As an emerging company in the late 1990’s, Allied Works was hired by Dan Wieden, founder and President of Wieden+Kennedy, to design their global headquarters in Portland, Oregon. Together, the two firms identified a derelict warehouse in the city’s emerging Pearl District and embarked on an ambitious plan for its transformation. Today, the building is home to over 600 designers and support staff, as well as non-profit arts organizations including the Caldera Foundation.
The 220,000 s.f. masonry and timber-frame structure was fully renovated, seismically stabilized and placed on the National Historic Register. The warehouse was opened to the street with a new mixed-use base of shops and restaurants. Within, workspaces are organized into ‘mini-agencies’ that occupy the building perimeter and contain dedicated resources including conference spaces, kitchens and informal lounges. A new concrete five-story atrium—a building within a building—rises in the center of the warehouse, uniting the many levels into a cohesive whole. By day, physical and visual connections across the atrium promote interaction among the many divisions and disciplines within the agency. By night, the auditorium operates as a dynamic civic space for gathering, performance, and exhibition.
