The World’s Best Architects and Designers Answer the PMA’s Call To Build A Landmark For The Future

The Portland Museum of Art, together with the leading independent architect selection firm Dovetail Design Strategists, is thrilled to announce the four world-class design teams shortlisted for its Campus Unification + Expansion International Design Competition, which will result in a new landmark building in the heart of downtown Portland, Maine. 

The four shortlisted teams (in alphabetical order) are: 

Adjaye Associates with KMA, Michael Boucher Landscape Architecture, Atelier Ten, and 2x4 

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

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

Toshiko Mori Architect + Johnston Marklee + Preston Scott Cohen with Hargreaves Jones, Cross Cultural Community Services, WeShouldDoItAll, Buro Happold Consulting Engineers, and Arup

The unique competition, developed and led by Dovetail Design Strategists, attracted submissions from 104 teams representing 20 countries, including Australia, Belgium, China, Denmark, Finland, Japan, Mexico, Spain, South Korea, United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and more. In total, more than 250 firms participated as part of the 104 submitting teams, with 30% of all lead architecture firms founded or owned by people of color, and 16% of lead architecture firms founded or owned by women. DEAI values were a hallmark for the vast majority of teams, championing LGBTQIA2S+, racial, and gender diversity within their Senior Leadership. 

“We are deeply moved by the diversity of experience and records of innovation represented in these submissions,” says Mark H.C. Bessire, the Judy and Leonard Lauder Director of the Portland Museum of Art. “Our aspirations as a cultural institution are far greater than simply ‘building a building’, and when we launched the competition, we were curious to see if our colleagues in the architectural world were equally interested in the paradigm shift we were imagining. Turns out, they were.”

Click Here to view the Portland Museum Of Art News - August 11, 2022