Location: Beaverton, OR, USA.

Architect: Opsis Architects.

The Reser serves as a bridge between the upcoming urban growth and the surrounding natural environment and is located on a prominent yet atypically shaped location close to City Hall, Beaverton Creek, and the light-rail station. The community’s desire to give The Reser a distinctive regional identity is made stronger by its prominent location and unhindered views from Hall Boulevard. The Reser provides educational and family programming in addition to housing a range of touring programmes, professional performances, and a much-needed resource for local arts organisations. A pedestrian-friendly festival street experience is activated by the public art gallery, experimental performance lab, and entrance lobby; a glass-enclosed theatre lobby opens to an arts plaza next to the Creek. The metaphor of the “Beaver Dam,” an enclosing wood enclosure of both engineered and artistic expression, inspired the design of the lobby and 550-seat theatre, prompted also by the proximity to Beaverton Creek and the City’s goal for the use of wood in the public interior spaces. The seamless integration of acoustical and dramatic systems within the purity of the architectural aesthetic is supported by wood panels with layered wood sticks and incisions.