PORTLAND PLAYHOUSE

The Portland Playhouse Community Building was created to provide the King neighborhood with a space to practice, entertain, showcase, and retreat. As the newer counterpart to the adjacent renovated theater (housed in a hundred year old Lutheran church), the community building faces the street with an open facade that embraces passersby. 

Within the charred Larch cedar walls sits a rehearsal space, with sprung wood floors and bespoke acoustic wall panels, a central restroom, and a wood shop. A small courtyard wraps the front of the building, providing twice the amount of gathering space and offering a “front porch” back to the community. Warm cedar accents around the windows and doors soften the black exterior. 

This project was completed as part of Molly Culbertson’s work at SERA Architects.