Renowned Texas-based architecture firm Lake Flato has announced the opening of its third office location in Portland, Oregon, marking the company's first expansion outside the Lone Star State. The firm, which was awarded the prestigious 2024 AIA Gold Medal, continues to operate from its original 1920s-era office building in San Antonio where founders David Lake and Ted Flato first established the practice in 1984.

Since its founding four decades ago, Lake Flato has significantly expanded its architectural portfolio, evolving from designing ranch homes to undertaking major university and hospitality projects across various building typologies. The firm previously opened its second office in Austin in 2016, further solidifying its presence throughout Texas before making this bold move to the Pacific Northwest.

The new Portland office, located over 2,000 miles from the firm's San Antonio headquarters, will be led by partner Christopher Krajcer and associate partner Laura Jensen. Krajcer has been working remotely for the firm from Oregon for more than three years, giving him extensive experience in the regional market. Partner Bob Harris, who currently divides his time between Montana and Texas, will also be part of the Northwest team.

The Portland office will serve as headquarters for the firm's Northwest operations, with staff concentrating on projects across Washington, Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming. This strategic expansion aligns with Lake Flato's core philosophy of "critical regionalism," which partner Bob Harris describes as a focus on landscape, materials, people, and culture specific to each geographic area.

"We've got a track record, starting from the Mountain West, moving to the Northwest, that has become something that we really focused on a lot over the last number of years," Harris explained. "It seemed like a natural fit, and there's a natural growth to the firm and the leaders in the firm toward this area. It's been a nice story for us to continue to spread our work and to think about new opportunities that we have across the country."

Lake Flato has already established a strong presence in the Northwest region through several significant projects. The firm has completed a master plan for Montgomery Park in Portland and is currently working on multiple projects in Montana, including the hospitality project Aspire at Spanish Peaks and an educational commission at Montana State University's Gianforte Hall.

The firm's expansion into the Northwest makes particular sense given the region's abundant natural resources that align with Lake Flato's design philosophy. Both current Montana projects prominently feature mass timber construction, a sustainable building material that the firm has extensive experience with and one that is readily sourced from the Northwest.

"We do a lot of mass timber work, and the Northwest is where a lot of that material is sourced from, and a lot of the ingenuity with firms like StructureCraft and Timberlab are in that region," Krajcer noted. "So there's a natural progression for us to expand our use of mass timber on our projects with those regional partners." This partnership approach reflects the firm's commitment to working with local suppliers and craftspeople, maintaining their regionalist approach even as they expand nationally.