The Burlington Lofts
Location: 900 NW Lovejoy, Portland, OR 97209
Architecht: Ankrom Moisan Associated Architects, Portland, OR
Engineer: Kramer Gehlen and Associates, Vancouver, WA
Landscape Architect: Steven E. Koch
This project was built on a site that was formerly part of the Burlington Rail Yards, inspiring the design team toward a railroad theme and the posh Art Deco styling of the Burlington's famous Zephyr streamliner fleet. Eleek was brought in early in the planning process and was asked to design a logo for the project as well as six large exterior light fixtures. As the design process progressed, Eleek was also commissioned to create a series of bronze sculptures to go around the base of the building, handsome sconces to adorn the main entrance, large bronze door handles for all exterior doors and miscellaneous interior hardware.
In the end, Eleek created five unique designs for this project, including the following:
- Large exterior Gatsby sconce (6)
- Exterior Zelda sconce (12)
- Bronze railroad sculpture (3)
- Bronze door handle (16)
- Bronze pocket door pulls (2)
Gatsby
Exterior Sconce
H: 34 3/8" W: 27" D: 33 5/8"
100% recycled cast aluminum with powdercoat finish, laser-cut aluminum detail, white polycarbonate lenses, steel inner structure, and high efficiency compact fluorescent lamps.
Gatsby sconces installed at the front entrance of the Burlington lofts
Gatsby cast pieces after finishing
The Gatsby pattern ready for the foundry
Zelda
Exterior Sconces
H: 26 1/2" W: 27" D: 3"
100% recycled cast aluminum with powdercoat finish, white polycarbonate lens, high-efficiency compact fluorescent lamp. A dozen of these luminaires are mounted at pedestrian level around the exterior of the Burlington.
Castings are cleaned by hand
Signature details on castings
A sconce installed on the exterior of the Burlington
Art Deco Door Pulls
H: 23" W: 2 3/8" D: 2 3/4"
Each pull is a single casting made from bronze that is at least 90% recycled. Installed on all of the Burlington's exterior doors, this is generally the first physical contact one makes with the building.
The handles in production
Master pattern and mold
The handles installed
Train
Exterior Sculpture, one of three
H: 1' W: 8'
90% recycled cast bronze; located on the southfacing wall of building. The Train sculptures pay homage to the Burlington Railroad's beloved Pioneer Zephyr streamlined passenger fleet which went into service in 1934.
Sculpture installed in a niche at the foot of the building
A raw bronze casting ready for cleanup and finishing
Installation of a sculpture
The pattern is carefully hand-worked
