How does a design firm choose a new building? It’s the same challenge that faces any company, with the added wrinkle that, whereas another business might hire a project manager or designer to help them weed through the possibilities, understand their own needs clearly, and identify their best option, we’re our own consultant for that […]
In honor of Indigenous People’s Day on Monday, we want to recognize and show our respect for Native People that have understood for generations how to live in harmony with the land, water and all other living things. SERA has learned so much about tribal culture and world views from working with the Affiliated Tribes […]
The design and construction industry has spent two decades promoting net-zero energy buildings by combining operational energy efficiency and onsite renewable energy generation, but now the goalposts are shifting. There is a growing awareness that buildings generate massive amounts of carbon through “embodied carbon” emissions during construction, creating huge spikes in carbon emissions and undercutting […]
Historically significant, seismically upgraded building houses some of Portland’s most vulnerable populations The newly renovated and seismically upgraded Henry Building in downtown Portland is among 11 historic projects across Oregon to receive a 2021 DeMuro Award for Excellence in Historic Preservation! The 112-year-old Henry Building presented a variety of challenges for the client Central City […]
The American Dream of single-family homeownership is growing increasingly inaccessible. To explore new paths to affordable homeownership, the City of Los Angeles’ Chief Design Officer and the Mayor’s Office created the Low-Rise LA design competition to promote housing affordability, paths to homeownership and innovative models of sustainable residential architecture. With a growing housing portfolio in […]
Inspired by Archinect’s recent list, “10 Green Rooftop Spaces We Liked This Week,” for which one of our projects claimed a spot, we looked back at some of our own favorite rooftop spaces from projects past. And what better timing? Summer is here and the spotlight — err, sunlight! — is on all the great […]
For two decades, the national Palladio Awards has recognized traditional design that enhances the beauty and humane qualities of the built environment. Our team’s renovation of Providence Academy sought to do just that when taking on the project in 2019. On Monday, Traditional Building Magazine announced this year’s winners, recognizing the Providence Academy Chapel with […]
Welcome back to the SERA Workplace series Silver Linings. We took a few months off to fully soak in the new year. And now that 2020 is officially in the record books and vaccines are available, we have nothing but a glorious, sunny, post-pandemic future to look forward to. Right? (gulp.) Rest assured, we will […]
Last summer, SERA Principal in the Hospitality Studio Gary Golla convened a research group to look at mass timber construction in the hotel industry. Mass timber buildings tend to be thought of as beautiful, with warm, welcoming spaces and distinct sustainability advantages, but that doesn’t mean they’re a perfect fit for every use or building […]
The pandemic has disrupted the typical supply-and-demand dynamic in many industries. In the short term, this is especially true for Hospitality. Thus, the topic of converting “distressed properties” to other uses is receiving a great deal of attention lately. While speculation around opportunities for distressed hotels will likely diminish with economic recovery, there will continue […]