3 New Murals at PAE Living Building

DOWNTOWN , PORTLAND

*Artist Jessilyn Brinkerhoff in front of her coastal inspired mural.*

Three new murals now grace the walls of Portland’s newest Living Building. Portland Street Art Alliance worked with PAE Engineers to produce a mural for each level of their new headquarters in the PAE Living Building in downtown Portland. Each floor depicts a different Oregon ecosystem. The third floor is inspired by the Oregon coast, followed by a forest scene on the fourth floor, and on the fifth floor; an alpine landscape.

Eugene-based artist Jessilyn Brinkerhoff was a natural choice to bring the Oregon outdoors in. Brinkerhoff’s rural Oregon roots along with her love of wild places and bold design made her a perfect fit.

Jessilyn spent a year completing regional research and site visits to craft a distinct look for each ecosystem. Both an experienced graphic designer and muralist, Jessilyn combined her skill sets to create three graphically compelling and visually stunning murals.

Each mural features both flora and fauna found in each ecosystem tied together with a series of concentric circles inspired by the Fibonacci spiral. The colorways were selected with inspiration from the colors of each region.

All materials in the building, including the mural paint, were held to the strict standards of the International Living Future Institute’s Living Building Challenge Red List. The Red List represents the “worst in class” materials, chemicals, and elements known to pose serious risks to human health and the greater ecosystem that are prevalent in the building products industry.

“I was honored to paint for the new PAE Living Building, a truly incredible space that is paving the way for others to learn from.” - Jessilyn Brinkerhoff

COASTAL ECOSYSTEM

The coastal ecosystem features a palette of tawny browns, pastel orange and coral colors, depicting Oregon’s rocky coast. The scene features gooseneck barnacles, razor clams, coastal climate wind patterns, kelp, waves, seabirds, coral, ocean fish, starfish, a brackish estuary, and an ancient ammonite fossil. Offshore monoliths including Haystack Rock anchor the scene.

ABOREAL ECOSYSTEM

The Forest mural features rings of the forest ecosystem including the mycorrhizal layer, soil, the canopy, old growth trees, butterflies, fiddle ferns, earthworms, sword ferns, colonies of mushrooms, and multiple species of flowers. The colors were drawn from the hazy blue of distant trees and the vibrant yellows and greens of Oregon’s temperate rainforests.

ALPINE ECOSYSTEM

The top floor of the PAE Living Building features Oregon’s alpine ecosystem. The mural contains clouds, rain, snow and native plants including pinecones, evergreens, fir trees, beargrass and wildflowers. The center scene highlights a snow-capped peak overlooking a tree- lined valley. The colors are inspired by the bluebird skies and powder white of Oregon’s alpine environments in winter.

What is a Living Building?

Living Building Certification is the world’s most rigorous proven performance standard for buildings. A building that achieves Living Building Certification must meet all performance imperatives of seven Petals: Place, Water, Energy, Health and Happiness, Materials, Equity, and Beauty. Three of the most notable requirements are 1) that the building must generate all of its own energy, 2) capture and treat all of its water onsite, and, 3) meet the imperatives of the Materials Petal. Living Buildings achieve their full certification after one year of occupancy. Learn more at: https://living-future.org

Why is the PAE Living Building different?

Located at SW First and Pine in the heart of the city’s historic Skidmore/Old Town District, the mixed-use PAE Living Building is designed to be the first fully certified Living Building in Portland and the largest commercial Living Building in the world.

Designed to last for 500 years, the approach marries the look and feel of a historic neighborhood with the highest possible energy performance and sustainability standards. Inside, healthy materials meet ILFI’s Red List requirements, ample daylight, views, operable windows, and other biophilic strategies to support occupant health, comfort, and productivity. The building is set to help achieve Portland’s 2050 renewable energy target of 100 percent renewable energy 30 years ahead of schedule. Notably, all of the building’s water and energy needs will be produced via rainwater capture, and onsite and offsite solar arrays.

MORE INFO AT: https://www.pae-engineers.com/projects/pae-portland-living-building