Commercial
Forge Street Lofts
Portland, Oregon, 2023
- Location
- Portland, Oregon
- Year
- 2023
- Type
- Commercial
- Size
- 18,000 sq ft
- Status
- Completed
The Brief
A developer needed mixed-use space on a tight urban lot: ground-floor retail, three floors of live-work units, and a shared rooftop. The constraint was the lot — 40 feet wide, sandwiched between two historic buildings.
The Study
We studied how residents of similar live-work spaces actually used their units. The discovery: the boundary between “living” and “working” was fluid and changed throughout the day. Rigid zoning within each unit fought against real behavior.
The Response
We designed each unit as a single volume with zones, not rooms. A sliding timber wall lets residents expand or contract their work area based on the day. The facade shifts from transparent at street level to private above — signaling the building’s function to the neighborhood.
The Result
100% occupancy within six weeks of opening. The developer’s next project used the same unit typology.
