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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.
Inspired by a nearby historic barn that offers views straight through to the water, the Sea View Barn was created with both transparency and tradition in mind. Designed by Peter Anderson at Houses and Barns by John Libby, the structure was conceived as an entertainment barn, meant to be a flexible gathering space that will one day connect to a yet-to-be-built intimate house on a sloping coastal site.
“The client approached us with a unique brief,” says Anderson of the project. “The owner had purchased an incredible property with a long waterfront, an old farm field, and the remains of an eighteenth-century farmhouse. The goal was to create something that would appear to have always been there while offering visual transparency and maximizing the views to the water.” Anderson’s dual-natured design feels historically appropriate while embracing waterfront views: the road-facing gable is clad in traditional cedar shingles with veneer stone at the foundation walls, while the east-facing water side features an expansive multistory timber curtain wall of Douglas fir coordinated with the hand-cut timber frame structure inside (the interior is primarily finished in eastern white pine).
The barn’s original program included an open main floor for entertaining, a kitchenette, and a three quarter bath. Upstairs, an open studio space would accommodate art making, media, and office zones. As construction unfolded, the design evolved. “When it became clear that the house-building phase of the project was several years in the future, we had to pivot,” says Anderson. “We suddenly had to accommodate sleeping rooms, which weren’t in the original program. It presented quite a challenge: how to subdivide a large, second-floor space open to the roof above without creating redundant loft spaces.” Anderson came up with a solution he refers to as the “mini barns”—small gable forms tucked into the corners of the second floor that act as bedrooms. Sheathed in white pine and accessed via sliding barn doors, they blend in with the surrounding materials and echo the larger structure.
Other signature elements include oversized sliding pocket doors on both gable ends that disappear into the walls, allowing uninterrupted views through the space. That detail required a creative structural solution involving nested posts and spring-loaded systems to preserve the integrity of the timber frame. Steel details at the loft stair and a custom shelving system in the kitchenette add a contemporary edge to the hand-cut, traditionally joined frame.
As the project grew to include a mudroom and garage—connected by a stair clad in glass that reveals the original barn’s exterior siding—the layering of time became an integral part of the story. “We wanted it to look like it had been added to over time,” explains Lee Proscia, president of Houses and Barns by John Libby. “That was part of the charm.” Blending heritage with innovation, the Sea View Barn is a testament to the company’s signature approach: honoring Maine’s architectural past while creating structures designed for the way people live today.
On a sunny and warm Saturday in July, the Friends of Fort Williams Park hosted their Cape Elizabeth Garden Tour during which eight homeowners graciously opened their private gardens for guests to explore. Each garden on the tour boasted unique characteristics, with one garden showcasing over 270 species of plants and others featuring handcrafted sculptures and wooden carvings. The garden tour is the park’s largest fundraiser of the year. Proceeds benefit the organization’s Ecology Project, which aims to cultivate and nurture various types of horticulture at Fort Williams Park, while allowing the community to benefit from the use of the land. Thanks to the Friends of Fort Williams Park and local homeowners, the day was filled with beautiful flowers, unique architecture, and warm hospitality.
“The 2025 Cape Elizabeth Garden Tour was a chance to explore a variety of awe-inspiring gardens, thanks to the generosity of local homeowners. With strong support from the community, the event helps fund important ecological work at Fort Williams Park. It was truly
—Jennifer Scarpitti-Nelson, executive director,
a perfect Maine day.”
Friends of Fort Williams Park
There’s a family of beavers who live in the pond behind the cottage of designers Di Tao and Bob Dodd in the scenic Kawartha Highlands of Ontario, Canada, a few hours northeast of Toronto. It was while watching the beaver family’s movements that the duo came up with the design of their Beaver Tail Chair, a sculptural piece that captures the beauty and function of the animal’s iconic tail.
Beavers slap their tails against the water’s surface to warn their colony that danger is approaching; when they hear this warning, they can stay underwater for up to 15 minutes. The Beaver Tail Chair is composed of 16 layers of stack-laminated wood carefully selected and hand shaped by the artisans to produce sweeping curves that mimic the shape of a beaver. Stack lamination is a woodworking technique where multiple thin pieces of wood are glued together in layers to form a thicker, solid mass. The designers say this approach allows them to create flowing, sculptural forms that would be challenging or wasteful to carve from a single block of wood. Although the chair is made entirely of wood, the interior of each chair is carefully carved out to create a hollow space, which helps keep its weight to around 120 pounds.
“It is more than just a seating option; this chair offers a unique tactile experience, inviting you to touch and feel the flowing surface of the wood,” reveal Tao and Dodd. “Its sculptural design and organic wood grain allow it to blend seamlessly into any setting, whether it’s an artist’s studio, a cozy reading nook, or a modern living room.” It’s fitting that the chair was inspired by creatures that build, design, and maintain intricate lodges and dams out of wood on a daily basis.
Partners in life and design, Tao and Dodd founded their studio, Objects and Ideas, in 2015 to craft functional, artful furniture and lighting. Their combined backgrounds in industrial design and digital engineering drive a distinctive approach rooted in form and precision. Each Beaver Tail Chair is unique and takes over 140 hours to build, from stacking the volume to carving, grinding, sanding, and finishing. The chairs are made to order by Objects and Ideas and currently sell for $15,400.
My perfect Maine day is in the low 70s with no humidity (a dream!) and starts with going for a long morning run from the West End to the Eastern Prom. After that, I’d pack a picnic lunch and head to a park overlooking the water with friends, then off to a nice trail for a walk or a boat ride on Casco Bay. Before dinner, I’d go out to grab a glass of wine with a buddy at Friends and Family, then come back to my little patio to grill dinner and read until bedtime.
Timeless, soulful, authentic.
It’s not necessarily about art and design, but it is about the creative process: On Writing by Stephen King, which is a memoir about the craft of writing.
I look for what I need to tell a story. I want the photo to feel intimate, full of life, and pleasing to the eye—not too much to overwhelm, but not too little to leave someone wanting more. Framing is so natural to me that I rarely need to think about it.
It’s everything. Whether natural or made by me, it helps amplify the story I’m trying to tell.
Books, espresso, music, nature, art.
I love Jose Gouveia’s pottery and Cat Bates’s jewelry.
The first piece of art I invested in hangs in my library. It’s a large abstract portrait of a woman
painted by a Dutch artist named Jan Ter Weele. He used to walk past my apartment every day. We eventually became friends, and he invited me to his studio, where I found the piece and fell in love. He was in his late 80s, and we would go to art openings and lunches, or hang out listening to jazz and talking about everything. He recently passed, and now I have quite a few of his pieces. They make me smile, and I feel grateful for the time I had with him.
François Halard is a constant source of photographic inspiration for me. I love his relaxed approach, his use of light, his subject matter, and the way he lives his life. It would be a dream to assist him on a shoot!
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