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Commonwealth Building (Portland, Oregon)
Encyclopedia
The Commonwealth Building is a 14-story commercial office tower in Portland, Oregon
, United States
, located at 421 SW 6th Avenue between Washington and Stark Streets. Designed by architect
Pietro Belluschi
, it was built between 1944 and 1948 and was originally known as the Equitable Building. It is noted as one of the first glass box towers ever built, pioneering many modern features and predating the more famous Lever House
in Manhattan
.
The building, which was built as the headquarters in Portland of the Equitable Savings and Loan Association, was originally intended to be 12 stories high but was later expanded to 14. It is constructed of sea-green glass
and was the first to be sheathed in aluminum. It was also the first to use double-glazed window panels, and was the first to be completely sealed and fully air-conditioned
.
The Commonwealth Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
(as the Equitable Building) in 1976.
In 1980, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
(ASME) designated the Commonwealth Building as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. The ASME History & Heritage Committee bestowed this landmark status for the specific feature: the first large commercial building in the United States to pioneer the use of heat pumps for heating and cooling.
Portland, Oregon
Portland is a city located in the Pacific Northwest, near the confluence of the Willamette and Columbia rivers in the U.S. state of Oregon. As of the 2010 Census, it had a population of 583,776, making it the 29th most populous city in the United States...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, located at 421 SW 6th Avenue between Washington and Stark Streets. Designed by architect
Architect
An architect is a person trained in the planning, design and oversight of the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to offer or render services in connection with the design and construction of a building, or group of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the...
Pietro Belluschi
Pietro Belluschi
Pietro Belluschi was an American architect, a leader of the Modern Movement in architecture, and was responsible for the design of over one thousand buildings....
, it was built between 1944 and 1948 and was originally known as the Equitable Building. It is noted as one of the first glass box towers ever built, pioneering many modern features and predating the more famous Lever House
Lever House
Lever House, designed by Gordon Bunshaft of Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and located at 390 Park Avenue in New York City, is the quintessential and seminal glass-box skyscraper built in the International style according to the design principles of Ludwig Mies van der Rohe. Completed in 1952, it was...
in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
.
The building, which was built as the headquarters in Portland of the Equitable Savings and Loan Association, was originally intended to be 12 stories high but was later expanded to 14. It is constructed of sea-green glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
and was the first to be sheathed in aluminum. It was also the first to use double-glazed window panels, and was the first to be completely sealed and fully air-conditioned
Air conditioning
An air conditioner is a home appliance, system, or mechanism designed to dehumidify and extract heat from an area. The cooling is done using a simple refrigeration cycle...
.
The Commonwealth Building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
(as the Equitable Building) in 1976.
In 1980, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
The American Society of Mechanical Engineers is a professional body, specifically an engineering society, focused on mechanical engineering....
(ASME) designated the Commonwealth Building as a National Historic Mechanical Engineering Landmark. The ASME History & Heritage Committee bestowed this landmark status for the specific feature: the first large commercial building in the United States to pioneer the use of heat pumps for heating and cooling.
External links
- Great Buildings Online: The Equitable Building
- http://boundless.uoregon.edu/cdm4/results.php?CISOOP1=all&CISOFIELD1=CISOSEARCHALL&CISORESTMP=results.php&CISOVIEWTMP=item_viewer.php&CISOMODE=thumb&CISOGRID=thumbnail%2CA%2C1%3Btitle%2CA%2C1%3Btitlea%2CA%2C0%3Btitlev%2C200%2C0%3Bnone%2CA%2C0%3B20%3Btitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOBIB=title%2CA%2C1%2CN%3Btitlea%2CA%2C0%2CN%3Btitlev%2C200%2C0%2CN%3Bnone%2CA%2C0%2CN%3Bnone%2CA%2C0%2CN%3B20%3Btitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOTHUMB=20+%285x4%29%3Btitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOTITLE=20%3Btitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOHIERA=20%3Btitlea%2Ctitle%2Cnone%2Cnone%2Cnone&CISOSUPPRESS=0&CISOBOX1=belluschi+equitable&CISOROOT=%2Farchpnw&Submit=SearchBuilding Oregon: Equitable Building]