LA Garage

Beaverton, USA

Photo © Andrew Pogue Photography

Architects: SRG Partnership

Location: One Bowerman Drive, 97005 Beaverton, USA
Year: 2017
Client: Private
Team: Rick Zieve, Dennis Forsyth, Aaron Pleskac, Phil Lopez, Marquesa Figueroa, Jeff Yrazabal, Eric Wilcox, Trevor Lavoie, Rebecca Bompiani, Jason Karam
Contractor: Hoffman Construction Company
Civil Engineer: WH Pacific
Structural Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Mechanical Engineer & Electrical Engineer: PAE Consulting Engineers
Structural Engineer: KPFF Consulting Engineers
Landscape Architect: PLACE
Lighting: Luma Lighting
Environmental Graphics: Ambrosini Design

Designed as the “wow space,” the courtyard is surrounded with three sides of backlit glass showing iconic athletes from the 1984 Olympics, hosted in Los Angeles. The covered courtyard is an area that will attract people to hang out and lead to chance encounters and collaboration. The garage is next to a campus daycare center, so it’s a natural gathering space for employees dropping off children. This presented an opportunity to incorporate playful elements. Instead of taking the stairs down to the center courtyard, employees, visitors and children can use the slide. The surface is rubberized clay, and terraced seating allows this outdoor space to adapt for presentations and speeches. The courtyard roof is ETFE, a lightweight, plasticized, and translucent material that is stretched and held by steel tubes spanning the width of the courtyard. Adjacent to the courtyard are rubber pyramids, a balance beam, and running track to carry through the playful theme. Additionally, bikes are provided to further connect this space to other areas on the campus. By creating adaptable space, we designed a parking garage that can be utilized for activities not usually associated with parking garages: social gatherings, special events, and room for play.