Latino Network, an Oregon nonprofit, opens 18,000-sf mass timber community center

In Gresham, Ore., Latino Network, a nonprofit that provides programs and services for Oregon’s Latine community, has opened the 18,000-sf, mass timber La Plaza Esperanza Community Center.

Designed by ZGF Architects, La Plaza Esperanza, meaning “a place of hope,” includes office space, a bilingual preschool, youth programs, and a multipurpose room for community celebrations, events, meetings, and festivals. Latino Network offers programs and services related to education, rent and utility assistance, housing access, and workforce development.

The project team selected mass timber for the structure as a carbon-friendly and cost-effective construction material compared to steel or dimensional lumber. In addition, the building’s sloped mass timber roof and exposed wood structure nod to the surrounding Pacific Northwest forest.

The mass timber structure comprises regionally sourced Douglas fir; cross-laminated timber (CLT) panels for the roof, floors, exterior walls, and shear walls; and glued laminated timber (glulam) beams and columns. Throughout the interior, the CLT was left exposed as an aesthetic and biophilic strategy.

The all-electric building features a photovoltaic solar array designed to offset the center’s annual energy use by 80%. Battery backup enables the building to function as a resilient operations center for the local community during power outages. Other sustainability features include an energy-efficient HVAC system, operable windows, and a shaded southern canopy to reduce solar heat gain.

The $22 million project began in 2019, when Latino Network started collaborating with ZGF and Salazar Architect. Extensive community outreach efforts helped inform the project’s culturally responsive design. Parents, children, staff, and donors sought a design that serves a diverse, intergenerational population of Latine residents.

The multipurpose rooms’ flat and open floorplates, mobile furniture, and retractable room dividers support various functions, such as job-training seminars or small-group study sessions. On the first floor, visitors can receive confidential staff support in private meeting rooms. Upstairs, a 5,300-sf mezzanine doubles the office space for the organization’s 160 staff members.

In the main hall, a mixed-use lounge connects the nonprofit’s primary services. Next to the public lounge is Latino Network’s first onsite preschool program, which will serve about 20 families with culturally specific, bilingual preschool education. The indoor-outdoor preschool play area screen draws inspiration from the area’s mountainous landscape.

On the building team: Latino Network (owner), ZGF Architects (design architect and architect of record), Salazar Architect (interior designer), PAE (MEP engineer), KPFF (structural engineer), Colas Construction (general contractor).