Gladstone Public Works

Public Works adaptive reuse connects civic campus

Gladstone Public Works is an adaptive reuse of a pre-engineered metal building into an administrative and operations center for City staff. Scott Edwards Architecture worked closely with the City of Gladstone to determine the feasibility of reusing their civic center site’s existing shop building as a functional and comfortable operations center. The architectural approach prioritized people by configuring the interior layout to support day-to-day activities and moments of connection. The building’s design included a seismic upgrade, recognizing the need for resiliency for public-serving spaces like this, and incorporated numerous sustainability measures.

Location
Gladstone, OR

Size
5,000 sf

Year
2024

Achievements
2024 DBIA Oregon Award of Merit, Civic/Assembly

Before touching pencil to trace paper, SEA examined the civic center’s shop building for suitability. Once determined that the shop building’s structure was in good condition, our team developed an adaptive reuse design maximizing existing features. For the exterior, we reclad the shop in insulated metal panels, selected for both its modern industrial aesthetic and efficiency as a building material. The building’s street elevation uses a shadow-line accent panel to add character and has a new glass vestibule visible and welcoming to the public.

Our approach to the interior considered important adjacencies between spaces, and as part of the process, we met with staff to understand their vision and needs. The final design maximizes natural light in the interior and includes a conference room, administrative offices, a crew room, a staff breakroom with a kitchenette, a gender-neutral locker room, and an open, inviting lobby.

Before and after images showing the crew space. A dedicated crew room supporting collaboration, planning meetings, and individual workstations was a project priority in the adaptive reuse.

The staff breakroom’s overhead door responds to the project’s industrial modern design language, as does strategically exposed framing and mechanical equipment in the interior.

As part of the project, SEA redeveloped the building’s frontage, reworking and extending the sidewalk to connect with the Gladstone Civic Center to create a campus. The staff breakroom has an overhead door connecting to the outside, further engaging the building with the campus context.

Adaptive reuse of an existing building compared to constructing a new building reduces the amount of embodied emissions by 25%, a significant sustainability decision implemented in the Gladstone Public Works project. Other sustainability measures include 100% LED lighting, Energy Star appliances, above-code insulation, and a 13% site-vegetated area.

Before and after images of the building’s exterior showcasing the transformation.

Gladstone Public Works used the progressive design-build delivery method and implemented many collaboration tools, including a virtual reality tour of the building, to ensure the client and the project team could visualize the final design.