The Burnside Blog
Path Architecture's Williams FIVE
Perhaps more than anywhere in PDX, the glut of infill projects emerging from vacant lots throughout close-in North and Northeast is shaping the look and feel of our next generation of urban neighborhoods. Some projects are better than others, and a good few are just plain terrible. For the latter reason, I sincerely hope that Path Architecture’s recently completed Williams FIVE foreshadows what’s yet to come along Williams Avenue, which is probably home to the highest amount of underutilized land of any busy traffic artery in the city.
Williams FIVE is a five-plex: A live-work condominium that houses houses a pair of storefront units capped with two floors of living space above prime North Williams retail space; plus a trio of three-story condominium units accessed from a wide alley along the southern exposure of the building. Each unit is three stories in height, and each sports two large decks and/or outdoor spaces, wide-plank wood floors on the upper levels, gorgeous polished concrete slabs on the main floors, tile design by Ann Sacks of Design and Direct Source, and ample natural light throughout.
For live-work projects, Williams Avenue makes perfect sense. Not only has North Portland quickly become a Mecca of creative entrepreneurs and artists, real estate is still relatively inexpensive. The project is sited just a couple of blocks south of North Killingsworth Street’s burgeoning retail strip, plus a short walk to the Hub development, a food and lifestyle-focused retail destination that houses the excellent vegan restaurant Nutshell, a yoga studio, the newly debuted restaurant Lincoln and a forthcoming outpost of Ristretto Roasters, an artisan coffee roaster and cafe. The units average about 1,500 square feet and start just under $400,000, which amounts to around $265 per square foot. For the sake of comparison, most similar projects in Portland top $400 per square foot.
Path is certainly one of the more interesting up-and coming design firms in the city. In addition to a mixed-use project that I’ve written about for the September issue of Portland Spaces, Path’s portfolio is comprised of a variety of inventive projects, from infill residential like Williams FIVE to a weight room in Eugene designed for the University of Oregon football team. Its concept for the Bridge Market is certainly the most inventive solution I’ve seen for the proposed MAX bridge crossing near the Riverplace neighborhood. The tiny five-person firm also plays the role of developer for most of its projects.
One note to readers. Because I toured and photographed the project with my sub-par point-and-shoot digital camera, I opted to use Path’s official photos as I felt mine did this very attractive building little justice. To give credit where it’s due, most of these photos were taken by Photographer Ty Milford. The rest were taken by Path’s Corey Martin.
By For What It's Worth on Friday, August 01, 2008 at 11:02AM PDT
I like this project too. It seems like a steal given the location and size. I did read on the Skyscraper Page that this project doesn’t have any parking. Then again, my house (also in the Humboldt hood) doesn’t have parking either and street parking is plentiful in that area.
I really love the concrete floors. Do you happen to know how this building is heated?
By corey on Friday, August 01, 2008 at 04:42PM PDT
The heating is provided by an electric heat pump and fan coil. This system was selected for it’s energy efficiency and because and electric system gives owner’s the choice of purchasing power from renewable sources such as wind. The building also employs passive heating and cooling measures with a thermal mass in the concrete floors, stack ventilation via an aluminum grate floor and massive windows and doors that can replace the interior air with cooler outside air very quickly.
By Boise Eliot on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 08:23AM PDT
Of all the infill in North Portland, this is my favorite building. I love the scale, the simplicity, the details, and the integrity of materials. The developers should be proud.
By Monforts on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 03:53PM PDT
Lovely building, congratulations to PATH on pulling it off so successfully. I’m curious to see it in person to understand how the grated floor/ceiling works better.
By North Portland Bound on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 04:30PM PDT
I visited this space recently and what I appreciate most is the mixture of modern and classic design elements. The ENORMOUS (yet highly efficient) windows let in all of our beautiful Oregon light, while at the same time the warmth of the wood used in the interior brings a welcoming, truly “home” feel. This is clearly a space carefully designed and thought out in an effort to bring high quality, high function, and high style without high price. Take the time to check this one out and look closely at the materials chosen – that his is not your average condo – not even close!
By North Portland Bound on Tuesday, August 05, 2008 at 04:30PM PDT
I visited this space recently and what I appreciate most is the mixture of modern and classic design elements. The ENORMOUS (yet highly efficient) windows let in all of our beautiful Oregon light, while at the same time the warmth of the wood used in the interior brings a welcoming, truly “home” feel. This is clearly a space carefully designed and thought out in an effort to bring high quality, high function, and high style without high price. Take the time to check this one out and look closely at the materials chosen – that his is not your average condo – not even close!
By Scenic Route on Friday, August 08, 2008 at 07:52AM PDT
Williams Avenue is really shaping up.
By Likewise on Thursday, July 31, 2008 at 01:54PM PDT
I love this project. I’ve been watching it go up. I can’t believe how fastly Williams is changing. Now if only we’d get a supermarket. I live off Killingsworth and have to politely disagree with the Williams 5 web site. New Seasons is NOT in the neighborhood. When oh when will Boise Elliot and Humboldt have a place to purchase food?