Blog

  Michigan Ave. Coliving: A new coliving home opens in Portland By Owen Gabbert, Owen Gabbert LLC Panelist on SROs and More – A Reemergence of Co-living Owen Gabbert  The Michigan co-living project was built from the ground-up specifically for coliving – the first of its kind in Portland! It has 26 bedrooms across four separate structures connected by exterior courtyards. The existing house, originally built in 1890, was fully renovated and 3 new homes were constructed around it. The main house has 5 bedrooms, 3 bathrooms, a larger kitchen with an oversized kitchen featuring two sets of appliances, dining area for the entire community and a separate living room. It is the hub of the overall community, retaining it’s charm with original fir floors, a large pocket door, and a historic exterior.  Each of the new buildings has its own kitchen and 7 bedrooms with private bathrooms. To maximize the volume of space and improve the experience for residents, all units have exposed fir ceilings made up of solid fir beams and 2x tongue and groove car decking. Floors are quality carpet over a soundmat and gypcrete to ensure minimal sound transfer from room to room. Vertically the rooms are separate... Read More

As if the expertise-packed Build Small Live Large program were not enough, a new element has been added: The Design Showcase. This limited-space event gives innovative architects, designers, builders and others an opportunity to strut their “build small” stuff before an appreciative crowd.  For attendees, it’s a chance to converse with those who are already practicing the build-small strategy. You’ll pick the brains of professionals who have tested the alternative dwelling waters and have feedback from the real world to share with you. Find your Missing Middle soulmates at the Showcase! Showcase participants, meantime, will connect with prospective clients, investors, collaborators, and employees, all at no extra fee beyond your Summit registration. Bring your images, books, models, and experiences. We’ll provide everything else you’ll need to make your presentation a winner. If you’d like to secure a spot to showcase your concepts, please contact Patty Morgan pmorgan@europa.com soon since space is limited. The Showcase will run from noon to 1:30 p.m on Nov. 7 in Room 294. Join the following businesses who have already signed up: Artisans Group Green Hammer  Jack Barnes Architect Kendra Carson Duong Architect Modern-Shed, Inc. RBA R&B Design Studio Ross Chapin Architects

A Q&A with Missing Middle’s ‘creator’ Daniel Parolek The term “Missing Middle” has been attributed to Daniel Parolek, Founding Principal of Opticos Design, Inc., a Bay Area firm. He has championed the Missing Middle strategy to urban planners, and created a website, https://missingmiddlehousing.com, dedicated to the subject. To acknowledge his many contributions to urban planning, we reached out to him recently and asked for his views on Missing Middle topics that the Build Small Live Large 2019 will explore in detail. The following are extracts from the Q&A with Parolek.   How did you originally arrive at the Missing Middle concept? In other words, how did you decide that those words fit the problem you wanted to address? Daniel Parolek: We had focused on these range of housing types (duplex, fourplex, cottage court, courtyard apartment, etc.) since 2000 in our architecture and urban design practice. I wrote a book called “Form-Based Codes” that was released in 2007 by Wiley. The research for this book made me realize how many barriers were inherent in zoning for missing middle housing. Zoning was a big reason it was missing.  …Over these years, we analyzed many cities’ zoning codes, and as a start, it was because... Read More