The Portland Museum of Art ignored the historical preservation of 142 Free St., and failed the public by not allowing one design entry utilizing that building. The building at 142 Free St. is functional, code-compliant for a museum and sound. Demolishing useful structures is not “green.” The Environmental Protection Agency estimates that 90% of construction waste is from demolition. This is costly and not sustainable.

Buildings emphasizing image (shock and awe) over contextual design neither contribute to cultural integrity nor architectural cohesiveness. Within historical context, a new building is obligated to understand and work with that context. To do otherwise only draws attention to itself (image over context) while demeaning the architectural history and cultural heritage of the society in which it is placed. To successfully break from context, a building first needs to understand the context. This is not evident with the Lever Architecture design, the architectural plan chosen for the PMA expansion. It is disconnected, disorientating and meaningless within its historic neighborhood and, importantly, the Charles Shipman Payson Building to which it abuts.

The Lever website does not show a new museum project; one exhibition installation and an interior museum fix-up was all I found. Is their design best for displaying art?

An open-air, rooftop restaurant and sculpture garden? The architects from away should have lunch on a warm sunny day in the Old Port. Once eyeball to eyeball with hungry seagulls, rooftop dining might not be so appetizing. They will arrive. And they often leave behind a not so aesthetically pleasing off-white residue on anything unprotected (think sculptures and visitors).

Robert Kahn
Portland

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