The Burnside Rocket

The Burnside rocket is not your average project. The LEED-Platinum infill development in Portland features a ground-floor pub, two levels of shared office space, a top-floor restaurant, and a rooftop garden. The four-story building is a case study in multifunctionality: operable window panels double as canvases for local artists, the roof garden provides fresh produce for the restaurant, and water from an underground aquifer both cools the building and yields 4,500 gallons (17,000 L) of potable water each day—profits from which the developer plans to donate to local public schools. The project embodies the do-it-yourself ethos of its host city and acts as a proper hinge along Burnside Street, the dividing line between north and south Portland.