Studio@Volta

This project was selected as a Honor winner in ARCHITECT's 2024 Architecture & Interiors Awards, Interiors: Small Office category.

“I wrote down that I want to work here. It’s an architecture firm, and we’re all very artifact heavy, and I thought they beautifully contained all of that in a really nice kit of parts. –Juror Brooke Horan

Tasked with the core-and-shell renovation of a former electrical warehouse into a new workplace property in Portland, Oregon’s central eastside, Bora Architecture + Interiors seized the opportunity to become one of the first tenants, after operating for more than 30 years out of the downtown area. Aptly renamed Volta, the original structure had prewar industrial character that the project team endeavored to retain by making only minimal design interventions for the core-and-shell renovation. These included exposing existing old-growth columns, fir trusses, and soaring wooden ceilings while enlarging clerestory windows, adding floor-to-ceiling glazing in some parts, creating new operable windows to improve ventilation, and carefully altering the roof to optimize daylight throughout.

Along with these efforts, photovoltaic arrays on adjacent campus buildings to offset core-and-shell energy consumption entirely and adaptive reuse of existing materials on site helped Volta achieve LEED Platinum certification.

When it came to Bora’s own 15,000-square-foot studio at Volta, the team once again made minimal, purposeful design modifications to nurture wellbeing and accommodate a variety of functions. For instance, the team created a new enclosed outdoor terrace with city views at the west end for casual meetings, lunching, or just relaxing, while in its multipurpose lobby area — dubbed the Design Lab — it inserted a custom perforated box volume to provide separation from the main open-plan workspace and to create a movable display system using large pegs specially made to fit the wall perforations.

When it came to furnishings, finishes, and other interior components, Bora employed Red List Free materials such as linoleum desktops, PVC-free carpeting and network cabling, formaldehyde-free veneer core panels, and marine-grade fir plywood, the latter two of which also visually reference the raw nature of the original industrial warehouse.

Project: Bora Architecture & Interiors Office - Tenant ImprovementLocation: 1705 SE 3rd Ave, Portland, OR 97214
Client/Owner: Bora Architecture and Interiors

Architect:Jeanie Lai – Principal
Alisha Borden – Interior Designer
Joshua Brandt – Project Architect
Leslie Cliffe – Project Manager
Construction Start Date: July 11, 2022
Construction End Date: Feb 2, 2023
Interior Designer: Bora Architecture and Interiors
Mechanical Engineer: PAE
Structural Engineer: Catena
Electrical Engineer: PAE
Construction Manager: None
General Contractor: Fortis
Lighting Designer: Biella

Any other consultants, with their roles:Acoustician – Yantis
Energy Modeling – SORA
Brightworks – Commissioning
Size in Square Feet: 14,950 sf
Cost: $2,315,542

MATERIALS AND SOURCES:Acoustical System: FabriTRACK GeoTrack Stretched Fabric Wall System acoustical panels at conference rooms, studio includes XXX speakers for a future white noise system
Adhesives, Coatings and Sealants: No info available
Appliances: Hicense refrigerator, Bosch microwave drawers, Summit dishwashers
Bathroom Fixtures: AmeriSink stainless steel sinks, Delta faucets
Carpet: Mannington Commerical Color Anchor carpet tile
Cabinets: Custom cabinetry by SuperFab
Ceilings: Open to structure, Gyp Bd in small meeting rooms, Tectum High NRC at model shop
Concrete: Existing
Countertops: Caesarstone Outdoor Collection 405 Midday solid surface
Exterior Wall Systems: Existing
Fabrics and Finishes: Luum Gaze (colors: Gloaming, Gradience, Suspend, Atmosphere) Drapery Fabric, Maharam Metaphor Moonflower SFWS at conference rooms, Maharam Luce Reservoir SFWS at Huddle Rooms, Maharam Metaphor booth fabric, Wilsonart Traceless Laminate at Casework
Flooring: Exposed concrete, carpet at studio and conference rooms (see above)
Furniture: Furniture Vendor: Pacific WRO, Power Spines at Workstations: Knoll Horsepower, Desktops: Waston tops with Forbo Furniture Marmolium, Huddle Tables: Scandinavian Spaces Vegabond Meeting Table, Training Tables: Watson Seven Flip Top Table, Conference Room Tables: Davis Inform Table
Glass: laminated glass - 1/8” float glass + 3/16” float glass
Gypsum: Georgia Pacific Lite-Weight Type X – Tough Rock
HVAC: AAON ERV and air source heat pump, LG ceiling cassettes and wall mounted units, LG VRF condensers at roof, Greenheck exhaust fans at model shop, AirVolution-DX 12’ ceiling fans
Insulation: Existing
Kitchen fixtures: AmeriSink Undermount Stainless Steel Sink Break Room Sinks, Delta Kitchen Faucets Trinsic Collection Single Handle Deck Mount 2 Function Pull-Down Sprayer Breal Room Faucet, Instahot SKU 45393AU-ISE
Lighting Control Systems: Lutron Maestro switches
Lighting: Cooper Lighting Corelite SQ4 suspended linears, Corelite CL4 recessed linears, Gotham 2” cylinders at track, ANP Lighting OSSD30 decorative pendants, FLOS Flo-Ball C1 decorative pendants, BionicPro4 suspended linear wall washers, SELUX M36 MRC linear wall washers, Bruck Bina-S surface mounted fixtures at small conference rooms, Juno Podz 4” downlights, Foscarini Gregg Sospensione outdoor pendants
Paints and Finishes: Miller Paint
Plumbing and Water System: Existing
Roofing: Existing
Site and Landscape Products: Existing
Structural System: Existing
Wallcoverings: N/A - See Acoustic SFWS & Custom Plywood Paneling
Walls: Custom peg board wall panels by SuperFab, AB Marine Fir Plywood
Windows and Doors: OregonDoor 8’ western hemlock, 5-ply FSC with particle board core