ZGF Architects Rises to the Living Building Challenge With This Office Complex in Portland

By Interior Design Magazine

It’s a tall claim for only a 5-story structure but ZGF’s PAE Building in Portland, Oregon, is said to be the first developer-driven and largest commercial urban Living Building in the world. Both a speculative office building and headquarters for the engineering firm PAE, it encompasses 58,000 square feet in the city’s historic Old Town/Skidmore district. Assembled by a consortium comprised of Downtown Development Group, Edlen & Co., Walsh Construction Co., and Apex Real Estate Partners, along with PAE and ZGF, the building was designed to last 500 years. Another tall claim. We couldn’t help but examine it with ZGF associate principal and project architect, Michael O’Mara.