Our client, Rembold, came to us with a vision for compact, urban experiences in the suburban setting of Beaverton: Connected residential living within easy walking distance of light rail, greenspace, restaurants, shopping, and entertainment, but with onsite parking and larger residential units than most urban apartments. Partially funded from a Metro transit-oriented development grant and located next to the Round, Beaverton’s civic center, the site was the focus of significant public investment for future city hall, plaza, restaurants, and apartments along a light-rail line. At its heart, this public-private project is intentional city-making. Anchoring the first phase of our comprehensive plan, Arc Central is also a model for urban planning, architecture, and interior design working in harmony. Comprising two buildings—the quieter, gardenlike, five-story Rise West and the more energetic, six-story Rise East—Arc Central responds to its surrounding context and helps reinforce the Round as an urban center. Three interrelated architectural approaches, differentiated by color and material, define Arc Central’s pedestrian life and stoop culture: Retail commercial activity, semi-visible urban housing, and more private internal experiences. The Arc Central’s quieter expressions are contained by Crescent Street, a newly created, pedestrian-focused urban residential street bookended by both buildings and supported by a townhouse experience, with stoops, balconies, and thoughtful landscape design. On their busier commercial sides, the buildings’ larger volume and contemporary brick facades respond to the architectural scales along the adjacent frontage streets. And yet more than just responding to the present, Arc Central looks ahead, setting the stage for Beaverton’s future downtown. To encourage an active street life, the elevated ground-floor units and their stoops support both privacy and socializing. The latter is proving hugely successful; when a former New Yorker said that Arc Central reminds them of home, we knew we’d done it right. The apartments range from studio to townhomes, with 15 of the 230 residents reserved for affordable units, and shared amenities including a penthouse lounge, large fitness center, and roof terrace. Of particular note: Atop The Rise East, an open circle above the sixth-floor deck casts ever-changing shadows as the sun moves across the sky, creating a beautiful indoor/outdoor space. With Rembold, our project is developing what will become an energetic, human-scaled district. By balancing the best of suburban and city life, and by paying attention to how our designs affect future lives, we can build not only better buildings, but flourishing neighborhoods.

The story of Arc Central is about connecting residents to each other and to their environment by expressing the best parts of urban and suburban life. Rembold, our Beaverton-based client, had a vision for an urban community at the Round, the suburban civic center of Beaverton—townhouse-inspired residences within walking distance of public transit, parks, restaurants, retail, and entertainment, but with onsite parking and more spacious units than you’d expect in most city apartments—that pushes the boundaries of typical suburban apartment programming with design principles adapted from dense cities like New York. Our comprehensive plan, which balances interior design with architecture and urban planning, defines what future development will look like here. And the twin buildings of Arc Central are the first manifestation of Rembold’s vision. The five-story Rise West represents a suburban, garden-like design approach: quiet and peaceful, insulated from outside noise. The six-story Rise East, with its more extraverted approach, highlights the visibility of its amenity spaces like the roof deck. Both buildings comprise residences from studio to townhomes, 15 out of the 230 units set aside for affordable housing, with contemporary aesthetics and generous shared amenities including a penthouse lounge, a large fitness center, lots of bike parking, and roof terrace facing east toward the Round. Inside, fresh, energetic finishes complement clean lines, bright color accents and neutral backbone tones, and earthy, natural materials, all choices that express our comprehensive plan for Arc Central as a whole. Natural lighting is an important element—on the sixth floor of The Rise East, daylight spills through a transparent circular opening and creates an ever-shifting indoor/outdoor space—as is artwork, ethnically inclusive and locally produced, that resonates with the diverse residents. Following an idea from Rembold’s team, we even worked with Portland jewelers Betsy & Iya to produce mixed-metal artwork and frames—brass template cutouts created from leftover brass, bronze, copper, brushed aluminum and blackened finishing pieces—that express a warm, eclectic, neighborhood vibe throughout the buildings. Communities are the sum of people’s homes. With our intentional, holistic design approach expressed across planning to architecture to interior design and across public, shared, and private experiences, Arc Central feels special. Rembold’s vision is in service of Beaverton, their home. Like them, we hold this vision close to our hearts, and it shows.