Yesterday Portland welcomed its eighth Street Seat in front of the Center for Architecture at 403 NW 11th Avenue.Designed by Philadelphia architect Bob Trempe, “LIFT” is the winner of the Portland Design Festival Street Seat design competition. The Portland Bureau of Transportation (PBOT) partnered with the Center on this project.

LIFT is also Portland’s first non-commercial Street Seat. While Portland’s other seven Street Seats temporarily extend the commercial space for the host business, LIFT is public space open to all.

Portland Design Festivals Street Seat Competition received 21 submissions from across the United States. PBOT staff participated in jury selection. Lift will remain on site until December 1st. Designs from all the awardees can be viewed on the competition web site.

PBOT’s Street Seats program provides a venue for businesses and community organizations to build a temporary platform in the on-street parking lane. The platform is the same height as the curb and extends the sidewalk space in order to add additional outdoor seating for a restaurant or to provide additional public space for people to stop, sit, and take in the of life of the street.

The Center for Architecture is an initiative of the Portland Chapter of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). The vision for the Center is a place for education, discourse, and dialogue about the design and making of the built environment.