Founded in 1975 as part of the North American Soccer League, the Portland Timbers shared a 1930s-era downtown stadium with the city's Class AAA baseball team for decades. But when the Timbers were selected to join Major League Soccer for the 2011 season, the Timbers needed a stadium that adhered to MLS standards. The goal was to create a trend-setting venue that focused on the spectator experience while integrating health and wellness.
The challenge was to find a balance between contemporary architecture and respect for the stadium's most beloved characteristics. For example, the original facility's roof structure is constructed of large timbers from the 1930s. A dynamic new floating steel canopy clad in cedar covers most of the new seats in the stadium, providing a contemporary interpretation of the existing wood-roof structure while paying homage to its Pacific Northwest context.
Additionally, the poured concrete in the original stadium features a wood grain pattern from its original wooden forms, and this approach was carried into the new construction and left unpainted to express its natural qualities.
The Timbers partnered with Portland-based Providence Health, which operates the 12,000-square-foot Providence Sports Care Center sports medicine clinic that is integrated into the seating area on the southeast side of the stadium. The clinic serves professional athletes and the general public.
Judge's Comments
How appropriate that the team name, ÒTimbers,Ó would drive a design that features such dynamic use of wood.
— James Braam, 360 Architecture
This is the first time I've seen a stadium project of this scale be accessible at the urban level.
— Stefanie Greenfield, Cambridge Seven Associates
They made that big parasol that faces the field and at the same time reaches out to the street, which really was a great urban gesture. The project had that sort of extreme, big-scale ambition, but it also had small-scale ambitions that were consistently successful.
— Viktors Jaunkalns, MacLennan Jaunkalns Miller Architects
Jenks Trojan Aquatic Center