Three universities–Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU),
Portland State University (PSU) and Oregon State University (OSU)–partnered to create a new allied health, academic and research building. Designed by design architect CO Architects, Los Angeles, and executive architect SERA Architects Inc., Portland, Ore., the Collaborative Life Sciences Building (CLSB) is located on a former brownfield site in Portland’s South Waterfront District, and is the first building on OHSU’s new Schnitzer campus.
Located halfway between both OHSU’s and PSU’s main campuses, the CLSB is part of OHSU’s Skourtes Tower, which houses the School of Dentistry. Together, the $232 million, 650,000-square-foot project is made up of a five-story building and 12-story tower linked by a central atrium. The CLSB features academic classrooms, lecture halls, teaching laboratories, clinical skills and simulation laboratories, medical research laboratories, retail space and two levels of underground parking.
Completed in June 2014, the building was conceived as an innovative model of interdisciplinary health sciences education and research. Inside the building, research and teaching is on display, with interior glazed walls allowing occupants and pedestrians to view the activity in classrooms and labs. The atrium features connecting bridges and informal study areas.
For this project, Skyline Sheet Metal, Troutdale, Ore., designed and manufactured the metal panels. Skyline supplied 112,000 square feet of its 0.05-aluminum Skyform panels in custom Silver Metallic Kynar. The panels were supplied as 58 percent, 30 percent or 23 percent perforated and solid surfaces. The 58 percent perforated panels were installed over exterior louvers to allow for a continuous panel face on the building exterior, while allowing the required airflow. Skyline also supplied 8,500 square feet of its 0.080-aluminum Skyform panels with 23 percent perforation in custom Silver Metallic Kynar that were installed directly to the window frame mullions on custom-designed brackets to act as shades.
Inside, 19,000 square feet of Skyline’s Skyform 0.05-aluminum panels in a mix of 58 percent, 30 percent and 23 percent perforations were hung off a custom-designed angled aluminum tube structure that also supports the handrail system. They also screen the exterior hallway and allow for views of the atrium. Fabricated to size from a 3-D model created in-house, 31,500 square feet were used of Skyform 0.05-aluminum 13 percent perforated custom Maple Woodgrain acoustical panels. Skyline also supplied 0.125-aluminum plate column covers; six for 48-inch round columns and 21 for 48-inch square columns. Hanging from the bottom of the canopy structure from 303 stainless steel custom-fabricated mounting bolts are 1/2-inch plate canopy panels. Additionally, Skyline fabricated 22,000 square feet of custom Maple Woodgrain aluminum composite material (ACM) panels in Skyline’s SSMPER-X Pressure Equalized Rainscreen system.
The CLSB is only one of two projects in the U.S. over a half million square feet that has reached LEED Platinum certification under LEED NC v2009. Its sustainable features include transforming an existing, native habitat restoration, brownfield, light pollution reduction, stormwater management, nonpotable water for toilet flushing, atrium heat recovery and low-ventilation fume hoods. It also features 24,540 square feet of green roofs with additional integrated flow-through planters that absorb and treat stormwater. Applied as a rainscreen on fiberglass clips over a DELTA FASSADE air barrier from Cosella-Dörken Products Inc., Beamsville, Ontario, Canada, and exterior insulation, the building’s exterior metal panels contribute to its thermal performance by creating an efficient exterior skin that minimizes thermal bridging.
Collaborative Life Sciences Building (CLSB), Portland, Ore.
Awards: AIA COTE Top Ten Winner, AIA TAP Innovation Award Honorable Mention, DJC Portland Top Public Project
Owner’s representative:
DAY CPM Services, Beaverton, Ore.
Design architect/interior designer: CO Architects, Los Angeles
Executive architect: SERA Architects Inc., Portland
General contractor: JE Dunn Construction, Portland
Civil engineer: OTAK, Portland
Structural engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers, Portland
MEP engineer: Interface Engineering, Portland
Skylights/atrium glazing contractor: DeaMor Associates, Vancouver, Wash.
Air barrier: Cosella-Dörken Products Inc., Beamsville, Ontario, Canada, www.cosella-dorken.com
Exterior glazing: Harmon Inc., Eden Prairie, Minn., www.harmoninc.com
Metal wall panels: Skyline Sheet Metal, Troutdale, Ore., www.skylinesheetmetal.com