New design for Powell's Books features an art cube

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How do you fit a "city of books" into the city of Portland?

That is the question Portland architect Ernest Munch said he has tackled with his design of a new 28,000-square-foot Powell's Books on Southwest 10th Avenue and West Burnside Street. The three-level building would replace the part of Powell's that has the main entrance and is on the southeast corner of the full-block bookstore.

"Powell's has become something of a cultural phenomenon," Munch recently told the Portland Design Commission, as he unveiled his design. "In a lot of ways, this is the face of our community." He said Powell's is Oregon's second largest retail attraction, behind the Tillamook Cheese Factory.

If Munch has his way, the new face of Powell's will be cubist. Just over the entrance of the bookstore, Munch has proposed a giant cube suspended over the awning. The approximately 15- to 18-foot cube would be a showcase for art, displaying art on several sides, according to Munch.

Exactly when the addition/renovation will be built is still up in the air. Powell's is going through early design review with the Design Commission now, but the project may be shelved until the economy turns around, according to Miriam Sontz, Powell's CEO of strategic development. "We will reconsider the (construction) timing in January and then commit to a date," she said this week.

Sontz told the commission that "economic realities are affecting this building."
She said the redesign will mean that Powell's sheds its bland exterior image for a louder visual statement. The project would include renovations and interior remodels of the other existing buildings. The new building would have a green roof.

"We consider (the current) building as a vanilla wrapper and when you open it you find something delightful," she said. "This is a more exhibitionist building. As a business, we're excited about it."

Powell's has the option to build up to 150 feet on the site. But Sontz said the owners are not interested in building higher than they need and then leasing the space. "It's not Powell's," Sontz said, regarding a larger building.

The cube over the new entrance would be an important piece of art for the city, Bruce Guenther, chief curator of the Portland Art Museum, told the Design Commission. The cube, he said, could "celebrate Portland's identity as a creative and artistic community." He said Powell's can be a place where "art and life interact."

Having an iconic piece of architecture such as the art cube at that intersection would be an important way to replace the existing Powell's sign, according to Munch. He said people either love the current sign or think it's "really ugly."

"But it does stand as a beacon," he said.

Design commission members generally liked the art cube concept, saying that it would be an interesting gateway to the Pearl District. They added that the cube should not include advertising, such as notices for upcoming readings. Instead, they said a separate sign should be used for such purposes.

Several commission members questioned whether the façade of the floor above the cube should have a skin of ceramic tiles that uses recycled glaze. They said the tiles make the building overly complicated and could take attention away from the art cube.

The design has been "very well received" by residents in the Pearl District, according to Patricia Gardner of the Pearl District Neighborhood Association.

"People thought it was creative and fun and exuberant," said Gardner. "They applauded the art piece as an icon for Portland."

Although the current sign is hard to miss, she said the new building, with the art cube, will "continue to be the gateway to the Pearl."