Mortenson Construction incorporates 100-year-old barn into new Portland office space

Before Mortenson Construction moved into its new Portland office in the Crane Building at 710 Northwest 14^th Avenue, the space was renovated with elements of a 100-year-old barn as the focal point.

Mortenson found the barn in Colton, Ore., purchased it, and began the deconstruction and repurposing process. The Douglas fir barn was used for the 9,000-sf office’s workspaces and trim.

Wood trim from the repurposed barn in a Mortenson Construction workspace Photo courtesy Mortenson Construction.

Reclaimed wood from the barn was incorporated into cabinetry, workstations, the welcome desk, a bike rack, an art timeline wall, and focal piece wood walls in conference rooms. Additionally, Douglas fir barn rafters were repurposed as baseboards.

Continuing the retro look throughout the space an antique crosscut saw found in the barn is displayed in the conference room, an antique refrigerator from the mid-1920s is being used as a decorative piece on a stair cap, and a conference room table has been fashioned out of an 1890s-era door from an estate on Portland’s east side.

Bike rack made from repurposed wood at Mortenson Construction's new office Photo courtesy Mortenson Construction.

Other touches include a mural painted by local artist April Mehls, exposed brick and large industrial windows, and a brick painting in the kitchenette that pays homage to the signage in the first Mortenson office.

Close-up of repurposed wood cabinet at Mortenson Construction office Photo courtesy Mortenson Construction.

Mortenson Construction's office mural painted by April Mehls Photo courtesy Mortenson Construction.

Window made from reclaimed barn wood in the Mortenson Construction Office Photo courtesy Mortenson Construction.

Architectural concrete as we know it today was invented in the 19th century. It reached new heights in the U.S. after World War II when mid-century modernism was in vogue, following in the footsteps of a European aesthetic that expressed structure and permanent surfaces through this exposed material. Concrete was treated as a monolithic miracle, waterproof and structurally and visually versatile.