from: Portland Architecture.

Developer Todd Hartman has a side business salvaging old wood from rivers and lakes. In one of the town home units I visited at the Sophia's View development a few weeks ago, he couldn't resist point out the Douglas fir stair treads made from timber his company brought out from watery depths. And I don't blame Hartman: it's this eye for combining warm natural textures with both sleek and industrial manmade finishes that in part defines the project. Bamboo and wool floors intersect with concrete walls and granite countertops and expansive glass.

Designed by Hennebery Eddy Architects, Sophia's view is situated just off busy SW Macadam Boulevard, otherwise known as Highway 43 99E, a few blocks south of the last of the South Waterfront condo towers. But the project is removed from the bustle of Macadam, sitting far up the adjacent hillside with a five-story condo (holding eight units) and seven adjacent town homes.

The condos in particular offer a sensational view, encompassing the Willamette River and Ross Island, Mt. Hood in the distance, and glimpses of downtown and SoWa the the north. At the same time, one feels more part of the urban fabric than in South Waterfront. Granted, this isn't my favorite area of town, with Macadam traffic whizzing by. But you can still walk to some of the retail outlets nearby, like the excellent Cafe du Berry (a personal favorite) for breakfast.

Although the condos have the best view, the town homes may make for the most interesting architecture. They are stepped on the dramatically, with a palette of cedar, stucco, metal panels and mesh screening. The entrances are screened off to allow privacy, but the entry areas to these town homes are dramatic, featuring multi-story glass-festooned foyers that distribute bountiful light into the spaces.

One thing I found disappointing about both the condos and town homes was how they decline to take advantage of roof areas for either public gathering or green/garden roof plantings. Seems like it would have been natural to hang out there and admire the view with a barbecue smoking away and a cold beverage in one's hand. I'm also not sure about the prominence of the driveways and garages in the front, even though they're stepped back from the street. But market realities have to drive design: people want places to park their cars, even if it's not good urbanism.

Hartman previously co-developed one of the best condo projects in Portland from the past decade: the Rick Potestio-designed Lair Condominiums just south of downtown in the Lair Hill neighborhood. That building is absolutely gorgeous, and Sophia's View doesn't quite rise to that same level of visual beauty.

Even so, Hennebery Eddy has somewhat quietly been producing high quality architecture and winning design awards for a long time, so by no means should their firm be anything but proud of the work done here. Tim Eddy's firm has also kept relatively busy during this Great Recession, with projects like the Reed College Language House and a soon-to-be-completed renovation of the Pietro Belluschi-designed Federal Reserve building downtown that may actually improve upon the original design by Portland's favorite architectural son.

What's more, Sophia's View looks like an absolute masterpiece when you compare it to what's across the street: A hideous series of neo-traditional skinny houses (pictured above) that look like they belong in Celebration, Florida or perhaps Damascus, Oregon. One of the units had a yellow Audi Porsche parked outside, and I wanted to tell the owner, "If you chose cars the way you choose architecture, you'd be driving a Kia and eyeballing the Jaguar across the street."

Particularly with that in mind, congratulations are due to Hennebery Eddy and Hartman on Sophia's View.