Show Me the Money

Disney’s signature miser Scrooge McDuck would be right at home working in The Reserve’s new Portland, Ore., offices. Recently renovated by Hennebery Eddy Architects (HEA) from a 1949-built federal reserve bank, the commercial office building, which also houses an 8,000-sq.-ft.penthouse, literally features money an integral part of the building’s aesthetic.

While the structure itself isn’t particularly a show-stealer, the quirky inclusions of dollar bills lend a sense of metaphorical humor that is reminiscent of the building’s prior use. On the ground floor, the designers stretched an abstract image of a dollar bill across 15 windows that lie on the western wall.

But for me the kicker was the whimsical use of real dollar bills in the interior design. (Yes, it’s real money.) Shredded money, which was laminated in glass panels, lines the elevator walls, as well as the countertops in the public restrooms.

It certainly gives new meaning to Jerry Maguire's "show me the money" quote.

--Stacy Straczynski

(Photos by Stephen Miller)