Thesis Headquarters

Location: Portland

Cost: Not disclosed

Completion: November 2023

Owner/Developer: Thesis Inc.

Architect: LEVER Architecture

Interior Designer: LEVER Architecture

Engineers: Holmes, Interface Engineering, Vega Civil Engineering

General Contractor: Swinerton

Submitting Company: Swinerton

Subcontractors: Amibus, Andres Landscape, B&B Tile & Masonry, Bill Erickson Heavy Construction, Building Material Specialties, Cascadia Windows, Cash Valley Electric, Cash’s Drapery, Clark County Paving, Curtis Restaurant Equipment, Dallas Glass & Window, Don Frank Flooring, Elemental Energy, Flynn BEC, General Sheet Metal, Glenco Creations, Green Mountain Fabrication, Huntco, HVAC, Interior Technology, J.S. Perrott & Co., K&S Environmental, Landscape Forms, Langon Hanson Landscape Architects, Legend Custom Woodworking, Lumenomics, McDonald & Wetle, Metro Access Controls, Oregon Cascade, Oregon Corrections, Pence Kelly, Project PIVOT, Red Hawk Fire Protection, Schindler Elevators, Sign Wizards, Standard TV & Appliance, Stoner Electric, Timberland, Washington Commercial Painters, WH Cress, Whitaker/Ellis Builders, Willamette Construction Services, Zochert Fence

The new four-story Thesis Headquarters in Northwest Portland is built with a cross-laminated timber (CLT) structural frame and embodies a harmonious blend of nature and modern design.

From the ground floor “all-hands” space, complete with terraced seating for presentations, to the rooftop terrace offering panoramic views of the city, every aspect of Thesis is designed to promote an indoor-outdoor connection. The building has a cafe for casual meetings, a fitness center and a large exterior plaza.

Thesis was built with regional CLT and glued laminated (glulam) timber, prefabricated at Timberlab’s Portland fabrication facility. The Timberlab Digital Construction team completed a four-month effort to provide full MEP coordination of the 40,000 square feet of mass timber. Because of the digital construction coordination, the project was one of the fastest fabrication jobs to come through Timberlab’s Portland facility. This is attributed to the consistent size and connection details of the glulam, collaboratively designed with Lever and Swinerton.

Once onsite, the installation team achieved a six-day installation period per floor, each totaling about 10,000 square feet. The accelerated construction pace reduced overall project timelines and costs, minimized disruption to the neighborhood and enhanced sustainability goals.

One of the challenges was the installation of the fiberglass windows that required significant field testing once installed. Swinerton proactively pre-tested all windows in-house by replicating QED’s official certified testing methods to catch quality control issues prior to installation. It was accomplished by creating a spray rack out of PVC pipe, vacuum sealed chambers and following the testing guidelines of ASTM E1105.

Swinerton and Thesis achieved LEED Gold certification by implementing energy-use reduction strategies and incorporating onsite renewables, including a 54.6 kW solar array. With the help of Thesis’ sustainability consulting partner, Project Pivot, all necessary means were coordinated early to ensure the design aligned with the LEED Gold requirements. The design prioritizes energy use reduction through abundant daylight and efficient systems. The large operable openings on each floor are linked to the internal mechanical system, so the system automatically shuts down when the doors are open.

Swinerton’s hands-on approach to safety ensured rigorous protocols were in place. Daily foreman meetings, weekly safety sessions and proactive planning of high-hazard tasks all contributed to a safe working environment.

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