The Buildings And Models Of Architect Brad Cloepfil And Allied Works

The stunning models of Portland's preeminent architect are as much sculpture as they are architecture. Brad Cloepfil walks us through their exhibition at the Portland Art Museum, as well as his globe-spanning career.

Portland native Brad Cloepfil made his name internationally with the Wieden+Kennedy building before going on to design major projects including the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the National Music Centre in Calgary. — 1 of 26
Portland native Brad Cloepfil made his name internationally with the Wieden+Kennedy building before going on to design major projects including the Clyfford Still Museum in Denver, the Museum of Arts and Design in New York, and the National Music Centre in Calgary.
Aaron Scott / OPB

"I really wanted to be an artist, but I couldn’t go to my parents and say, ‘hey, would you pay for my unisersity so I can study art?’ So my brother introduced me to architecture, and I thought, ‘well that’s close to art.’ I do think that my interest and my thinking and the creative practice that we do at Allied Works is an artistic practice, and it goes back to that beginning, as I entered architecture more as an artist than looking for a profession." — 5 of 26
"I really wanted to be an artist, but I couldn’t go to my parents and say, ‘hey, would you pay for my unisersity so I can study art?’ So my brother introduced me to architecture, and I thought, ‘well that’s close to art.’ I do think that my interest and my thinking and the creative practice that we do at Allied Works is an artistic practice, and it goes back to that beginning, as I entered architecture more as an artist than looking for a profession."
Jeremy Bittermann

Cloepfil's designs for the Wieden+Kennedy building in Downtown Portland launched him into the national eye and kickstarted his career.
"Dan Wieden wanted everybody in one space, so we started with the idea of cutting a huge hole in the middle. And then that building is essentially a full-scale concept model. That five-story concrete box within that block then became a filter of light and people and activity and created that auditorium and started a whole conversation about that agency." — 6 of 26
Cloepfil's designs for the Wieden+Kennedy building in Downtown Portland launched him into the national eye and kickstarted his career. "Dan Wieden wanted everybody in one space, so we started with the idea of cutting a huge hole in the middle. And then that building is essentially a full-scale concept model. That five-story concrete box within that block then became a filter of light and people and activity and created that auditorium and started a whole conversation about that agency."
Sally Schoolmaster

"The concept model is the rationalized version of that sketch, but between that sketch and that model is about three or four months of exploration. We did wire models, we did paper models, we did stick models. We use a lot of different materials to try to find the right expression of the idea.
The concept model for the Dutchess County guest house, again, it’s an abstraction of tree trunks and it shows the now rationalized 8-inch steel tube, which is actually two systems of cantilevers that interlock in space, because I wanted it to be that indeterminate boundary that’s evoked by the sketch." — 11 of 26
"The concept model is the rationalized version of that sketch, but between that sketch and that model is about three or four months of exploration. We did wire models, we did paper models, we did stick models. We use a lot of different materials to try to find the right expression of the idea. The concept model for the Dutchess County guest house, again, it’s an abstraction of tree trunks and it shows the now rationalized 8-inch steel tube, which is actually two systems of cantilevers that interlock in space, because I wanted it to be that indeterminate boundary that’s evoked by the sketch."
Arthur Hitchcock

"The Clyfford Still Museum, it’s in a district of very aspiration cultural buildings, and all of those are very extroverted and iconic, so I wanted to place a reflection. And I knew Still’s work — very powerful, almost spiritual paintings. So I thought the appropriate thing to do in that concept was to introvert the building. That it’s a place for individual experience with a very powerful artistic career." — 13 of 26
"The Clyfford Still Museum, it’s in a district of very aspiration cultural buildings, and all of those are very extroverted and iconic, so I wanted to place a reflection. And I knew Still’s work — very powerful, almost spiritual paintings. So I thought the appropriate thing to do in that concept was to introvert the building. That it’s a place for individual experience with a very powerful artistic career."
Jeremy Bittermann

"I was very frustrated with the light, and I did a drawing where I said can’t we just puncture the ceiling like with pencils and bring the light through the body of the building. And we tried. We worked with the daylight consultants and developed that perforated site-cast slab, and it diffuses light in the most amazing, unbelievable way.
"I think what we invented in that was a whole new museum type for individual artists, but more than that, we invented a whole new quality of light. A writer once described the light when that building opened as ‘liquid light.’" — 16 of 26
"I was very frustrated with the light, and I did a drawing where I said can’t we just puncture the ceiling like with pencils and bring the light through the body of the building. And we tried. We worked with the daylight consultants and developed that perforated site-cast slab, and it diffuses light in the most amazing, unbelievable way. "I think what we invented in that was a whole new museum type for individual artists, but more than that, we invented a whole new quality of light. A writer once described the light when that building opened as ‘liquid light.’"
Jeremy Bittermann

"I wanted each tower to evoke a different activity, quality, and experience. So we were looking at the studies for the concept model, and I was frustrated because they weren’t quite right. And I said, can’t we just go and find a musical instrument and cut it up or something. So the earnest young architects in my office went to Goodwill, got a trombone, cut it up, and then cast it in this concrete and planed it down. When they showed me the first bit, I couldn’t believe it. If we could do architecture like that, then we’d have it." — 18 of 26
"I wanted each tower to evoke a different activity, quality, and experience. So we were looking at the studies for the concept model, and I was frustrated because they weren’t quite right. And I said, can’t we just go and find a musical instrument and cut it up or something. So the earnest young architects in my office went to Goodwill, got a trombone, cut it up, and then cast it in this concrete and planed it down. When they showed me the first bit, I couldn’t believe it. If we could do architecture like that, then we’d have it."
Jeremy Bittermann

"With our first concept model, we got the project. The major precept of the concept is there’s space between. You go form one experience and then step into one of those gaps. It’s like a reset for your ears.
But I wanted it to feel like one building. So after doing paper models, digital drawings, it led to this laminated wood model, where you see the original towers that correspond to the first concept model, and the forms morph and touch structurally." — 19 of 26
"With our first concept model, we got the project. The major precept of the concept is there’s space between. You go form one experience and then step into one of those gaps. It’s like a reset for your ears. But I wanted it to feel like one building. So after doing paper models, digital drawings, it led to this laminated wood model, where you see the original towers that correspond to the first concept model, and the forms morph and touch structurally."
Cridland