Tech Firm Turns Gutted Warehouse into Unique Office
After 10 years in a high-end office space, the managing director and founder of Global Technology Transfer Group (GTT) realized that his patent asset tech firm was maturing out of its environment. While searching for new alternatives, GTT and its designers, Holly Freres and Liz Morgan of local firm JHL Design, landed on a vacant 1927 Portland, Ore., warehouse that once served as a locale for screening movies.
Though the Studio Bldg at 919 SW Taylor St had been subdivided and converted into three-star office space, the available 9th floor was completely raw and didn't even have bathrooms. Many potential tenants might be off put by this environment, but GTT immediately fell in love with the raw, pock-marked concrete walls and dormer windows.
“[Michael] was drawn to the rare qualities of the space —the concrete, angled walls, and the numerous skylights," Freres explains. “[GTT] understood this was a rare opportunity."
JHL—which had worked with GTT on its previous office space—was well acquainted with the team and worked closely with GTT to execute a vision for an open and dramatic environment.
JHL collaborated with local firm MOA Architecture to build out wall systems made of Alaskan Yellow Cedar—a material often used in Japanese tea houses and meditation centers—for nine private offices around the perimeter of the 4,000-square-foot space. Though GTT only has six full-time employees at its Portland headquarters, the company often hosts remote employees and clients from Japan for extended periods, and requested ample, informal workspaces.
To meet this need, JHL decided on custom Oregon black walnut cafe tables and a library table, all of which feature outlets to double as convenient workstations. For JHL, this material offered a “grounded, cozy feeling" to contrast the dramatic dark walls and lighter wood in the space. An informal kitchenette resembling a bar offers another casual space for employees to congregate or for hosting events.
With so many raw elements still intact, JHL drew inspiration from the GTT founder's time living in Kyoto, Japan and the Japanese concept of wabi-sabi, or the beauty of imperfection, and embraced the unfinished space.
“The angled walls and weathered concrete informed our decision to leave the bones of the space raw and maintain a level of imperfection and naturalness through material selection of unstained wood, hand-glazed ceramic tiles, raw metals, and hand-woven textiles," Morgan says.
Upon stepping off the elevators, JHL opted to drop the ceiling to create an obvious entryway. Here, custom-dyed woven wall coverings and the first of many raw concrete columns offer a dramatic entry into the more airy interiors partially illuminated by cloud-like lanterns.
“The tall ceilings called for a dramatic statement," Morgan explains. “This inspired the use of the paper pendant lights to highlight the verticality of the space, but also create intimacy in the dedicated communal areas."
Meanwhile, the stripped-back concrete floors feature exposed terrazzo that was uncovered in the construction process.
Much of the private office furniture is also made of the black walnut, including the large conference table and executive desk, both of which needed to be delivered by crane through a skylight because of their sizes and dimensions. JHL paid particular attention to the founder's office, creating spaces for both individual and group meditation.
“Ultimately, we are just delighted by how well our intention to honor the original elements of the space worked out," Freres says. “The existing components like the walls and terrazzo floor remnants create a sense of history that is difficult to find in the world of new buildings."
