120 Clay Office Building Panelization

Killian Pacific | Portland, OR | November 2017

The office building at 120 Clay is a 75,000-square foot, timber-framed creative office building and is the second facility being added to the Clay Street Corridor. Killian Pacific set out to develop a state-of-the-art urban campus consisting of two buildings, 120 Clay and 240 Clay. Led by architect Ankrom Moisan and general contractor Turner Construction, PCI constructed the core and shell and took the lead in designing unique exterior panel solutions for the project.

PCI was originally contracted to panelize the side of the building on the west elevation, as the building shares a property line with train tracks that snake through the inner east side of Portland. Working in close proximity to an active railroad line presents unique challenges, as the southwest corner of the building was three feet from the vertical plane of the property line that we absolutely could not cross – crossing that line with any of our materials would result in Burlington Northern shutting us down. The railroad made sure to have a representative on site any time we swung panels on the building to ensure rules were being adhered to. To stay in compliance, we had to lift the 52-foot tall panels over the top of the building and bring them down alongside the west elevation as close as possible.

The permit process added another challenge, as it delayed the overall project while the scheduled completion date did not move. This resulted in PCI having to complete our scope in a much shorter amount of time. At that point, we decided to panelize the entire exterior as we could build the panels in our manufacturing facility concurrently as the other trades were performing their scopes. Panelization provided an additional benefit, as trades were able to recapture valuable space on the already congested jobsite.

The sheer size of the 52-foot tall panels provided yet another obstacle that required a creative solution. The roads in the area of the jobsite are narrow and filled with parked cars, so we had to deliver them either before 6AM or after 6PM, requiring our team to be potentially available all day. Another creative solution that we designed in to the panels were integral clips so the masonry contractor could attach the brick ledge to a completed weather barrier without breaking the envelope. Those clips were welded to the jamb studs and the heat from the welding would make the studs expand and bend, so we had the studs pre-bent and after welding, they were straight; it was an amazing feat of engineering.

The project is on schedule to be completed on-time with tenants already working on their spaces and getting ready to take occupancy.