Hardwood Floors October/November 2017

Wood

WOOD WINS at the Oregon Bach Festival By Stacy Brown

e internationally acclaimed Oregon Bach Festival (OBF) now has a new home located on the University of Oregon (UO) campus. e 10,000-square-foot, two-story building, designed by Portland-based Hacker Architects, provides space for Festival program rehearsals, recitals, lectures, and receptions. e multipurpose facility opened in June 2017 and faces 18th Avenue adjacent to the University’s School of Music and Dance (SOMD). e name, Berwick Hall, is in honor of UO alumni Phyllis and Andrew Berwick, whose $6.5 million gi to OBF funded the largest part of the $8.7 million budget for the building’s design and construction. In addition to accommodating OBF’s administrative o ces, the building will be a gathering place for the festival’s community programming, as well as other arts organizations on campus. “ e project represents an opportunity for music and architecture to impact each other in a profound way and all aspects of the design, from the forms to the materials, were considered from the point of view that the building itself should be perceived as an instrument,” says Corey Martin, Hacker Architects principal and design team lead for the project.

Photos courtesy of Greenpointe Wood Floor Supply

One of the focal points of the project is the 2,000-square-foot practice room, which serves as OBF’s dedicated rehearsal space. e venue can host events and receptions for 240 guests or seated audiences of up to 120, and it also has specially designed acoustics tuned for OBF’s repertoire. Greenpointe Wood Floor Supply, located in Clackamas, Oregon, provided Castle Bespoke plank materials for the wall paneling and ooring, which played an instrumental role in the success of this project. “We o er completely customwood ooring options with Castle Bespoke,” says Terry Brandsen, partner. “My brother, Todd Brandsen, and I started this line a er years in the wood oor contracting business, and we could see how changes in construction

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