Design Wire September 2025
News designed for you
The PORTLAND MUSEUM OF ART (PMA), in partnership with the MAINE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE AND CONSERVATION, AND FORESTRY’S BUREAU OF PARKS AND LANDS, has installed nearly two dozen reproductions from its collection at four scenic locations across Maine: COASTAL MAINE BOTANICAL GARDENS in Boothbay, PINELAND FARMS in New Gloucester, RANGE POND STATE PARK in Poland Spring, and PORTLAND TRAILS’ EVERGREEN WOODS. The outdoor galleries, known as ART ON THE TRAIL, feature works by American artists REGGIE BURROWS HODGES, NEIL WELLIVER, WINSLOW HOMER, NEWELL CONVERS WYETH, and more. Visitors are encouraged to snap a selfie with any Art on the Trail installation and show it at the PMA front desk for one free admission. Check in at all five locations before October 29 and receive a free family membership to the PMA.
Munjoy Hill nonprofit arts organization THE HILL ARTS is attempting to raise $18 million in order to launch a 21,637-square-foot, 400-seat multifunctional performing arts venue next to the existing PARISH HALL THEATER. The new facility will include green rooms, a catering kitchen, a multifunctional promenade space, and a theater and lobby. ARCHETYPE ARCHITECTS, NEWHEIGHT GROUP, and ZACHAU CONSTRUCTION are working together on the project, which will allow the organization to offer space to artists, schools, and nonprofits. “The design of the theater honors the site’s architectural legacy while embracing a forward-looking vision for cultural engagement in Portland’s East End, reflecting the city’s evolving identity,” said Vicky Nicholas, interior designer at Archetype Architects.
Kittery firm FIRST SERVE HOSPITALITY GROUP and Christina Hawkes of HURLBUTT DESIGNS completed a makeover of the 1880s-era Kennebunkport boutique hotel THE BREAKWATER INN, focusing on significant structural and aesthetic updates. The 35 renovated guest rooms feature updated furnishings, color palettes, and fabrics, along with natural wood details and Bethel white granite in the bathrooms. “The Breakwater Inn is a significant property in our community, so we knew that we wanted to help renovate it to create a destination for locals and summer travelers alike. Our goal for the guest rooms was to create a relaxing coastal feel with modern touches, but without the traditional blue and white palette,” says Hawkes. In addition, two new bar areas and a restaurant were added, along with updated rooms for special events and weddings.
This summer, the PORTLAND SEA DOGS unveiled a state-of-the-art $10 million clubhouse that was initially delayed by team negotiations to extend the lease on the city-owned stadium. The 20,410-square-foot, two-story building, which required the
removal of an outdoor picnic area and 500-seat section of the ballpark, is nearly three times the size of the former clubhouse, now used for visiting teams—a new requirement that went into effect when MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL took over its minor league affiliate teams in 2021. A group of 26 contractors led by Gorham’s GREAT FALLS CONSTRUCTION CO. worked on the project, which features a weight room, a commissary, a double batting cage with Trajekt technology, multiple changing areas and showers, and laundry facilities.
The LEGO GROUP recently opened a 157,000-square-foot, six-floor facility that will act as the company’s new U.S. hub in Boston’s Back Bay. Designed by BDG ARCHITECTS and built by STRUCTURE TONE, the space, which is both LEED Gold and WELL Gold certified, includes more than 660 workstations, a gym, flexible wellness areas, playful common spaces, and 90 meeting rooms. “This fantastic new LEGO workspace is an important part of our U.S. investment strategy, fast becoming a talent magnet in this important market. The Boston Hub will open up new ways for LEGO colleagues to create, connect, and grow as we continue our mission to inspire and develop the builders of tomorrow across the U.S.,” said Niels B. Christiansen, CEO of the LEGO Group. At the grand opening ceremony for the new office, the company announced a $5 million investment over two years to increase access to play across the city.
Earlier this year, French PRESIDENT EMMANUEL MACRON unveiled a multiyear redevelopment initiative called NOUVELLE RENAISSANCE to address sustainability, educational outreach, and overcrowding at the LOUVRE in Paris, which sees nearly 10 million visitors annually and expects up to 12 million when renovations are complete. The project, described as a “rebirth” of the museum, would reimagine the seventeenth-century Perrault Colonnade entrance and relocate the Mona Lisa to a 33,000-square-foot stand-alone gallery with timed entry while reducing congestion at I.M. PEI’s iconic pyramid entrance. Over the summer, French Culture Minister RACHIDA DATI announced the launch of an international architecture competition for the museum’s transformation. Five finalists will be selected next month, and the overall winner will be announced in early 2026. Renovations are expected to cost about $417 million and should be completed by 2031.
Rockland’s FARNSWORTH ART MUSEUM, dedicated to American and Maine-inspired art, opened a new campus facility, the 365 ARTS GALLERY AND DESIGN STORE, in a three-story, 12,000-square-foot building across from the museum. The expansion features a flexible gallery space that can accommodate exhibitions, public events, and art workshops as well as a curated store that showcases work from New England artisans alongside Farnsworth-branded merchandise. The mid-nineteenth-century building, formerly known as the Burpee Block, underwent electrical, plumbing, and security updates before reopening. The gallery’s first exhibition, Animalia: Maine’s Illustrated Menagerie, which explores Maine illustrators’ interpretations of animals in imaginative ways, is on view through November 16. Featured artists include TONY MILLIONAIRE, MARY ANNE LLOYD, DOUGLAS SMITH, and MH+D’s art writer LUCKY PLATT.
The cities of Portland, South Portland, and Saco are implementing temporary safety features including roadway paint, flexible traffic posts, and speed bumps as part of a project between the BICYCLE COALITION OF MAINE and the GREATER PORTLAND COUNCIL OF GOVERNMENTS called VISION ZERO GREATER PORTLAND, which aims to eliminate traffic-related deaths and injuries by 2045. The first three of nine installments throughout the region, the features at Westbrook Street and MacArthur Circle West (South Portland), Maine Street at the Thornton Academy Crossing (Saco), and Washington Avenue from Veranda Street to Ocean Avenue (Portland), will be removed before the first snowfall. “Demonstration projects allow communities to test improvements before investing in permanent infrastructure, ensuring the final design meets both safety needs and public support,” Dakota Hewlett from the MAINE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION told The Portland Press Herald.