Interesting project I stumbled upon

[GRDadof3]

I stumbled upon this interesting renovation project in Portland, OR called the Ecotrust Building and Natural Capital Center. It's an old warehouse that was converted to mixed use. But what I really thought was cool was how they screened their parking lot with the facade of an old one-story building.

Pictures of the renovation: The interior is pretty sweet too.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ecotrust/sets/72157624334538122/

And then Google street level shows you the parking screen. Love.it. (toggle around and you'll see what I mean)

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=portland,+or&aq=&sll=41.903778,-87.639463&sspn=0.007522,0.01929&g=W+Chicago+Ave,+Chicago,+Illinois&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Portland,+Multnomah,+Oregon&ll=45.528674,-122.681193&spn=0.003352,0.009645&z=17&layer=c&cbll=45.528677,-122.681301&panoid=MZ4vN7xi3svq2NWBbnGbLw&cbp=12,133.15,,0,-1.81

[Kib]

I stumbled upon this interesting renovation project in Portland, OR called the Ecotrust Building and Natural Capital Center. It's an old warehouse that was converted to mixed use. But what I really thought was cool was how they screened their parking lot with the facade of an old one-story building.

Pictures of the renovation: The interior is pretty sweet too.

http://www.flickr.co...57624334538122/

And then Google street level shows you the parking screen. Love.it. (toggle around and you'll see what I mean)

http://maps.google.c...133.15,,0,-1.81

A few notable items about the facility:

It's offical name is the "Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center". Jean Vollum was the wife of Tektronix founder Howard Vollum.

There's two restaurants on the ground floor, Hot Lips Pizza (very tasty) and a sandwich/coffee shop. There's also a Patagonia store on ground level. Upstairs are offices and meeting spaces for various non-profits.

During the non-rainy season, in the parking lot between the facade and the building itself, a farmer's market operates each Thursday.

It was one of the first public spaces in the city that had free WiFi, through the efforts of the Personal Telco Project, a non-profit group of techies that decided some 10 years ago "to promote and build public wireless networks through community support and education"

The Portland Streetcar runs directly in front of, and has a stop, at the building. The two gray steel structures on the exterior photo also house wheelchair lifts and access bicycle storage.

And, yes, the interior is every bit as lovely as the photo's indicate. Huge planks of old lumber of which the likes of which will never been seen again in modern construction.

[GRDadof3]

A few notable items about the facility:

It's offical name is the "Jean Vollum Natural Capital Center". Jean Vollum was the wife of Tektronix founder Howard Vollum.

There's two restaurants on the ground floor, Hot Lips Pizza (very tasty) and a sandwich/coffee shop. There's also a Patagonia store on ground level. Upstairs are offices and meeting spaces for various non-profits.

During the non-rainy season, in the parking lot between the facade and the building itself, a farmer's market operates each Thursday.

It was one of the first public spaces in the city that had free WiFi, through the efforts of the Personal Telco Project, a non-profit group of techies that decided some 10 years ago "to promote and build public wireless networks through community support and education"

The Portland Streetcar runs directly in front of, and has a stop, at the building. The two gray steel structures on the exterior photo also house wheelchair lifts and access bicycle storage.

And, yes, the interior is every bit as lovely as the photo's indicate. Huge planks of old lumber of which the likes of which will never been seen again in modern construction.

Thanks for the added info Kib!