LEVER Architecture

06/02/2026

Located in Portland, Oregon, North Portland Library renovates and expands a historic Carnegie-era library that has served the community for more than a century. Designed by LEVER in collaboration with Multnomah County Library and Noll & Tam Architects, the project was informed by more than 75 community meetings and engagement events. The completed work preserves the character of the historic building while introducing new spaces that respond to contemporary library needs.

The project includes a new cultural center addition, expanded lounge and work areas, an enlarged children’s section, flexible community spaces, and an accessible outdoor pathway with garden seating. A new visual connection links the library entrance to the cultural center, while a dedicated exterior path provides direct access from the street. The addition incorporates large windows, custom wood carvings, artwork, and furnishings that contribute to the identity of the space.

The renovation also transformed the center of the library into an expanded children’s area connected to a shared reading porch. Throughout the historic building, original plaster details, bronze fixtures, and wood windows were preserved, while new lighting, furniture, glazing, and a full seismic upgrade support the library’s long-term use.

For more information about this project, please visit: https://leverarchitecture.com/projects/north_portland_library

Photo credits: © Lara Swimmer / Esto
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05/31/2026

It is time.

The Jefferson community showed up and showed out in blue and gold, with ear-to-ear smiles for this long-awaited groundbreaking milestone, made even more meaningful on Senior Day. We cheered in celebration of generations of Jefferson DEMOS dating back to the Class of 1967! Shoutout to Jefferson Alumni!

Congratulations to the Class of 2026!

Colas Hoffman Construction is honored to celebrate with you and proud to serve as your GC as the next chapter takes shape for our city, and especially for the students, educators, families, and community who fondly know Jeff as the heart of Black Portland.

With deep gratitude to every team member, partner, and community voice who has helped carry progress forward. Thank you to Portland Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Kimberlee Armstrong, PPS Board Vice Chair Michelle DePass, Jefferson High School Principal Drake Shelton, and the many others who have held the vision for Jefferson’s next chapter.

Additional note from Andrew Colas: As a kid, I attended Jefferson for basketball camps and summer school, making this groundbreaking especially meaningful on a personal level.

Credit: KyreeFilms.com

05/29/2026

Designed by LEVER in collaboration with Bora Architecture & Interiors, the Jefferson High School modernization project in Portland, Oregon is scheduled to break ground on Friday, May 29, 2026, marking the start of construction.

Portland Public Schools' Jefferson High School has served Portland students and the broader community for more than a century. The project honors the school's history while creating contemporary learning environments that support teaching, learning, and student engagement. Community outreach during the conceptual phase helped inform a design that serves students, educators, families, and alumni while establishing a foundation for the school's next chapter.

Additional project partners include Hoffman Construction Company and Colas Construction as general contractors, PLACE as landscape architect, and Colloqate and Chromatografica as cultural placemaking consultants. Renderings by Side Pixel Studio and Nephew Studio

For more information, please visit: https://leverarchitecture.com/news/news_post/levers_jefferson_high_school_project_breaks_ground

05/27/2026

Designed by LEVER, Albina One is a 94-unit affordable housing project in Portland, Oregon and the first built project in the Albina Vision Community Investment Plan. The building includes accessible balconies, courtyards, communal spaces, classrooms, a communal kitchen, and a large outdoor playground within a private courtyard interior.

The project features a deep blue façade with artwork by local artists and gold screens that step down through the garden to support privacy and reflection. A major park space runs the length of the building, while a plaza connects to the primary entry and double-height community space. Daylit corridors and west-facing double-height terraces provide views of the river and contribute to the building’s formal identity.

For more information about this project, please visit: https://leverarchitecture.com/projects/albina_one

Photo credit [image 1]: Justin Cordova
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Photo credit [image 2]: © Lara Swimmer / Esto
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05/26/2026

Located on a busy urban intersection in Los Angeles's Chinatown, 843 N Spring Street represents a new approach to office buildings by taking advantage of the city's distinctive climate and landscape. The project transforms a windowless retail warehouse trom the 1980s, with a parking garage below, by adding a new structure on top. This results in one of the first and largest hybrid CLT buildings in the city. The building is a combination of LA's high-rise towers and the low-rise bow truss warehouse culture, utilizing a material palette that includes mass timber, steel, and concrete.

The landscape design, developed in collaboration with Field Operations, embraces the city's mild climate, maximizing outdoor spaces and creating a public landscape that serves as a new urban amenity for the city. The floor plan integrates outdoor workspaces and biophilic design, offering access to the landscape on every level.

For more information about this project, please visit: https://leverarchitecture.com/projects/843_n_spring_street

Photo credits: © Jeremy Bittermann / JBSA
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05/21/2026

Job Opportunity | LEVER Architecture is seeking a Proposal Coordinator based in Portland, Oregon, to manage proposals and qualification packages from RFP through final delivery. The role includes collaborating with firm leadership on pursuits across cultural, civic, higher education, and affordable housing sectors.

The position involves coordinating written and visual proposal materials, maintaining marketing resources, and supporting project descriptions, resumes, awards submissions, and website updates as time allows. The role requires 2+ years of proposal experience, strong writing, editing, and graphic communication skills, and fluency in Adobe Creative Suite, specifically InDesign.

This is a full-time, salaried, exempt position with a hybrid schedule. Applications require a cover letter, resume, and two redacted proposal samples submitted as a single PDF, with review continuing until the position is filled.

LEVER Architecture is a mid-sized design practice known for excellence and innovation in mass timber construction. With offices in Portland, Oregon and Los Angeles, California, we partner with communities and institutions to create buildings that elevate the human experience.

For more information or to apply, please visit: https://leverarchitecture.com/careers/proposal_coordinator

Photo credit: © Jeremy Bittermann / JBSA
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05/20/2026

05/19/2026

The adidas Headquarters Expansion and Gold Building, designed by LEVER in collaboration with Studio O+A, and GGN, adds two signature mass timber buildings to the Portland campus. The project is organized around a central sports plaza that strengthens internal campus connections and links to the surrounding neighborhood.

The 182,000 sf Gold Building includes four levels of open and flexible workspace, a maker lab, and shared amenities including a food hall and living green wall, aligning with biophilic design principles. The expansion also includes a new arrival court and below-grade parking garage. As one of the largest mass timber projects in the U.S., the hybrid structure combines regional timber and precast concrete, reinforcing adidas' Pacific Northwest identity. For more information about this project, please visit: https://leverarchitecture.com/projects/adidas_headquarters_expansion_and_gold_building

Images 1 & 2 | Photo credit: Garrett Rowland
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Image 3 | Photo credit: © Jeremy Bittermann / JBSA
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05/15/2026

LEVER designed CASCADA as a hybrid mass timber boutique hotel and spa that proposes a new urban model for an all-inclusive luxury hotel experience. Integrated within Portland's Alberta Arts community, the building's massing breaks down overall scale to reinforce connections to the active neighborhood streetscape. The program includes hotel, restaurant, wellness-oriented health facilities, leasable ground-level retail spaces, and below-grade parking.

The wellness program occupies three floors and includes hammam-inspired bath and steam rooms, a swimming pool, reception, gym, and treatment rooms. Upper levels contain 100 hotel units designed with simplicity and efficiency in mind, while the second floor incorporates an indoor and outdoor dining terrace, workspaces, conference rooms, and a bridge leading to the spa reception. The LEED Platinum design emphasizes wellness and sustainability through mass timber, low-carbon concrete, stormwater reuse, high-performance glazing, solar panels, energy-efficient systems, and biophilic design elements distributed throughout the building.

For more information about this project, please visit: https://leverarchitecture.com/projects/cascada

Photo credits: Ema Peter Photography
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05/13/2026

LEVER designed Thesis Headquarters as a mass timber office building in Portland's Slabtown neighborhood. The building is organized around collaboration, with an all-hands space at ground level that supports meetings, gatherings, and shared use by employees. Office spaces are distributed across multiple levels and connected through a series of interior and exterior areas described on the website as "mid-door" spaces.

The building is constructed using a custom mass timber structural system composed of Cross-Laminated Timber panels with glulam columns and beams prefabricated by Timberlab. The use of regional mass timber is central to the building's construction approach. The project is designed to achieve LEED Gold certification, incorporating daylighting, efficient building systems, and on-site solar panels.

For more information about this project, please visit: https://leverarchitecture.com/projects/thesis_headquarters

Photo credits: © Lara Swimmer / Esto
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