excerpts from: Portland Arcitecture by Brian Libby. See entire article here

When the North House on Vancouver Avenue was featured in last year’s 11xDesign homes tour, the project was just a shell of itself—literally. The tour, which I wrote about for Dwell magazine, had featured houses in various states of completion, meant to introduce a group of architect-developers more than to act as a traditional look at completed luxury homes.

So returning to the completed North House a few weeks ago was long-anticipated treat. Not only is this an exceptional three-unit development in its handsome clean modern lines, warm natural materials, contributions to urban density and the opportunity it gives to introduce the talented William Kaven Architecture. Visiting the North House recently, not only was I impressed by the simple layouts and sumptuous materials (which include concrete countertops, reclaimed timber beams and stairs, and walnut cabinets) and huge amounts of natural light permeating the spaces, but it was contrasted by the decaying, garbage-filled adjacent houses. One of the two houses, the one immediately adjacent to the Kaven project, has a hole in the roof and some boarded up windows.

The form of this triplex takes on a series of floating boxes, with the second floor gently cantilevered over the first and the small third-floor portions set back from the second floor. The effect is like a series of differently-scaled cubes, activated by a succession of negative spaces that foster shadows and plays of light. When standing outside the North House, looking up at the third floor, you can actually see all the way through the façade’s glass, making it a kind of sculptural object. Even so, those tiny third floors are no bigger than an adjacent house’s chimney.

When I originally wrote about William Kaven Architecture and the 11xDesign tour, it was a chance to recognize not only a group of local architecture firms taking initiative by developing their own small projects, but also to celebrate the top young talents of Portland architecture. And William Kaven definitely belongs in that conversation. During the tour itself, more attention probably went to finished projects like Ben Waechter’s Z-Haus. But the North House should announce Kaven loud and clear as a top talent and one to watch.