Brad Feinknopf
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
Karl Miller Center Rumor has it that a few short years ago, students at Portland State University’s School of Business took breaks between classes in their cars. The program’s enrollment had physically outgrown its designated building, a dull 1970s-era structure that only had dimly lit hallway floors for hangout space. According to Mark Fujii, senior project manager in PSU’s Capital Projects and Construction group, it was widely known that the old building did a poor job of representing the business school’s reputation. “Scott Dawson was the dean for many years and solicited feedback from multiple students and faculty during his tenure,” Fujii said. “They often remarked that PSU has a great MBA program but, ‘It’s like trying to serve caviar out of a tuna fish can.’” Between 2014 and 2017, the School of Business undertook an ambitious redesign led by the German firm Behnisch Architekten, alongside local outfit SRG Partnership. The original structure was gutted and rebuilt, and received a new window pattern, a reorganized interior floorplan, and a more energy-efficient, metal façade. In an empty lot beside the old building, the team installed a cantilevered, glass and cedar “pavilion” that houses fifteen state-of-the art classrooms. They then knit the two structures together with a 90-foot-tall glass atrium which cants to dramatic effect on the Sixth Avenue-facing block. Now, natural light pours inside even on gray days, a far cry from having to sit in a car on lunch break. 36 1859 OREGON’S MAGAZINE
MARCH | APRIL 2020
PSU implemented a green building standard in 2004, and now aims for LEED Gold in all new construction. The Karl Miller Center, so-named for the grandfather of lead donor Rick Miller, a local entrepreneur and former business school alum, surpassed that expectation and was certified LEED Platinum. Its measures include passive cooling strategies in the atrium, stormwater management via five eco-roofs, and low-flow fixtures that reduce water consumption by 43 percent. Most importantly for college life, there’s now a bevy of hangout spots, such as two of the eco-terraces, and the atrium’s builtin work bars with charging stations. Three retailers on the main floor serve doughnuts and craft beer from local chains. “It’s such a popular building now,” Fujii said, “that classrooms are actually requested by other departments.” OREGON BACH FESTIVAL AND UNIVERSITY OF OREGON
Berwick Hall Berwick Hall is a part of the University of Oregon’s School of Music and Dance and the permanent home for the Oregon Bach Festival. Casual observers see a building composed of two main components: a two-story brick administration wing joined by a taller, cubic rehearsal room clad in tongueand-groove Accoya wood panels. But to its music-loving occupants, the building is a source of both creature comfort and artistic inspiration.
