Double Double Office

Portland, OR

Project Overview:

From Owen Gabbert, LLC:

“Double Double is a ground-up office building located in Portland, OR. Built behind an existing triplex that was built in 1891 and moved to that lot in 1957, the new building was conceived as a shared headquarters for two companies: real estate development & construction company, Owen Gabbert, LLC, and brand agency, Empire Green.

Recognizing an opportunity to share resources and expand the pool of possible properties, Owen proposed that they look for space to share. In addition to expanding the realm of options to larger properties, a shared office would reduce each group’s construction and rent expense through shared resources like common exterior spaces, circulation, and conference rooms, as well as provide downstream flexibility to grow and contract together.

The resulting 4,000-square-foot building is a 2-story open office space with a mezzanine on each floor and breakout spaces for meetings. There is a large, shared conference room on the 1st floor, a smaller conference room on the 2nd-floor mezzanine, a kitchenette on each of the two floors, and three bathrooms, including one with a shower. Each of the two floors has soft seating to serve as gathering or informal meeting spaces or just a spot to relax. Outside, on the ground floor there is a shared courtyard at the entry with seating and a terrace at the first-floor mezzanine level.

To make the scale and texture of the building relate to the residential surroundings, the exterior is a 1×6 shiplap Shou Sugi Ban, burned cedar siding harvested and manufactured by a local business, Nakamoto Forestry. The ancient Japanese architectural technique is low-maintenance and is used to preserve wood by charring the surface with a hot flame. The building’s muted black color allows it to fit in beautifully on its site, while literally and figuratively fading to the back of the lot.”