Fariborz Maseeh Hall, Portland State University, Ore.
RETROFIT TEAM
ARCHITECTURE AND INTERIORS: Hacker Architects
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Fortis Construction Inc.
LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: Mayer/Reed
CIVIL ENGINEER: KPFF
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER: ABHT Structural Engineers
MECHANICAL AND PLUMBING ENGINEER: PAE
GEOTECHNICAL ENGINEER: GRI
LIGHTING DESIGN: Biella Lighting Design
ACOUSTICAL ENGINEER: Stantec
FAÇADE, BUILDING SCIENTIST: RDH
HISTORIC/SHPO: Architectural Resources Group
THE RETROFIT
The design team was tasked with transforming the outdated 1960s Neuberger Hall into a modern, interactive, light-filled academic hub, now known as Fariborz Maseeh Hall.
The 5-story building was built in the Brutalist style, a common campus aesthetic, which reflected the pragmatic and inwardly focused buildings of that era. The design concept repositions the building—which functions as a central student hub with classrooms, lecture halls, student services and faculty offices—through a series of interventions, renovations and expansions. The result is an engaging, open and humane experience. With an emphasis on access to daylight and connections between indoor and outdoor spaces, the 250,000-square-foot building now enhances campus function while better connecting and responding to its urban setting.
The original building was completed in two phases, 1961 and 1969. The two elements are now joined by a common floorplan while their distinct exterior appearances are preserved. Through a rigorous programming exercise, the removal of 20,000 square feet of floor area for a lightwell reduced only 3,000 square feet of assignable space while improving program efficiency and flexibility with the additional floor area at the interior with access to daylight. Exterior façades were upgraded through new curtainwall systems, which increased visibility while enhancing energy performance.
The new central lightwell brings daylight into the heart of the building, and a more transparent façade provides visual connectivity to the outdoors. The new floorplan now provides students, faculty and staff with enhanced opportunities for cross-pollination. Improved ground-floor program distribution also provides visual and physical connections between the plaza and park amenity spaces and expands opportunities for more student activity and interaction outside of the classroom. The physical connections are improved through a continuous accessible floorplan with full ADA access and enhanced wayfinding. Previously closed-in hallways and circulations now have unobstructed lines of sight between the building’s eastern and western perimeter.
Together, the combination of replacing all windows with high-performing substitutes and the increased daylight into the building reduces the building’s energy demand by 25 percent from the Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey baseline model of buildings of similar size and use.
PHOTOS: Pete Eckert