Portland Building, Postmodern office building in Portland, United States
Portland Building is a 15-story municipal office tower at 1120 SW 5th Avenue in downtown Portland, Oregon. Its walls are clad in small pale pink square tiles set in a grid, broken by dark rectangular windows and two wide vertical bands of dark glass framed in brown. A thin band of small arched openings edges the flat roof, and a light blue structure with square openings stands behind the roofline.
Michael Graves designed this structure in 1982 as a response to the functional high-rises of the postwar era, bringing color and decoration back into public architecture. Its completion sparked an international debate about what modern government buildings should look like.
The building takes its name from the city itself and houses municipal offices where residents come daily to request permits or ask about local government matters. Its colorful facade elements and geometric patterns remain visible from the street below, often drawing curious glances from passersby.
The entrance lobby is open to visitors on weekdays who wish to access city services or explore the ground floor area. Those wanting to view the exterior facade should find a vantage point across the street to take in the proportions properly.
The roof carries a green roof installed in 2006, proposed in 2005 as part of an Oregon State University experiment testing Sedum spathulifolium's ability to absorb water in the Pacific Northwest. It supports the building's heating, cooling and storm-water runoff systems.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 93,862 contributors worldwide.
