Celebrating 40 Years of Excellence
Posted in News — December 12, 2024
Soderstrom Architects is thrilled to be celebrating 40 years in business this year. Though our leadership and staff teams have changed over the years, we’re proud to retain a commitment to thoughtful, client-focused design at our core. (We like to think we carry on Dave Soderstrom’s sense of humor as well).
OUR FOUNDING STORY
A Cheeky Start in 1984
Soderstrom Architects was founded in 1984 from the former Portland firm of Martin/Soderstrom/Matteson, who designed the Pioneer Courthouse Square, now fondly referred to as “Portland’s Living Room.” One week after the Square was opened, Dave Soderstrom split off to found his own firm, along with key team members Cameron Hyde and Mac McBride. The firm was cheekily founded on April 16, 1984, because it was the day after taxes were due. Dave Soderstrom continued to hold annual meetings on this anniversary date, which he referred to as the “state of the onion.”
The original company motto was playful: “Love, Truth, Beauty, and Cash.” What made Soderstrom stand out though, was the ability to help clients realize their vision. While the architectural style of each project has varied, the common throughline in Soderstrom’s projects has always been an emphasis on creating lasting buildings that serve the needs of their users.
Milestone Projects 1982-present
Completed just before our official founding, Pendleton Junior High School was designed by Dave Soderstrom while with the firm Martin/Soderstrom/Matteson. Praised for its sustainable design, it was the first school in the country to include a solar mass (Trombe) wall. The project signifies the beginning of the firm specializing in K-12 schools.
Client: Pendleton School District
Location: Pendleton, OR
Originally designed by Martin/Soderstrom/Matteson, Pioneer Courthouse Square is a large, outdoor public plaza that has become beloved in Portland. Founding partners of the firm, Dave Soderstrom and Marc Bevens, served on the original design team. Previously a parking lot, Pioneer Courthouse Square has since earned its title as “Portland’s Downtown Living Room.” Soderstrom also completed subsequent projects on the square such as the lobby and chess additions.
Client: City of Portland
Location: Portland, OR
Loso Hall was designed to become a cornerstone of the Eastern Oregon University campus, architecturally compatible with its surroundings and providing an attractive entrance to the campus. Academic programs include laboratory space, computer science/mathematics, music, art, and theater programs. A 500-seat auditorium and theater was included.
Client: Eastern Oregon University
Location: La Grande, OR
During this time in Soderstrom’s history, the firm designed many different types of hospitality projects. The two club houses for Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club were among a handful of clubhouse projects that are still popular destinations today.
Client: Witch Hollow and Ghost Creek Clubhouses
Location: Cornelius, OR
The firm continued to focus on K-12 schools throughout Oregon, often partnering with districts on pre-bond planning before starting design. Born out of such planning, the High Desert Middle School is designed for up to 1,000 students. It has classrooms organized around a “neighborhood” concept with pods of five classrooms surrounding a commons space.
Client: Bend-La Pine School District
Location: Bend, OR
In the 90’s, Soderstrom designed several movie theatres across Oregon. The Act III Theatres on Evergreen Parkway (now Regal Cinemas) instantly became iconic due to its unique light display.
Client: Act III Theatres
Location: Hillsboro, OR
For over 30 years, Soderstrom has either designed or renovated nearly every building on the University of Portland campus, as well as completed several master plans. One of our first major projects was the award-winning Franz Hall, a new 78,000 SF academic center. The addition of Franz Hall created an academic quadrangle on campus that emphasized teaching academics.
Client: University of Portland
Location: Portland, OR
Lewis & Clark College, home to one of the top environmental law schools in the nation, hired Soderstrom to design a library that would reflect the law school’s reputation and commitment to the environment. Wood Hall was named one of the best examples of sustainable design in the Northwest for two prestigious exhibits: “Ten Plus Northwest” and the “What Makes it Green” exhibit at the Environdesign 6 conference.
Client: Lewis & Clark College
Location: Portland, OR
Working on one of the largest high school campuses in Oregon, Soderstrom added an additional 260,000 SF to the existing Moss Freshman Building. Development also included the addition of a pedestrian bridge connecting the campus to the adjacent Clackamas Community College. The overall color scheme relates to the historic WPA wall mural relocated from the old school and displayed in the main entry lobby.
Client: Oregon City School District
Location: Oregon City, OR
At the time, St. Francis Parish School was the first newly constructed K-8 Catholic School in the Portland area in thirty years. The 450-student school’s new athletic center features 80% daylight penetration and is designed to be a community amenity for sports, community meetings, and theatrical events.
Client: St. Francis Parish
Location: Sherwood, OR
For over 15 years, Soderstrom worked with CPH on renovations and additions that have modified, added or replaced most departments within the facility, including 80,000 SF of new space and 47,000 SF of renovations. As a result of the improved functionality of the design, the net revenue of the hospital increased from $600k per year to a record $15M per year, allowing CPH to pay off of $50M in construction bonds in full by 2010.
Client: Central Peninsula Hospital
Location: Soldotna, AK
Another long-term client, Regis University hired Soderstrom to replace their small campus chapel with a signature piece of architecture that reflects both the faith of this Catholic institution and the surrounding beauty of Denver. Soderstrom designed the chapel with a unique plan that places the altar at the center of the building.
Client: Regis University
Location: Denver, CO
After completing the 2004 version of the Abbey Master Plan, Soderstrom designed the long-awaited Bell Tower for the Abbey Church. The “Tower of the Visitation” seamlessly integrates with the existing church and fulfills the monks’ long-standing dream to build a bell tower. The tower houses a peal of eight cast bronze bells, the largest of which weighs slightly over 8,000 lbs and is six feet in diameter.
Client: Mt. Angel Abbey
Location: Mt. Angel
Soderstrom designed the award-winning, LEED Platinum renovation and addition to the existing College of Engineering. The project modernized the labs, classrooms, and offices and included major systems upgrades. Sustainable technology features include natural ventilation and daylighting, a green roof, and radiant heating and cooling tubes in the concrete floor and wall using on-site wells.
Client: University of Portland
Location: Portland, OR
One of several dining hall projects, Soderstrom designed an addition to the UP dining hall that blended seamlessly into the traditional brick style seen throughout the University of Portland campus. The addition adds an additional 450 seats. The next phase renovated the existing food service area, creating an elevated experience with themed stations celebrating food quality, health, and sustainability.
Client: University of Portland
Location: Portland, OR
This adaptive reuse for Kaiser converted a former Circuit City box store into a medical office building with 30 exam rooms. As part of the building deconstruction process, the interior was gutted and more than 90 percent of the removed material was able to be recycled. The renovation efforts transformed a formerly unsustainable building into a much-needed clinic and earned the project LEED Gold certification for Healthcare.
Client: Kaiser Permanente
Location: Portland, OR
The Willamette High School Science Complex is one of the first LEED certified K-12 public school buildings in the Southern Willamette Valley. In addition to providing science labs and classrooms, the complex also creates a new “front door” for the campus and creates an exciting identity for the main entrance.
Client: Bethel School District
Location: Eugene, OR
In designing Eugene’s first new VA clinic in 16 years, Soderstrom focused on providing a new facility for state-of-the-art medical treatment, high-quality care, and excellent patient experiences for veterans. Certified LEED Silver for Healthcare, the project was completed quickly in just 26 months to provide veterans access to the medical care they were promised for their service and sacrifice for our country.
Client: Department of Veterans Affairs
Location: Eugene, OR
As a new hub for team athletics and social gathering, Hadlock Student Center helps fulfill the University’s promise for students to “Be Known,” individually and by name, and to make authentic connections on campus. Soderstrom designed the center using a Northwest contemporary language to integrate with the surrounding woodlands and adjacent buildings, earning it the First Place Award in Education – New Construction from the DJC TopProjects Awards in 2019.
Client: George Fox University
Location: Newberg, OR
This project marks Soderstrom’s second Net Zero facility completed, showcasing the firm’s strengths in highly sustainable and resilient design. Built to withstand emergency events and serve the community 24/7, the new administration building and maintenance warehouse also greatly improve overall operations for BPA and provide shared spaces for staff to gather.
Client: Bonneville Power Administration
Location: Vancouver, WA
With the addition of talented and experienced staff from Peck Smiley Ettlin joining our firm in 2017, Soderstrom expanded our critical facilities expertise into fire stations. The first projects, Pilot Butte and Tumalo Fire Stations, were built simultaneously but reflect unique styles based on their context: Pilot Butte commemorates Bend’s original historic fire station, while Tumalo extends the neighboring commercial core.
Client: Deschutes County Rural Fire Department
Location: Bend, OR
In January of 2019, Soderstrom merged with Laurence Ferar and Associates, bringing decades of winery and distillery design expertise to the firm. One of the first projects the new Wine & Spirits Studio completed was Abbott Claim Winery. The project went on to win Second Place Award In Hospitality, DJC TopProjects, 2021 and Excellence In Concrete Award For Winery, Oregon Concrete And Aggregate Producers Association, 2023.
Client: Beck Family Estates
Location: Carlton, OR
A collaborative effort between Robert A.M. Stern Architects and Soderstrom, Dundon-Berchtold Hall is the first new academic building at UP in over 20 years. Meticulously designed in a classic, collegiate Gothic style, the building integrates with older, traditional buildings on campus but embraces the latest thinking in educational design. It received the McKim, Mead & White Award for Excellence in Classical and New Traditional Design from the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art, 2022 and the First Place Award in Secondary Education from the DJC TopProjects, 2020.
Client: University of Portland
Location: Portland, OR
The Next 40 Years
Looking ahead, we’re excited for the next four decades bring. We’ve signed the AIA 2030 commitment to design for net zero energy for all projects by 2030 and use in-house energy modeling to develop efficient strategies for our clients. We’ve also joined the ILFI’s Just program to further our goals of improving transparency withing the firm and increasing social justice and equity efforts. And we’ve renewed our focus on design excellence with the involvement of our dedicated staff and new talent.
Cheers to You
As we celebrate this milestone in our firm history, we’d like to thank all our staff, both current and past, and all the clients, consultants, and partners who helped us get to this point. Thank you!
