5th Annual Portland Modern Home Tour Features Best in Modern Residential Architecture
Portland, Oregon (PRWEB) May 13, 2016 -- The first weekend in June marks the return of the annual Portland Modern Home Tour. For the 5th consecutive year, Modern Home Tours visits Portland to showcase eight of the area’s most unique homes that exemplify modern architecture and living. Portlandians are invited to get an up close and personal look at these homes, learn from homeowners what it’s like to live in a modern home and find out from where the architects got their inspiration. The tour is self-guided and self-driven, so attendees can explore these architectural treasures at their own pace. This is every Portland resident’s chance to check out "that cool house on the block..."’
Welcomed as a new addition to the tour this year is the support of the Architecture Foundation of Oregon. They will help staff the event, in return for a donation and the opportunity to use the tour as a fundraising vehicle.
Local architecture expert Brian Libby, founder of portlandarchitecture.com, has carefully curated, selected and confirmed the eight participating homeowners and architects for the 2016 Portland Modern Home Tour:
• For a second year in a row, take a walk through a (different) floating home that lies on the Willamette River in the Sellwood area of Portland. Designed by Integrate Architecture & Planning, p.c., the first floor of the home is an open plan with clear site lines all the way through from east to west. The entry is angled in plan toward the south to be easily visible from the community walkway while also providing a playful geometry which engages the guest. Plants in the solarium, off of the kitchen, provide an interactive privacy for the home and community. The stair walls are fluted glass block, which provide natural light and privacy.
• In the Irvington neighborhood, visit a 3-level home built by m.o.daby design on an 'L' shaped infill parcel that wraps around the client's existing 1908 rental house. Cutouts throughout the floors, roof, and wall planes allow daylight, and a centralized vertical circulation shaft containing skylights, wall glazing, and a 3 story custom perforated steel staircase allows filtered light to penetrate the center of the home and provides access to all levels. At the top of the stairway is a sunny and private roof top deck. The home also features a glass accordion door that folds away to eliminate the boundary between the living room and covered rear deck.
• Emily Réfi of Waterleaf Architecture designed a new, compact 2-story home where a dilapidated garage stood behind a tiny Victorian home on a corner lot in the Kerns neighborhood. One important item on the wish list was a roof deck, where the clients (both avid tango dancers) could relax and entertain friends with summer night milongas. The home features economical yet durable materials - cedar, painted cement fiber and corrugated metal, with patterns of texture and pops of color both inside and out. The Earth Advantage, Platinum certified home features triple-glazed windows, a highly efficient minim-split HVAC system with fresh air provided by an HRV, and reclaimed wood accents.
• A classic, restored Robert Rummer home in the Whitford neighborhood that features a light bright atrium entry, vaulted post and beam ceilings, floor to ceiling windows and an open floor plan design. Robert Rummer was inspired by Eichler homes, making this home a gorgeous example of mid-century modern architecture and design. It has a crisp, airy feel, with clean lines of elegant simplicity. This is a home full of understated elegance. The garden is filled with lush, unusual flowers and plants, courtesy of Geranium Lake Flowers.
• “Treehouse,” designed by LEVER Architecture, is a 7-story 71-unit multi-family apartment building located on a steep forested site on the Marquam Hill campus of the Oregon Health & Science University (OSHU) in Portland, OR. The project program provides housing for OHSU staff, students, and affiliates who are interested in a live/work/no commute lifestyle. The units are designed as series of interlocking volumes arranged around a compact central core. The irregular octagonal plan was driven by mandated setback points required to allow for glazing on every face of the building. Windows have been carefully placed to maximize the daylight in sense of space in the studio and-one bedroom flats.
• In University Park, see a modern masterpiece designed by Winn Architecture and built by Homes By Brent Keys that is truly in a class of its own. The home features a light-filled open floor concept, extraordinary floor-to-ceiling windows, custom fireplaces that harmonize together, a steel floating staircase, covered outdoor living, and luxurious finishes and amenities like Nano floating door system, quartz countertops, Viking appliances, and a free-floating tub and heated tiles in the master bathroom.
• Designed in the mid-fifties by Architect Frank Shell for a local doctor, visit a true mid-century modern home gem. Large expanses of floor to ceiling glass, vaulted ceilings with exposed beams, broad eaves and overhangs and generous use of natural wood in the interior are featured in the open floor plan. Shell established a wonderful indoor/outdoor relationship in all areas of the house resulting in a palpable feeling of connection to the beautiful site. The house has been featured in magazines and has been used for several photo shoots for local businesses.
• Finally, in Raleigh Hills, see how Risa Boyer Architecture completely remodeled an early 1970's split level home and reworked the floor plan. The house has been opened up to the front yard, creating a small walled-in front patio, and opened up to the backyard through large bi-fold doors. A 600 sf master bedroom was added to the rear of the house along with a covered patio which the master bedroom and living space open up to. The carpeted split staircase was replaced with a steel and oak open staircase to create a visual connection between the home’s three levels. The existing sunken living room and stone fireplace were retained as a nod to the original era of the home.
Participating homes in the 5th annual Portland Modern Home Tour will open their doors for viewing from 11AM – 5PM on Saturday, June 4th, in the Portland, Oregon area. All are invited to attend. Tickets for each tour are $35 in advance online; $40 on the day of the tour. An after-party will be open to all tour-goers after the tour at a location and time TBD. For details on all participants and to buy tickets, visit: http://modernhometours.com/event/2016-portland-modern-home-tour. Additional promotional considerations are offered by Gray Magazine and The Oregonian/Oregonlive.com.
About Modern Home Tours, LLC: Based in Austin, Texas, Modern Home Tours, LLC was founded by James Leasure in 2010 to introduce modern architecture and living to people across the nation. Through fun and informative tours in dozens of cities across the USA and Canada, the group invites people into some of the most exciting examples of modern architecture and design in the nation. With carefully selected architects, neighborhoods and architecture, the Modern Home Tours are unlike anything you’ve ever seen. Not only will you learn about the cutting edge of home design while on our tours, but you might even get an idea or two for your next home project!
Ken Shallcross, Modern Home Tours, LLC, http://modernhometours.com, +1 (718) 884-0689, [email protected]
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