Andy Frichtl, P.E., Principal, and Jerry Yudelson, P.E., Associate Principal, Interface Engineering, Inc., Portland, Ore.

Platinum on a Budget

A long the Willamette River just south of downtown Portland lies a former shipyard that is undergoing an extreme makeover. In a pioneering public-private partnership, the city teamed with its largest employer, Oregon Health & Science University, and two of the city's progressive development companies to build a dense urban neighborhood with housing, green spaces and retail—and also an expansion of the OHSU campus. One of the first new buildings to rise in the neighborhood is River Campus One, a mixed-use facility for office space, wellness, medical research, clinics, surgery, classrooms and ground-floor retail. Part of a $140 million project, the 400,000-sq.-ft., 16-story building will be situated next to a new aerial tram—only the second such system of its kind in the United States—connecting South Waterfront with the main campus atop Marquam Hill about a mile away. The building team expects to apply for a USGBC LEED platinum rating.