Any industrial area lofts left in Portland?

[kyled]

My mom's an artist so I feel confident in saying the answer to the question "Why is a 'loft' so desired?" is because it offers artists a lot of space for their work. They can spread their art around without feeling cramped. Artists are often a bit scatterbrained so the ability to set down a canvas, work on it a bit and then do something else is pretty key. If they've got multiple pieces going at once they'll need a lot of space so lofts are perfect. I imagine it also doubles as a good showroom but my mom never did that. Not to mention old lofts have a lot of character and there's nothing better than character for artists.

[Beenhere4ever]

Well, my sister spent her whole life as an artist. She attended the Art Museum School. She had a reputation locally. She was a founding member of the Portland Saturday Market. All this she managed without a loft. Probably because this whole loft thing was decades in the future when she got started, and when the young generation started drifting into it, she'd made art in so many settings that she wondered why anyone would worry about that. Let's face it, even artists are vulnerable to fashions, trends, and peer pressure. I wonder, since she was an alumna of the art school, if they have any of her oils hanging. Her work identity was just "Mork".

[Minervah]

I think that artists lofts were a real thing many years ago and continued on for many years in larger cities. It made sense not only for the space but since they were on the top floors of buildings, the lighting must have been very good. I don't they were orginally fads at all. They may have become to be so in time but in the beginning I believe they were utilitarian and very sensible places for artists to live and work.

These days there are different versions of lofts that are either conversions of industrial lofts or new smaller compartments built into modern apartments that are called lofts designed as open spaces used as dens or bedrooms. I think people like the idea of the loft style. My sister has a small loft style open space in her modern condo my bro in law uses as an office.

[kyled]

So what if it's a trend? The OP may not need a loft but they do help. My mom never had a loft and never asked for one but when you walk into her room you can tell she needs much more space, a loft would have really helped her. She had artwork stacked up and paints all over the place. She was cramped and that hurt her productivity. So maybe it is a trend, if it is it's a practical one.

[Beenhere4ever]

I'm just saying I've had relatives who were Portland artists starting in the 1950's. They didn't paint in lofts. Maybe in New York City there are enough abandoned buildings to encourage the trend. Maybe economic changes eventually provided a limited number of such buildings in certain parts of Portland. For sure, we've had easy money for developers for a good decade, and they'd find it attractive to take buildings like the one Powell Books is in and make them into something different for the next phase of their existence. There definitely has been this fashion pushing back against the "tear it down" mentality. Money has always been the problem, but the Federal Reserve has been hosing the economy with cheap money for quite a while. I guess if you googled "loft for sale Portland", something would be bound to pop up.

[Minervah]

The are modern lofts in Portland and 5 Mile Post lofts specifically built for artists who seem to like them so there must be something about lofts that artists like. These are new but if they weren't popular places for artists they wouldn't be successful. Again I think it's more than just trendy, I think it's the practicality of the lighting and the space. In former times too it was probably just a matter of it being cheaper to live in the place where you worked. Like the mom and pop stores where mom and pop and the family lived upstairs of the shop.

[Beenhere4ever]

I'm not denying artists NOW use lofts. Its probably been 20 years since the media have dangled them as some sort of "hip" thing. But to try to make claims that it happened because "it is so good for art" is simply to ignore centuries of artistic creation without empty industrial buildings. Vermeer got suggestive light without the need of a loft apartment. Classical masters didn't all seek huge windows and skylights. Its mostly a box created by SOME artists in the present day. They have created in their own mind the notion that "I need this to express myself". Very happy development for the people who want to sell the things.

[EnricoV]

Originally Posted by Beenhere4ever

I'm not denying artists NOW use lofts. Its probably been 20 years since the media have dangled them as some sort of "hip" thing. But to try to make claims that it happened because "it is so good for art" is simply to ignore centuries of artistic creation without empty industrial buildings. Vermeer got suggestive light without the need of a loft apartment. Classical masters didn't all seek huge windows and skylights. Its mostly a box created by SOME artists in the present day. They have created in their own mind the notion that "I need this to express myself". Very happy development for the people who want to sell the things.

Classic masters also didn't feel the need to bathe. Times change.

However, they did need light. And that was usually windows and skylights.

But I am impressed that you know exactly what Vermeer's studio looked like.

[kyled]

I always find it odd how so many people find the need to dismiss things because they're popular. Many times things are popular because they work.

[Larry Caldwell]

Originally Posted by EnricoV

Classic masters also didn't feel the need to bathe. Times change.

However, they did need light. And that was usually windows and skylights.

But I am impressed that you know exactly what Vermeer's studio looked like.

The classic north light studio was sought after because north light is the most unchanging throughout the day. This allowed the artist to work for several hours under pretty uniform lighting conditions. Skylights were only useful if they were shielded from the sun.

As you say, times change. Nowadays you can have any kind of light you want. Just contact lighting manufacturers and give them your specs.