great perks for donors! SERA shares ROSE’s mission to revitalize outer Southeast Portland through the development of homes and economic opportunities. Just this month, SERA and O’Neill/Walsh Community Builders […]
Earlier this summer a group of SERA volunteers made-over a piano bound for the junkyard for the program Piano.Push.Play. Our piano and eight others were stationed throughout the city all summer for the public to enjoy. Now that summer’s over, we’re happy to hear that our piano has found a permanent home at The Dougy […]
Here at SERA, we’re a 100% employee owned and operated firm. So what does that mean? Funny you should ask. Many years ago, SERA’s founders, Bing Sheldon and Don Eggleston, looked ahead to their retirement and realized that they didn’t want the traditional transition of the firm to take place, whereby a few employees ‘buy […]
Late last year, a team of volunteers at SERA unveiled a designed-and-built sleeping pod as part of a larger effort to address homelessness in the city. This year, SERA accepted second challenge – this time designing a pod with a focus on simplified assembly and replication. On August 20, the pod will be built live for […]
LinkedIn employees in Mountain View, Calif., have a new 24-acre campus to call home – and it was designed by local firm SERA Architects. More than two years in the making, the project by SERA’s Workplace studio unifies three existing, disparate office buildings and their asphalt surroundings into an intuitive, cohesive and environmentally-conscious campus. The […]
Suzanne Blair and I recently attended the biennial AIA Vision Future Symposium on The Value Proposition for Equity and ended the week on a high note. Not only was the sun out (finally!); not only did we spend the day with some talented Portland business women; but we were re-inspired and challenged to improve ourselves, […]
Last month, construction began on the seismic retrofit and building upgrade of the Charles D. Cameron Public Services Building (PSB) for Washington County. The kickoff comes after more than a year of design and staff transition space preparation, and will address the county’s desire to provide a building that is ‘safe enough to stay’ following […]