Herald Square | 385 Congress St | Portland

Screen Shot 2022-09-19 at 7.30.07 PM 2.jpeg
fsghdfgjhdfghj 2.jpeg
 
The design is interesting and unlike anything north of Boston which may be a nice change. Any word on when they plan to demolish the old printing building?
 
Portlander said:
The design is interesting and unlike anything north of Boston which may be a nice change. Any word on when they plan to demolish the old printing building?
Click to expand...
I don't believe there was any mention of timeline - they did say this wasn't ready for a public hearing due to a number of issues not related to design. I mentioned parking earlier, but another issue to be figured out is that the lot has now been subdivided and there seems to be some confusion around how inclusionary zoning works in a situation like this (after MDP has been approved). Looking at the workflow in CSS I'm not sure what's next - maybe another workshop once city staff has worked through these issues with the applicants?
 
Last edited:
Colors, etc. don't bother me; it's not like the Fidelity and Chapman buildings weren't a massive change from the J.B. Brown block. Hell, Bernie's Fashions was replaced by a giant stainless steel Lego.
 
Honestly I like that it's different. Portland could use "different". I think the black is better than the buff. I do agree that it looks more south-western (but could also seem sort of like Aspen, CO or something in Vancouver). Nevertheless, I like it.
 
The architectural details on this are really cool.....I hope that they follow through on this design. I still prefer the "white look" but the buff brick is better than the dark IMO. I also agree that this ends up looking better in reality. Let's face it....other than red brick....Portland urban architecture is up fro grabs and that is exciting. I think that tight budgets limited building design and materials over the past couple of decades.....but I see more money and wealth flowing into Portland in the future which might translate to an architectural renaissance and some really interesting stuff.
 
Perhaps they are trying to blend in a bit more, or with the Press Hotel across the street, of which is or was a Jim Brady project too. And maybe they will leave the tunnel intact under the street to connect the two buildings. Like a loose-knit family.
 
Call me crazy, but I kind of like the buff brick version better. I'm partial to that style, though. Almost all buildings at my alma mater are buff brick.
 
Another thing they asked for is longer views in both directions. In the Congress/Myrtle rendering you can see just a sliver of City Hall - I'd be interested in seeing it in context of the whole of City Hall. As a stand alone building, I'm fine with either, but I like the idea of the contrast of the black against the granite (?) of City Hall.
 
I actually like this new palate quite a bit. I think once the facade is "weathered" a bit it will blend in nicely with the Press Herald building. The only thing that could improve it would be to have more of a granite color on the first two stories to blend with City Hall.

Although I'm still not totally sold on the perforated metal paneling for the side facing City Hall. I've never seen that design implemented in a way that doesn't end up looking cheap and/or age terribly.
 
Portlander said:
.View attachment 30688
The second building is planned for 14 floors and will be residential. The potential final phase is pictured to the right and will be on the Cumberland Avenue side.
Click to expand...
If this is considered the "buff" version for the hotel also, then I do like this. The smooth appearance of the buff/beige isn't attractive to me nor do I think it'll age well. Portland has enough of this "Tan" color in Monument Sq, Franklin Tower, Portland House, Promenade East Condos, One & Two Portland Square, etc etc. The Black will be timeless.
 
nomc said:
I was neutral on the black and I'm neutral on the buff brick. I do, however, think this is a quality design and am confident that it will look WAY better when it gets made.
Click to expand...
Agree. Jim Brady has created two hotels in Portland, the Press and Canopy by Hilton. I think these two hotels are the top two in Portland. And when this new 11 story one is built, it will then become the top three for him in Portland. Not sure what the brand imprint will be, but it almost doesn't matter as his personal standards are high. Go to the Salt Cafe & Bar at the Canopy. There is a story about it in today's PPH. Like I like to say, "Not Maine in Maine."
 
DanielPWM19 said:
If this is considered the "buff" version for the hotel also, then I do like this. The smooth appearance of the buff/beige isn't attractive to me nor do I think it'll age well. Portland has enough of this "Tan" color in Monument Sq, Franklin Tower, Portland House, Promenade East Condos, One & Two Portland Square, etc etc. The Black will be timeless.
Click to expand...
They haven't actually present anything on the condos yet - you can see the buff brick in the renderings further back in the thread. I'm also remembering now that the buff brick may have some texture to the surface - some sort of a vertical striations? I can't remember, I should have take a screen shot of that slide too. The current renderings/documents were not included in the packet and aren't on CSS.
 
DanielPWM19 said:
Honestly I like that it's different. Portland could use "different". I think the black is better than the buff. I do agree that it looks more south-western (but could also seem sort of like Aspen, CO or something in Vancouver). Nevertheless, I like it.
Click to expand...
Different is great as long as it is rooted in solid design principles and is appropriate to it's environment. Unfortunately too many architects either have a total lack of imagination or they don't know when enough is enough. A single errant design element can ruin what could otherwise be a beautiful structure.
 
PlantArch said:
Different is great as long as it is rooted in solid design principles and is appropriate to it's environment. Unfortunately too many architects either have a total lack of imagination or they don't know when enough is enough. A single errant design element can ruin what could otherwise be a beautiful structure.
Click to expand...
I agree with this. But Portland has lacked "vision" for the last 30 years or so, I'd think.

If executed well, the black rendering could be gorgeous and timeless. I think it's the wood treatments that wouldn't age well regardless of dark or light facade. Just a perianal opinion.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top