KOIN Center - Design

Design

The KOIN Center occupies an entire city block and is clad in orange brick and trimmed with white limestone at the base; the sloping roof forming the pyramidal crown is prefinished galvanized steel. The ziggurat-like profile and blue crown sets it apart from most of the other buildings in the downtown Portland area and gives it an instantly recognizable appearance, "one of the most important things a downtown skyscraper can accomplish." The step backs in its footprint with increasing height and its multi-faceted form are reminiscent of the Art Deco skyscrapers of the 1920s, leading some commentators to describe its architecture as Neo-Art Deco. In addition to the KOIN broadcast studios and offices below grade, the building has three principal functional programs, each with its own entrance and distinctive facade—commercial/office on SW Columbia Street, retail and former theater space on the southwest corner, and residential condominiums on SW Third Avenue. In addition, a restaurant space has its own entrance on SW Clay Street. Thus, the building relates to its surroundings in several distinct ways. Of these, most important is the southwest corner as an extension of the public space represented by the Keller Fountain and adjacent Keller Auditorium. A feature unique in Portland, and resulting from the multi-block nature of the original project, is the location of the entrance to the underground parking and loading docks on the adjacent block to the east. This spares any of the four street frontages from accommodating a parking entrance or loading dock, a distinct design advantage for a building on one of the small 200 by 200 ft (61 by 61 m) blocks typical of downtown Portland.