Bringing a deeper focus on wellbeing to the workplace and embracing corporate culture.

Advantis Credit Union has served the Portland Metropolitan community for over 90 years and is locally owned by more than 75,000 members. Seeking to consolidate multiple administrative spaces, Advantis envisioned a campus that would reflect their mission that places an emphasis on community engagement and supporting the financial health of their members. This corporate commitment deserved a design approach that was equally focused. With thoughtful site selection, building architecture, and team collaboration, the new campus design evolved through a robust visioning process that drew heavily from WELL building concepts and LEED criteria, while not directly engaging either certification. Composed of three buildings on a 12-acre site, the project provides spaces that contribute to users’ health and wellness while meeting the functional needs of an active work environment.

Located on a former agricultural nursery site, the building forms reference traditional agrarian shed architecture with a contemporary palette of materials and function. The headquarters houses administrative offices, conferencing spaces, a call center, and a dining commissary. North facing clerestories provide ample daylight in open office areas and public spaces, while limited openings facing east and west serve to minimize low elevation sunlight glare. Use of exposed mass timber and CLT in lieu of applied finishes speaks to the integrity between structure and form. One structure, designed as a pre-engineered metal building, is more utilitarian in nature and contains facility shops, bike storage and locker rooms, game room, and a flexible event space.

The buildings frame a landscaped courtyard that offers various spaces to meet and gather. An open green invites recreational opportunities and provides space to host large events and parties. Pathways for pedestrians and bicycles make the entire site accessible and feed directly into a broader regional system of trails. Rooftop photovoltaic panels and sustainable design features that address daylighting, shading, and envelope performance helped the project exceed baseline energy savings goals, and perform better than the Energy Trust of Oregon’s Path to Net Zero threshold.