PROJECT WATCH | |||||||||||
The Three Faces of the Portland
Museum of Art Disparate structures to harmonize in a restored, historic ensemble reopening this fall |
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Three
unique buildings spanning two full centuries will be united this fall
when the Portland Museum of Art in Portland, Maine, again opens its doors
to the public. Each architecturally significant in its own right, the
buildings that will work together to provide Maine with a living history
of American museum design are: Architecture firm Ann Beha Architects of Boston began the restoration work in 2000 and has been involved with the project from the onset, with Pamela W. Hawkes, AIA, principal architect, and Richard Pancera, AIA, as project architect. The award-winning firm, internationally known for its high-quality museum work, counts the Portland (Ore.) Museum of Art, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and the Cincinnati's Taft Museum of Art. Equally know for their skilled preservation work, the firm served as architect for restoration of the Andover (Mass.) Town Hall and the Preservation Society of Newport (R.I.) building. A living history
of art museums Refurbishing the Sweat Memorial Galleries, adjoining the McLellan House, will allow the museum to exhibit a greater portion of its permanent exhibits than ever before. One of the most important activities of this phase of the restoration will be to renovate the skylights of the galleries and add adjustable louvers to control daylight. These galleries serve as a bridge between the early notion of "house as museum" and the modern American art gallery. As such, the Sweat Galleries will showcase American art to 1900. Winslow Homer will have a gallery reserved exclusively for his paintings. The restoration also allows for doubling the amount of studio workspace from that of its previous use. While the two older buildings get the lion's share of the attention this time around, the 1981 Payson Building will soon be sporting a new roof and a new fire detection system. The modern-faced gallery, which has served as the public side of the museum since it opened two decades ago, will also receive a new phone system that will be integrated with that of its two older siblings. As one more connection among the three structures, Pizzagelli Construction Company, the South Portland firm that oversaw and managed the construction of the Pei building in 1983, is overseeing the restoration work. Part of a larger
plan The current restoration carries a price tag of $8.6 million; the overall project is estimated at $13.5 million. The museum is shooting for completion by the end of next year, the 20th anniversary of the Payson Building. In the meantime, the refurbished McLellan House and Sweat Galleries will open this fall, just in time for the citywide celebrations of "Portland's Golden Age: 18001866," which will take place October through December. Portland's arts and architecture community plans a host of special architecture tours, exhibits, and musical and theater events. Copyright 2002 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved. |
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