Northwest Portland's Bud Clark Commons receives national architecture award

Northwest Portlands Bud Clark Commons is the recipient of a national award for its architectural design.

The American Institute of Architects and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Bud Clark Commons with the 2012 Creating Community Connections Award.

The award is one of four annual awards given out by the two organizations, and the Creative Community Connections Award is given to projects that incorporate housing with other community amenities.

Dave Otte, the lead architect on The Commons construction, accepted the award on May 19 at the American Institute of Architects national convention in Washington, D.C.

In addition to the 130 studio apartments for formerly homeless people, the eight-story Bud Clark Commons, located at the corner of Northwest Broadway and Northwest Hoyt Street in Old Town, has a 90-bed mens shelter on the first floor that includes living, dining and sleeping areas. A day center, open to residents and the public, takes up the second and third floors and provides access to social services, restrooms, laundry facilities, computers and storage for bicycles and pets.

The $46.9 million facility was also given a LEED Platinum certification by the United States Green Building Council for its use of energy efficient lighting, low-flow plumbing and green roofs, among other environmentally friendly attributes.

The Commons was chosen for the award because its layout is inviting and warm, which differs from typical shelters and housing devoted to low-income people, according to a statement on the American Institute of Architects website.

A jury of seven architects, design critics and housing officials were tasked with choosing the winners, and they provided these comments about the Commons: The architect is really trying to say something here, and it is inspiring. The way the shelter addresses the street and the commonsit creates a place of invitation and dignity in a warm, lively kind of way. It invites a wider idea of constructive citizenry.

The building is more than an institution. Considering the homelessness initiativemost homeless projects seem institutionalized and one dimensional, but this is not stigmatized, it is thoughtful and brings a new way of thinking about how these facilities should be done. It is a gorgeous project. This approach should be imitated.

To be considered for the award, the Commons had to be mixed-use and mixed-income building with a diversity of development. The ages, ethnicities, physical abilities and income of the people using the day center and living in the apartments also had to be diverse for the Commons to be considered for the award.

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Northwest Portland's Bud Clark Commons receives national architecture award