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PORTLAND | Pearl District tower | 295m | 970ft | ? fl | Pro

4226 Views 5 Replies 5 Participants Last post by  subterranean
Skyscrapers for post office site? Portland firm's extravagant pitch




William Kaven Architecture wants to design the tallest building in the Pacific Northwest. And it wants to put it on Portland's Pearl District Post Office blocks, the site the city offered to Amazon for its second headquarters.
The concept, released by the Portland firm on Monday, proposed two skyscrapers, one of which would rise 970 feet. Together, the high rises would provide about 5 million square feet for retail, office, hotel rooms, apartments or condos.
According to the announcement, the two buildings would be linked by "a glass-enclosed botanical bridge spanning 236 feet across the North Park Blocks some 680 feet in the air, providing dramatic aerial views of the entire city."
The proposal would also be able to accommodate a transportation hub for high-speed rail or a Hyperloop, the news release said.
But proposed height limits for the site would allow buildings as tall as 400 feet.
In an email to The Oregonian/OregonLive, Daniel Kaven, a partner with the architecture firm, acknowledged the constraints of the height limits. But he said the city, which is considering zoning changes in its Central City 2035 plan, should think big.
"City Council is able to amend this if needed/desired," he wrote. "It is our belief that there should not be a limit on the height and that vertical development on this scale is necessary."
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Just curious, what are the odds this could actually get approved by the Portland city council? Is this just a pretty rendering from some architecture firm or is this actually a project with financial backing? It's a cool project, but architects propose a lot of buildings that never see the light of day. There is no mention of who the developer is so I'm guessing this is more an idea, not an actual project moving forward.

As for the building architecture, I really like the sky-bridge/observation deck. I really wish sky-bridges were more common throughout the US and I'm sure you could get a great view of Mt. Hood on a clear summer day from up there. It would also be hilarious if Portland started building higher than Seattle.
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