Custom Blocks

Preservation over demolition in Portland’s Central Eastside

Custom Blocks is a 2 city block adaptive reuse project located in Portland’s Central Eastside. SEA was tasked with transforming this former industrial campus into a modern, vibrant employment center while preserving the industrial character and forms of the historic property.

Location
Portland, OR

Size
72,000 sf

Year
2017

Achievements
Living Building Challenge
2019 DJC Top Projects Award Major Renovation
2018 PBJ CRE Transformer Award

Aerial of two city blocks of Custom Blocks

Rendering of a potential office space in one of the Custom Blocks buildings

Portland’s Central Eastside is rich in texture and industrial history. When SEA began the redesign of this 2 block campus, our primary focus was retaining as much of the original character as possible while also providing a fresh interior look and feel for building tenants and users. Our client’s vision included a creative office development integrating into the neighborhood that will draw tenants excited about the block’s storied past.

Historic photo of Custom Stamping machinery — The Custom Blocks buildings were previously occupied by Custom Stamping and Manufacturing Co., a company that stamped, cut, and bent an array of metal products for over 50 years.

Historic photo of Custom Stamping employees at drafting tables

Integration and preservation of the historic industrial fabric with modern interior space was at the heart of our design for the Custom Blocks campus. Retaining the industrial elements required extensive cleaning and sealing of the time-worn equipment and structure. The result is a quiet, comfortable, high-performing series of workspaces surrounded with elements of the industrial past.