I love this office building design. It's too bad this project can't expand with a hotel (not a blah chain) and skybridge to CIA. The hotel could have convention space and thus connect to CIA, and that would be the ceaselessly talked about "convention center" that Portland wants. Boston's convention center scene in the Seaport is thriving, and there is no reason one in downtown Portland with its easy access to the waterfront can't. People from all over the world want to come to Portland and the Maine coast for at least half the year. (The midwestern cities and their convention spaces are dying.) And to those who decry the shortfalls of CIA, I offer a simple solution, though probably a half-million to spend for the fix. Lighting. CIA has the worst and most unflattering lighting of any large public venue, or one that I've seen. New lighting can offer so many different variations, including narrow, wide, or soft beams, colors for mood, slow pulsing, etc. Lighting is key. Ask anyone behind or in front of a camera in Hollywood. As it is now, everyone looks ghastly under these lights. Also, the inside roof and beams need to be painted black, the way most venues do, to not cause the eye to wander up (the white reflects). The inside roof should not be the focus at an event--the event below should be. These are basics, and the CIA does not also fail because of its reduced capacity. 6,000 seats is enough to have a good time. Try sitting in the lower deck of the Superdome in New Orleans, in the back row behind the end zone. I did once, and did not have a good time.
