CYNQ Architects
Portland, Oregon Statement Of Qualifications April 16, 2013
70 Couch St. / Ste 700 / Portland, OR info@CYNQ.com (123) 456-7890
CYNQ
STEWARDS FOR YOU, YOUR PROJECT, & THE WORLD
About Us
CYNQ is a 25 person firm that specializes in architectural design and professional planning. Over the past 25 years, we have distinguished ourselves as a very unique studio with an emphasis in projects that embody and preserve the spirit of our clients, the project and the place. Established by a unique group of designers, CYNQ gained national recognition for architecture that is rooted to its place, responds to the natural environment, and merges with the landscape. With a palette of regional materials, we create buildings that are tactile and modern, environmentally responsible and authentic, and artfully crafted. As stewards of the natural environment and our client’s resources, we shape every project with empirical environmental knowledge and energy modeling resulting in sustainable strategies that artfully respond to each site’s unique context.
Services Provided Comprehensive Architectural Services Urban Design & Planning Sustainability Consulting Project Management Interior Architecture Innovative Prototyping
Contact: CYNQ Architects / 70 Couch St. / Ste 700 / Portland, OR info@CYNQ.com (123) 456-7890
People Managing Principal JD Gutermuth, FAIA
JD Gutermuth was born in a small town in middle Georgia. Childhood was filled with exploration of the nature surrounding him. This would prove to influence his growth in the field of architecture. He left home for New York City to study architecture at Columbia University. Upon graduating with honors, JD continued his education at Harvard’s Business School, receiving his MBA. After moving west, he practiced with Pietro Belluschi and started his teaching career at the University of Oregon’s School of Architecture. In the mid 1980s JD and a small group of Portland’s best young architects started CYNQ Architects. For the past 25 years, JD has served as Principal Architect and, now, Managing Principal of the firm. He is known for his keen sense of business with the drive for good design.
Design Principal Alina Prassas AIA, LEED AP
Alina Prassas grew up in Colorado where she developed a deep respect for the environment. While studying Environmental Design at the University of Colorado Boulder, she also became involved in sustainability and recycling leadership. After working as a Sustainability Coordinator for a year, the University of Oregon in Portland became her new home, where she obtained her Master of Architecture. The urban forms and great public transit of the city inspired her to pursue sustainable urban design, and study other examples of great design around the world.
Design Principal Emma Chen AIA, NCARB, LEED AP
Since joining CYNQ in 2001, Mrs. Chen’s work has spanned a range of design, management and technology leadership responsibilities. Mrs. Chen received her Bachelor of Architecture in ETH, and Master of Architecture from Yale with Honors for Excellence in Design. She was employed at Behnisch Architects and Herzog de Meuron where she worked as a project designer for three years prior to join CYNQ. She has taught at ETH, GSD, and served as a Louis I. Kahn Assistant Visiting Professor for architectural Design at Yale School of Architecture. Mrs Chen is NCARB certified and registered architect in the States of New York, Washington D.C., and Oregon. In 2000, Mrs Chen moved to Portland with her husband.
Marketing Principal Adam Lawler AIA, LEED AP
Adam oversees firm-wide marketing operations and also serves as a project designer. He graduated with honors from the School of Architecture at Washington State University, where he won numerous competitions and was involved in various leadership activities. Before joining CYNQ, he was a project designer at Olson Kundig Architects in Seattle, Washginton. This experience helps the northwest native bring design solutions to the table that relate to others in the Pacific Northwest. When Adam isn’t in the studio, you can usually find him on a hiking trail or on his bicycle.
Sustainability Director & CFO Talisa Shevavesh, AIA, LEED AP
Talisa Shevavesh currently serves as CYNQ’s chief financial officer, working with design teams to ensure that the sustainability goals of projects will be fulfilled. An active part of the volunteer community, both in Portland and abroad, she is dedicated to simply doing good through good, sustainable design. She has overseen projects such as the Tempe Transportation Center in Phoenix, AZ (LEED Platinum) and the renovation of the historic White Stag Building in Portland (LEED Gold) and strives to always exceed expectations. She has personally overseen CYNQ’s renaissance into becoming a leader of affordable sustainable design
CYNQ Architects has 25 personnel on staff, including multiple architectural associates, a technical manager,an in-house structural engineer, and intern architects.
Sustainability
The notion of sustainability is key from the start of every project - it is not simply an add-on or an afterthought. Our design approach is rooted in the essential nature of the site itself, the orientation of buildings to topography/sun, making appropriate choices for building systems and the material palette, and minimizing construction waste. Our in-house sustainability advancement group oversees in-house research initiatives, promotes staff literacy in sustainability through programs and classes, and encourages LEED accreditation and education. We have innovative methods of dealing with passive cooling, natural ventilation, managing daylight, energy use, recycled and repurposed materials, life cycle cost analyses and green roof technology. 80% of our architectural staff is currently LEED Accredited.
CYNQ
Projects
Livestrong Headquarters - Austin, Texas (2011) Alina Prassas, Design Lead KPFF Structural Engineers Big Vision Civil Engineers Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects After 10 years of leasing space in a corporate office building, the LIVESTRONG Foundation found its permanent home in the 1950s Gulf Coast Paper Co. warehouse in East Austin, an underserved community in the process of revitalization. Locating their headquarters in this neighborhood, and in this newly design historic building, the neighborhood has been revitalized. The renovated facility includes meeting rooms, dining facilities, in-house gymnasium, office space, and outdoor courtyard. Sustainability was a driving force behind the design, and the building achieved LEED Gold certification. By re-using and old building, embodied energy was saved, and the design improved upon. The ceiling was opened up to natural lighting, along with the facade.
Ecotrust Natural Capital Center - Portland, OR (1998) LEED Gold Alina Prassas, Design Lead KPFF Structural Engineers Big Vision Civil Engineers Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects The design combines two compatible philosophies: Ecotrust’s mission of forest stewardship, and adaptive reuse achieving sustainability. Seismic upgrades were necessary, but kept to the outside of the building. The roof hosts one of Portland’s first green roofs, and now has a large solar array. According to Ecotrust, going green and revitalizing an existing building was hoped to “‘spark the imagination and creativity of those who work in and visit the building.”
Headquarters for the Asturias Association of Architects - Oviedo, Spain (2007) LEED Platinum Emma Chen, Design Lead KPFF Structural Engineers Big Vision Civil Engineers Beyond historicist, aesthetic, or linguistic considerations, the intervention in the palace of MarquĂŠs de GastaĂąaga is based on an understanding of architecture as a live project which must be acted upon by utilizing the preexisting building as yet another material in the construction of the idea of the project and in the construction of the city. Such is our proposition. History has always worked with sediments. Taking advantage of the best in each. We cleaned the banal ornament off of the palace, removed the disproportionate and anti-functional rooftop with skylights, and left the strongest and most rigorous fenestration devoid of all pastiche, in order to give new value to the plastic power of its walls, and to the abstract compositional order of its voids. We painted it all white to reinforce its abstract quality, and we used it as a material in order to carry out the following operations: incorporating a plaza into the city, directly across a park, displacing the building compositionally through a great portico facing the park, which transforms the old domestic palace into an institutional, public architecture.
Unilever Headquarters - Hamburg, Germany (2009) Emma Chen, Design Lead KPFF Structural Engineers Big Vision Civil Engineers Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects The new Unilever headquarter building for Germany, Austria and Switzerland is located right by the river Elbe in Hamburg’s HafenCity. It marks the end of the route out of the town centre to Hamburg’s new attractions: the cruise ship terminal and the promenade on Strandkai. Here Unilever’s new building opens itself up to the city and its inhabitants. The central element and heart of the design is the generous atrium, flooded by daylight, which, on the ground floor, gives passers-by the opportunity to get to know the company better while browsing in the shop stocked with Unilever products, sitting in the cafe or relaxing in the spa. The atrium is also the central location for people to meet and communicate. As in a city, bridges, ramps and steps connect central spaces with each other. Here people can meet, talk and enjoy the inspiring ambiance. Vibrant and communicative interaction evolves, thereby fostering a feeling of togetherness among the employees. The workplace is no longer a separate department. The building itself reinforces the identity of the company. The building follows the principles of holistic, sustainable architecture. While implementing technologies that help save resources, the energy concept adheres to the principle of avoiding technical solutions wherever possible. The office area is cooled by means of thermally activated reinforced concrete ceilings. A single-layer film facade placed in front of the building’s insulation glazing protects the daylight-optimized blinds from strong wind and other weather influences. The building’s primary energy consumption during operation will be under 100 kWh/a sqm. A newly developed SMD-LED system has been deployed both for the building’s general lighting and for workplace lighting. This system is up to 70% more efficient than conventional halogen or metal halide lighting. The Unilever building received the newly established HafenCity EcoLabel in gold.
Sources
Holst Architecture: http://www.holstarc.com/ (Ecotrust Building) Lake Flato: http://www.lakeflato.com/ (Livestrong Headquarters) Ruiz Larrea & Asociados: http://www.ruizlarrea.com/ (Headquarters for the Asturias Association of Architects) Benisch Architekten: http://behnisch.com/ (Unilever Headquarters)
Contact: CYNQ Architects / 70 Couch St. / Ste 700 / Portland, OR info@CYNQ.com (123) 456-7890
CYNQ