DESIGN MATTERS: A Tour of Exceptional Portland Homes

Saturday October 13, 2012 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM

The homes tour provides a rare opportunity to glimpse inside seven extraordinary Portland residences. This year’s tour features innovative homes designed by top local architects including the renovation of Donald Blair’s 1960 futuristic “Home of Tomorrow”, a prefab home from Jeff Kovel, as well as several other outstanding examples of modern, efficient living. This daylong, self-guided tour is always a highlight of the Architecture + Design Festival, presented by the American Institute of Architects Portland.

The Design Matters homes tour is open to all, from design enthusiasts to professionals, builders to homemakers, students to senior citizens and is a not-to-be-missed event! For more details visit www.adfestivalpdx.com.

$40 per ticket. Ticket price includes access to all seven homes and a printed catalog with maps and photos. Tickets will be available for pick-up at the AIA Portland, 403 NW 11th Avenue, the week prior to the tour.

Featured homes:

HOMB Prefab

Architect: Skylab Architecture

In partnership with Seattle’s prefab company Method Homes, HOMB is a prefabricated home based on a triangular 100 square foot module. HOMB is designed to adapt to the specificity of a site and its scale, and the first Portland HOMB is composed of 28 triangular units over two levels. Intended to minimize factory and construction waste, this innovative design can be infinitely configured and expanded upon for maximum personalization.

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Irvington Infill

Architect:  DAO Architecture

The owners’ desire for a detached 2-bedroom home situated on a 13’ wide urban site inspired the designers to create a compact 950 square foot infill home. The solution maximizes the spatial volume of livable space, while providing a variety and density of interior environments flooded by natural light. This infill effort demonstrates the ability to unobtrusively increase urban density and sustainability.

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Twigg House

Architect:  Darin Dougherty

Situated on a forested hill, this house takes full advantage of its location. Constantly reinforcing the feeling of being in the trees, rooms and spaces are cantilevered out into the forest. Extending as high as 16 feet, windows are strategically placed to allow for ventilation in the summer but also to maximize light during the winter.

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Vance-Martin Residence

Architect: Paul McKean Architecture

A modern renovation of a 1950s ranch style home, the interior of the house was reinvented to capture southern views of Lake Oswego and the Willamette Valley. Bright surfaces and a series of upper clerestory windows allow for an abundance of natural light throughout the interior spaces.

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Home of Tomorrow

Architect:  Donald Blair and William Fletcher

Dubbed the “Home of Tomorrow” when it was designed as a model home for Wedgewood Homes in 1958 and subsequently won a 1960 AIA Merit Award, this home is filled with gadgets and mid-century modern charm. Currently under renovation, the homeowner is meticulously striving to bring the home back to its former glory.

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CYRK Building

Architect:  DECA Architecture

A mixed-use building sited on an under-utilized urban site, this unique live/work environment allows its occupants to take advantage of location with easily accessible mass transit and walkable shopping, restaurants, and entertainment. This building also showcases several environmental strategies including solar and photovoltaic panels, green roofs, passive shading, and daylighting.

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Graham Towers

Architect:  Path Architecture

Based on a mutual interest in outdoor life and simple expression, two friends approached Path Architecture with a vision of shared living within an urban environment. The resulting twin homes balance the desires of the clients, the site, and Portland’s unique climate. Innovative details, robust hardware, and rain screen siding ensure that the houses will stand the test of time.

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Special thanks to Precision Images for providing printing services.

Many thanks to our Design Matters Homes Tour sponsors:

Jen Cogliantry / Art Direction + Design

Rainier Pacific General Contractors