The industrial strength thumping sound ringing through the Pearl District may be unfamiliar to newcomers, but is a welcome sign of economic revival after four years of relative silence. The thumping is the sound of construction crews driving piles into the ground for the foundation of the 225-room Residence Inn by Marriott. The Pearl District’s […]
If you’re headed to San Francisco for this year’s Greenbuild extravaganza, please be sure to connect with us. You can find the following SERA folks offering these compelling presentations: — Water: from Research to Policy to Practice Lisa Petterson, AIA, LEED AP BD+C, LC, NCARB – Assoc. Principal, Project Architect, Sustainability Resources Group Manager, Technical […]
With the launch of our revamped website in 2012, we wanted to include something different – a piece that aims to visually capture the ethos and aspirations of SERA. After a number of collaborative sessions, “SERA Dreams Big.” took shape. But more than a stand alone statement, SERA Dreams Big. is intended to spark a dialogue. In […]
The journey to a new website for SERA has been a long time in the making. In the midst of fast-paced projects and an obsession with client service, these sorts of initiatives can sometimes be found collecting dust on the back-burner. Yet, despite our collective busyness, we knew the time had come for this task […]
J.E. Dunn Construction hits a major milestone this week as it tops out the $295 million Collaborative Life Sciences Building on the Schnitzer Campus at Portland’s South Waterfront. It’s been almost one year since Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber led the state’s education leaders in breaking ground on the project, 2750 S.W. Moody Ave. J.E. Dunn, the contractor […]
Case study executed by SERA Architects with input from Benjamin West and product manufacturers. For further information, please contact Lisa Zangerle at 503-445-7348. Unlike the majority of hotel rooms on the market, the newly refreshed rooms at the Courtyard by Marriott Denver Downtown have sustainable measures that go beyond the basics. Many hotels have adopted […]
As practitioners of urban design, we tend to focus on the built environment as the key to sustainability. But as planners, we also know that communities thrive best when the people who live in them have a stake in their success. Civic Ecology is a process that brings these two critical pieces together through a […]
A few months ago I read with great personal interest an article by Emily Badger for the Atlantic Cities in which she contemplates the notion of the end of the era of homeownership and the rise of the “middle class forever renter.” Behind this purported trend are an increasing number of potential homebuyers (at least […]
Great cities are made up of great neighborhoods, and in Portland the best neighborhoods are those that are the most walkable. Sellwood, where (full disclosure) a few SERA employees reside, is one such neighborhood – a rational grid of Craftsman homes, great parks, a library, an historic outdoor pool, and a Main Street stocked with […]
Disappointment has become an everyday feeling since 2008 for those of us in the design and construction fields, as we saw too many of our pet projects dematerialize. But the loss is especially painful when a project has more potential for innovation than others. For me, the recent decision of the Oregon State Legislature not […]