Making Places Thrive
This year marked a pivotal transformation for Field States. We evolved from a boutique design consultancy exploring multiple directions into a focused force for place-based transformation. The path has been winding, but we remained anchored in our core values the whole way: Curiosity and Integrity.
Our work this year focused significantly on the neighborhood we call home: Portland’s Old Town Chinatown. Here, we activated vacant storefront spaces by launching the No Vacancy Project to significantly advancing a manufacturing renaissance through Made in Old Town. Our projects demonstrated that thoughtful urban design paired with authentic community engagement can spark genuine transformation. Both projects involved deep community engagement, formal and informal, as we built relationships with our partners, neighbors, skeptics, and supporters.
Our work this year continually reaffirmed a foundational belief that struggling districts hold immense potential for great design and shared prosperity; what we call “making places thrive.”
The numbers tell part of the story—$415,341 in revenue, $130 million in development value influenced, 130,000 square feet activated. The impact is tangible and visible, too. We supported 10 small businesses as they found homes in formerly vacant storefronts, built partnerships with organizations focused on workforce development for people in drug recovery, and articulated a cohesive vision of domestic manufacturing returning to American downtowns.
As we look toward our presentation at the Venice Biennale of Architecture in 2025 — an extraordinary honor and opportunity to perform on the global stage — we see our work not as isolated projects but as part of a larger narrative about the future of American cities. We call it "Production Potential": the idea that innovation and production can become economic drivers deeply integrated with urban life.
Matthew Claudel
Founder & CEO
Field States exists to make places thrive through transformational urban design and real estate strategy. As a benefit corporation, we balance purpose with profit, measuring success not only in financial returns but in social value created, environmental stewardship demonstrated, and communities strengthened.