A local architecture firm has dreams of installing a massive tower just shy of supertall status in Portland, Oregon's biggest city. William Kaven Architecture (WKA) unveiled the scheme last week as a proposed redevelopment of the U.S. Postal Service headquarters in the Pearl District. The building is set to be demolished soon, and in a neighbourhood reshaped by urban development, intensification opportunities here are plentiful.

The near-supertall scheme would become the city's tallest buildings, image via William Kaven Architecture

Taking the form of two skyscrapers linked by an aerial bridge, the scheme envisages approximately five million square feet of mixed-use space. The glazed walkway would contain a botanical garden 207 metres above the ground. Additional green space situated about halfway up the towers provide additional amenity space to tenants. One of the towers would climb to a height of 296 metres, easily becoming the tallest building in the city, and one of the tallest on the west coast. 

The towers would be connected by an aerial bridge, image via William Kaven Architecture

The project's design is devised to integrate to an upgraded transportation network that could include high-speed rail connections to Los Angeles, San Francisco, Seattle and Vancouver. Subsidiary studio Kaven + Co. will submit a formal proposal to Prosper Portland, the urban renewal agency that has been soliciting concepts for the site, at the beginning of 2018.

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