The Interstate Oncology Center and Parking Garage are located on Kaiser Permanente’s North Portland campus. The center houses three new state-of-the art linear accelerator vaults that service 80 patients a day. A fourth vault was built as a shell, and there is a fifth vault location for expansion as growth warrants. The center also uses a CT scanner and provides exam rooms, family areas, physician offices, and other support spaces for patients and staff. It is adjacent to the existing cancer care services, which are accessed through a two-story connector.


Major emphasis was placed on patient comfort. The desired look and feel of the facility was one of hospitality. Warm, rich colors were chosen along with natural woods. Waiting areas feature comfortable furnishings, amenities, views, and clerestories and skylights to provide natural light. Interior vistas were created by placing landscaped courtyards at the ends of hallways and outside waiting rooms. There is an outdoor landscaped garden with seating in front of the facility’s entry and waiting area. There also is a private staff retreat for the sometimes emotionally taxing environment.

Exterior design elements, colors, patterns, and material choices are derived from the existing eight-building campus. A terra-cotta arcade is mimicked in granite tile, and the massive concrete forms of the parking garage, treatment vaults, and an existing loading dock are broken up into smaller blocks with color, texture, landscaping, and trellises to provide a visually appealing scale.

Project category: New construction (completed January 2006)

Chief administrator: Cheri Grove, Building Manager, (503) 280-2970

Firm: Petersen Kolberg Associates, Architects, (503) 968-6800

Design team: Tod Lundy, Project Manager; Jeff Caldwell, Project Manager (Kaiser Permanente); Steve Kolberg, Principal; Reg McDonald, Project Manager; Bruce Barton, Architect; Leif Lindseth, Design Architect (Petersen Kolberg Associates, Architects)

Photography: Jamie Forsythe

Total building area (sq. ft.): 107,000

Construction cost/sq. ft.: $252

Total construction cost (excluding land): $27,000,000