Today’s passion-driven hobbyists breed many of tomorrow’s small businesses. Stemming from the “Maker” movement, and enabled by technology, industrious hobbyists are leading a new generation of entrepreneurs who sit at the confluence of technological, economic, and societal trends. By all accounts they are ready to stand and turn their passion into product. All they lack are the facilities and business-support services to help them develop and deploy their ideas.
Portland is known nationally for it’s favorable small-business environment. In 2005 Forbes ranked Portland 26th for best places to jump-start a business and 17th for best cost of doing business. A low cost of living and cultural emphasis on collaboration and entrepreneurship help create fertile soil for start-ups to test their ideas locally and, in many cases, grow to exporting their services and products throughout the region and beyond. Portland hosts 46.5% of Oregon’s small businesses. The density and variety of these endeavours contribute significantly to Portland’s character.
-Intuit Future of Small Business Report
This project is shaping up to be an architectural expression of all the things that make Portland a desirable place to conceive and build start-up design/fabrication businesses. Collaborative, affordable, and well-grounded, and ecologically-responsible, this proposal attempts to use the nascent energy of the ongoing Maker movement to revitalize the Lents Town Center, dragging it (perhaps kicking and screaming) into the 21st century.