Cathedral Park Housing
Design 2010

The Cathedral Park Housing building sits within view of the Willamette river, the St Johns bridge and Forest Park beyond. The site is part of a loose-weave neighborhood of single family residences, low density industrial buildings and unimproved streets. The building constitutes 54 small-format units packed in a dense bar of 5 storys to provide maximum access to the surrounding views. To minimize cost, a simple bar building with a standard prefabricated truss system is employed, but dimpled and deformed to capture the sweeping views. Modulating the box and then matching the trusses accordingly results in a familiar but sculptural form for the building. Combinations of units are arranged around common outdoor spaces carved into the facade. Two larger common spaces serve the building as a whole. The effect is a perforated field blocks of spaces in varying degree of public vs private.