MVRDV & adjaye associates among the four finalists for portland museum of art's expansion

designs for the Portland Museum of Art expansion

Portland Museum of Art has unveiled four finalist designs for its first significant expansion in more than 40 years in the heart of downtown. The planned intervention of the four historic buildings will double the size of the museum, with around 60,000 sq ft (approx. 5,500 sqm) ready to welcome an increased number of visitors and PMA’s broadening collections. More than 100 participants from around the globe submitted their proposals, while the finalists were selected for their innovative and future-forward architecture and distinctive vision, which demonstrate a deep understanding of the museum’s values and principles of equity, sustainability, accessibility, and diversity.

‘The PMA’s new museum wing will anchor and integrate the entire campus and double the institution’s existing size. It will be an environmentally and ecologically responsible expansion that will accommodate new collections and major exhibitions, host community events, programs, and performance space for the seeing and making of art, and will consolidate all staff offices.’ 

The shortlisted concepts are designed by Adjaye Associates, LEVER Architecture, MVRDV, and Toshiko Mori Architect + Johnston Marklee + Preston Scott Cohen. See below the four finalist schemes.

image by Adjaye Associates 

Adjaye Associates

The first selected proposal is designed by Adjaye Associates, working with KMA, Michael Boucher Landscape Architecture, Atelier Ten, and 2×4. The design team imagines the museum expansion made with local, land-recycled rammed earth that smoothly complements the existing brickwork. Exposed structural timber beams will act as both interior structure and finish. This material choice ‘celebrates lifecycles within the regional landscape, their expression returning the architecture to the heritage and ecology of the museum’s place whilst reducing the overall carbon footprint,’ explains the architects. 

‘Coding principles of adaptability into the structure’s DNA, the entirety of the space is conceived to function as a flexible frame, allowing for reconfiguration and dissolving the distinction between the museum’s programs into an accessible communal experience. Acting as a wayfinding guide and invitation to explore, the expansion is anchored by a central stair that extends the public realm from The Casco Entry up to the rooftop. As such, the expansion culminates with a public amenity in the sky, featuring a rooftop garden, sculpture park and unparalleled views of Casco Bay and the city skyline.’

image by Adjaye Associates | recycled materials complement the existing brickwork

image by Adjaye Associates

LEVER Architecture

The second design is conceived by Oregon-based studio LEVER Architecture, in partnership with Unknown Studio, Chris Newell – Akomawt Educational Initiative, Openbox, Once-Future Office, Atelier Ten, and Studio Pacifica. The proposal pays homage to Wabanaki’s worldview by embracing the understanding of daylight.

A generous amount of glazing, locally-sourced timber, terracotta, and granite complete the architecture, introducing a welcoming enviroment. The architects explained: ‘During the summer solstice, the expansion’s curved roof cradles the rising sun; in winter, the sun illuminates the central indoor public space. Generous and airy, the architecture is an expression of the natural world made from regional timber, terracotta, and granite.’

The plan sees a replacement of the administrative wing with an accessible public space, dubbed the ‘Free Street.’ ‘To unify the campus, our design removes barriers—replacing the administrative wing with a free ground floor public space traversing the site. This ‘Free Street’ and the adjoining landscapes form the connective tissue that unites eclectic buildings and programs. The reimagined sculpture court becomes a light-filled, accessible plaza and celebratory entry to a new flexible performance space.’

image by LEVER Architecture | a wide, curved structure adds transparency and openness  image by LEVER Architecture | drawing on the Wabanaki tribe’s ‘connection to people and place’

MVRDV

Another concept led by MVRDV with STOSS, the Institute for Human Centered Design, Pentagram, Atelier Ten, and DVDL envisions a vertical expansion, enabling access from all sides. This way, the team seeks to make the campus part of the streetscape, the city, and the community. ‘We create a new heart for the campus, a gathering place that solidifies the connection between the current museum and the new wing, between art and people.’

With only a light touch, as the architects mentioned, the PMA’s new wing proposes a series of stacked volumes on top of the existing building. ‘It becomes a collection of community and museum programs stacked vertically, each floor with a distinctive use, atmosphere, and appearance. Publically activated spill out spaces weave around and overlap with these new programs. They are connected vertically with a public route that juxtaposes adjacencies and cultivates synergies. These interstitial areas give the people of Portland a space for creativity, for display, for gathering, and for all manner of public expression. The new wing promotes exchange between the creative program and the community.’

image by MVRDV | the campus becomes part of the streetscape

image by MVRDV

Toshiko Mori Architect + Johnston Marklee + Preston Scott Cohen

The last chosen design is by Toshiko Mori Architect (see more here) + Johnston Marklee (more here) + Preston Scott Cohen with Simons Architects (here), Cross Cultural Community Services, Arup, Buro Happold, Hargreaves Jones, and WeShouldDoItAll. The architecture sees a diaphanous building with a sawtooth roofline. The transparent structure filled with skylights and glazed facades evokes Maine’s historic marine industry buildings. 

‘Our scheme invites visitors to experience this light in an authentic way. The sawtooth skylights and glazed facades filter light into the interior galleries and community spaces, while the porous atrium informally flows between the north and south entries, the new building, Payson, McLellan and Clapp House,’ noted the architects.

image by Toshiko Mori Architect | the new wing will stand tall in the city

project info:

name: four proposals for the expansion of the Portland Museum of Art | @portlandmuseum

finalists:

Adjaye Associates | @adjayeassociates with KMA, Michael Boucher Landscape Architecture, Atelier Ten, and 2×4

LEVER Architecture | @leverarchitecture with Unknown Studio, Chris Newell – Akomawt Educational Initiative, Openbox, Once-Future Office, Atelier Ten, and Studio Pacifica

MVRDV | @MVRDV with STOSS, the Institute for Human Centered Design, Pentagram, Atelier Ten, and DVDL

Toshiko Mori Architect | @toshiko.mori.architect + Johnston Marklee | @johnstonmarklee + Preston Scott Cohen | @prestonscottcohen with Simons Architects (here), Cross Cultural Community Services, Arup, Buro Happold, Hargreaves Jones, and WeShouldDoItAll