ARCHITECT's Katharine Keane reports that as of late last year, Framework, in Portland, Ore., was on track to becoming the tallest mass timber building in the U.S. Designed by local firm Lever Architecture , the 12-story project was awarded a building permit in June 2017. In November 2017, the City of Portland announced a $6 million investment for the inclusion of 60 affordable housing units in the structure. Despite this progress, the project has been canceled due to financial reasons, according to a Willamette Week article published yesterday.
"Although beset with market challenges beyond our control, we are very proud of Framework's achievements and the new standards we've established for the use of CLT in the U.S.," a representative from Framework developer Project^said in a statement to the local paper.
Framework was one of two projects recognized in the 2015 U.S. Tall Wood Building Prize Competition, which awarded each winner $1.5 million in funding to support the research and development of their proposed structures. Construction plans for the other project—a 10-story mass timber condominium in New York designed by SHoP Architects—were also abandoned due to financial reasons in March 2017.
