Portland Community College | Portland, Oregon

Signature building nears completion at PCC-Cascade

Photos and story by James Hill

PORTLAND, Ore. – The final piece to the Cascade 2000 construction bond puzzle is nearing completion the Daniel F. Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building. The facility is named after former PCC President Dan Moriarty, who retired from the college in 2001 after 15 years at the helm of the states largest institution of higher education. The two-story building, located at 705 N. Killingsworth Street, will house the professional music, multimedia, distance education and arts programs. Construction is more than half complete on the $7.5 million, 42,200-square-foot facility, which broke ground in October of 2004. "The Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building gives Cascade an opportunity to showcase our arts-related programs," said Scott Huff, dean of instruction at Cascade. "It’s an opportunity for us to put all three together in a nice new facility that will serve the citizenry and professional community."PCC will be dedicating the Moriarty Arts and Humanities Building on Wednesday, Oct. 12, from 3 to 5:30 p.m. The event will be held in the auditorium and will feature Moriarty as the keynote speaker. Tours, demos and live jazz are planned. The building was designed by Yost Grube Hall Architecture and incorporates sustainable design features to reduce energy usage and promote a healthy indoor environment. The facility will include naturally ventilated corridors through the use of exterior motorized louvers; high performance windows to minimize heat gain and maximize light; exterior sunscreens; classrooms with operable windows for fresh air; light-colored roofing to reduce cooling costs; and the use of low-maintenance, durable materials for the buildings exterior. Stan Straub, senior facilities project manager at Cascade, has seen all of the new buildings go up at the campus since construction began in the early 1990s. So far, in addition to the Arts and Humanities Building, the current construction phase has included the renovation of Terrell Hall, the Jackson Hall science laboratory and the new Technology Education, Public Services Education and Physical Education buildings, which were made possible by a $144 million bond passage in 2000."There isn’t a building on this campus we haven’t touched," Straub said. "Dan Moriarty should be quite proud of this one. It has come along fine."The schedule for moving into the new building is set for Friday, Sept. 2, after furniture is moved in on Thursday, Aug. 29. Classes start in the new facility on Sept. 26.Arts and Humanities Features:* 3,400-square-foot auditorium that will accommodate 300 people.* 480-square-foot piano keyboard room.* 1,100-square-foot elevated-seating music room.* 1,106-square-foot drawing, painting and print-making classrooms.* 969-square-foot multimedia computer room.* 3,000-square-foot campus bookstore.* 3,800-square-foot ceramics indoor studio plus an expansive outdoor patio space for classes and additional kilns.* The music area will feature 500-square-foot control rooms fitted with high-tech insulated sound doors and equipment.PCC will also open the new Terrell Hall addition for fall term, featuring a tutoring center, general purpose classrooms and an art gallery. Terrell Hall will also be open for tours during the Oct. 12 ceremony. Walsh Construction Co. is the general contractor for the Cascade expansion projects. The Moriarty building is part of $60 million earmarked for PCC’s urban Cascade Campus expansion through the bond. With completion of this facility, the campus will have four new buildings, a new science-building wing and a remodel of Terrell Hall. The new Cascade Campus will be more than one-third larger than its current size, adding 3.57 acres, 120,000 square feet of space.