February 14, 2013 -- ZGF Architects LLP has been selected to design the new Multnomah County Health Department headquarters in Portland after a selection committee reviewed proposals from more than a dozen applicants.
The new headquarters on N.W. Sixth Ave. in Old Town-Chinatown will be built adjacent to Bud Clark Commons. Plans call for the new headquarters to include about 90,000 square feet of office, clinical and pharmacy space for up to 250 county health employees.
Multnomah County and Home Forward, which is developing the property for the county, issued final approval of the contract on Feb. 13, 2013.
ZGF is an award-winning architecture, planning and design firm with offices in Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, New York and Washington D.C. Staff has designed buildings for the National Institutes of Health, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center and Oregon Health & Sciences University. Staff designed the nine-story Randall Children’s Hospital for Legacy Emanuel Medical Center, which opened in Portland last year.
The Multnomah County Health Department serves all county residents and is the largest safety net provider of health care in Oregon with 33 primary care, school-based, dental and specialty clinics. Multnomah County has sought to leave its current health department headquarters for more than a decade. Built in 1923 as a retail and office space, the building was not intended for its current use.
“It’s critical that the people who respond to public health emergencies and who work to eliminate illness in our community have a modern, efficient, and seismically sound headquarters,’’ said Multnomah County Chair Jeff Cogen. “We look forward to seeing how this talented design firm can further our mission of public service for county residents.”
ZGF was selected from 15 design firms that responded to the October, 2012 request for proposals. A selection committee of staff from Multnomah County and Home Forward, and a Health Department client, reviewed the proposals. Finalists were identified based on the strength of the design team, design portfolio including past projects, project controls, a participation plan benefitting neighborhood businesses and references.
After interviews with four firms, the committee recommended ZGF as the most qualified proposer. The $2.53 million contract includes architectural, healthcare specialty, interior and landscape design, as well as structural engineering, electrical and plumbing design and LEED documentation.
The project goal is for a highly sustainable 80-year building that achieves LEED Gold
certification for environmental stewardship and healthy indoor space. The building is expected to meet the 2030 Architecture Challenge for energy and align with the 2009 Climate Action Plan adopted by Multnomah County and the City of Portland.
The proposed headquarters is anticipated to be a well-functioning, attractive and a durable asset to the Old Town/Chinatown neighborhood and an architectural complement to the Bud Clark Commons. Special consideration will be given to the ground floor functions along the
Northwest 6th Avenue transit mall and Northwest Irving and Hoyt Streets.
“We’re very pleased that ZGF was selected,” said Steve Rudman, Home Forward’s executive director. “ZGF’s experience in the public sector and with health care facilities will be invaluable to the project, because the firm has a history of designing notable buildings.”
A request for proposal for a general contractor will be issued shortly, with construction
projected to begin in the mid summer of 2014.
Karl Sonnenberg, a partner at ZGF, said “We’re excited by the opportunity to be part of creating a facility that supports such an important mission: assuring, promoting and protecting the health and well being of Multnomah County’s community.”
“Our team has a highly successful approach of working in cooperation with internal and external stakeholders to make decisions, achieve consensus and deliver high performing buildings,’’ Sonnenberg said. “The site by Union Station will also afford a great opportunity for this important agency to have a highly visible presence.”
