PORTLAND, Ore.– NBBJ, named among the most innovative architecture firms in the world by Fast Company three times in the past five years, has opened an office in the heart of downtown Portland to help clients in the region achieve better human and building performance through design.
The office launches in support of more than one million square feet of ongoing project work with Oregon Health & Science University (OHSU) and Legacy Health, and it will also enhance the firm’s local project capacity to serve institutional and commercial clients.
“Establishing an office in Portland is vital to our strategy to be close to Northwest clients and locate in creative capitals – the places where NBBJ’s innovation-based practice and creative design culture intersect,” said Steve McConnell, FAIA, NBBJ’s Managing Partner. “With a long history of designing regional projects, we can provide the highest level of service to our Oregon clients by combining NBBJ’s global knowledge with local insight and design talent.”
The Portland office is led by a team of experts with deep experience in the region, including: NBBJ Partner Jose Sama, NBBJ Principal Larry Parrett and NBBJ Healthcare Director Jessica Radecki. In addition, NBBJ Partner Teri Oelrich, leader of the firm’s Health Consulting practice and award-winning NBBJ Design Partner Jonathan Ward, FAIA, are Portland residents and will make the Portland office their home base.
The firm has a strong history of delivering projects successfully in Oregon dating back to the 1970s — including work for Nike, Moss Adams, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation and the Oregon Department of Veteran Affairs. Recently, the firm has been awarded several projects pivotal to Oregon’s emergence as a leader in health innovation:
- A proposed hospital expansion for nationally renowned Oregon Health & Science University, Oregon’s only academic health center, that will enhance and grow clinical programs for complex surgery, fetal therapy, and establish comprehensive mother and newborn care in one location.
- The Elks Children’s Eye Clinic at OHSU Casey Eye Institute, which will be the first freestanding children’s eye clinic in the U.S. when it opens in 2020. The clinic is designed to create an ideal and highly intuitive sensory environment for patients with vision problems.
- The Emanuel West Expansion at Portland’s Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, which creates a therapeutic healing environment for ICU, burn and surgery patients.
- A new patient tower and ICU expansion at St. Charles Health in Bend that serves a vital role in a rapidly growing area.
