charles shipman payson building - swarthmore...

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RyanCarmichael ArtHistory06512May2009 ProfessorO’Rourke

CharlesShipmanPaysonBuilding

TheCharlesShipmanPaysonBuildingisthemostrecentexpansionofthePortlandMuseumofArt

(PMA)inPortland,Maine,locatedonthecornerofHighStreetandCongressSquare1.HenryN.Cobb(of

Pei,Cobb,Freed&Partners)designedthePaysonBuilding,whichintroducedoverfivetimesmore

galleryspacethanintheadjacent,historicPMAbuildings(McLellan‐SweatHouse,CharlesQuincyClapp

House,andL.D.M.SweatMemorial)2.Thebuildingopenedin1983,afterMr.Paysondonated17

WinslowHomerpaintingsandtenmilliondollarstothemuseum3.SimilarinthemetotheseHomer

paintings3,thePaysonbuildingcontainsacollectionofcontemporarypaintingsandshort‐term

exhibitionscreatedbyMaineartists,focusingonregionalthemes4.

ExteriorDesignDetails__________________________________________________________________

Cobb’slargestchallengewastocreateabuildingthatprovidedanenjoyableandpowerfullocationto

viewart,whilerelatingtothediverseconditionsofitsawkwardlyshapedurbansite.Thetallbrick

buildingsenclosingtheothersidesofCongressSquarerequiredthePaysonbuildingtocontainaunified,

strong,large‐scalepresence.Converselythesmaller,historicPMAbuildingsontheSpringStreetsideof

thebuildsiterequiredthePaysonBuildingtohaveasmaller‐buildingformthatwouldaccommodate

thesehistoricneighbors2.Cobb’ssolutionwastodesignawidefaçademadeofredbrickandgray

granitelintelswithsemicircleopenings4(Figure1).Thisforcefulfaçadehasthestreetpresenceofa

Renaissancepalazzo,enclosingthepublicsquare2.BehindthefaçadeCobbgraduallyreducedboththe

heightandlengthofthebuilding(Figure2)untilthebuildingterminatedinthebackleftcorner,one

fourthaswideandtallasthemainfaçade.Bysteppingthebuildingbackanddowninthisway,Cobb

wassuccessfullyabletograntprimacytotheneighboringhistoricbuildings3.

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CobbchosetocomprisethestructureofthePaysonBuildingofaconcreteframewithconcrete

blockinfill,renderingthefaçadeessentiallya“curtainwall1.”Thisledtocriticismfromotherarchitects

thatCobbgavethebuildingafalse,billboard‐like,front5.Cobbclaims,however,thatthefaçade

symbolicallyrepresentstheinterior.Thecircularinsetsandcutoutsaremetaphorsthatrecallthesquare

interiorgalleriesandtherectangularbrickinsetssignifytherectangularinteriorcirculationspaces6.

InteriorDesignDetails__________________________________________________________________

Behindthecontroversialfaçadeliemanygallerieswithcleanwhitewallsandpinefloorswithgranite

strippingsetintothefloor5.Thisgranitemarksofftwenty‐footbytwenty‐footspaces,thoughtbyCobb

tobethesmallestdesirablegalleryspace.Aroundthesesquarespaces,granitestripsalsodelineate

rectangularcirculationspacesaroundeachsquare.Overcertaingranitestrips,Cobbplacedwallswith

widecutoutdoorstoshapevarioussizedgalleryspaces2.

ToreflectandaccommodatethediversityoftheHomerpaintings,Cobbnotonlystrategically

placedwallstocreatedifferentsizedgalleryspaces,butalsovariedtheceilingheightfrom12.5to25to

37.5feethigh.Thesediversegalleryspaceswereintentionallydesignedtoprovidenoclearpath

throughthemuseum.Cobbclaimedthatthislayoutreflectedthelackoforderinggrandboulevardsand

gridsinthemodestcitesofNewEngland1.Further,Cobb’slayoutofthegalleriesallowsavisitor

standinginonegallerytoseeglimpsesofseveralothergalleries,oftenonmultiplelevels,throughthe

widegallerydoors.Thisgivesthevisitorasenseofadventureandanticipationasheorshetravels

throughthegalleries5.

Perhapsthemostcompellingfeatureofthegalleriesisthelighting,rivalingthatofKahn’s

KimballGallery5.Thegalleriesarelitwithcascadingdomedceilings,whicharefilledwithdaylightfrom

superimposedoctagonalclerestorylanterns(Figure3)basedontheDulwichCollegeArtGallerybyJohn

Soane2.Clerestoriespermitmaximumsunlighttoenterthegallerywhileavoidingdirectrayshittingthe

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gallerywalls.Thisnaturallightisaccompaniedbyincandescenttracklighting6,althoughthisartificial

lightingisoftenleftoffduringtheday5.Theshiftinglightenteringthemuseumanimates,diffuses,and

shapesthegalleriesbelow,celebratingthemuseumscollectionswith“PortlandLight3.”

HistoricalInspirations___________________________________________________________________

IndesigningthePaysonBuilding,manysignificantworksofmodernarchitectureinfluencedCobb.The

façadesofKahn’sIndianInstituteofManagementinAhmedabad,India(semicircleopenings,large

sectionsofplainbrick)andKahn’sPhillipsExeterLibraryinNewHampshire(arcade)partiallyinspired

thefaçadeofthePaysonbuilding.ThefamouslightingfromtheDulwichPictureGallery,theKimballArt

MuseuminFortWorth,andthelanternsofElyCathedralinspiredlightingforthePaysonBuilding.

FurtherinfluencesincludeaporticobyLedoux,theDoge’sPalaceinVenice,andotherprecedents6.

Regionalism___________________________________________________________________________

Beyondthesemorefamousinfluences,CobbalsohadastrongdesiretolinkthePaysonbuildingto

Maine.Heremarked,“ThePortlandMuseumisaregionalmuseuminaregionthatisitselfamuseum,

soIbelieveIhadanobligationtoconnectthenewbuildingtothecityandtheregion6.”Toexpressthe

museum’sconnectiontoMaine,CobbusedlocallymadematerialscommontoMaine(water‐struck

brick,pine,andgranite)ashischiefdesignmaterials6.Thesematerialscalltothevernaculararchitecture

ofPortland3,definedbythebrickcommercialbuildingsandwarehousesoftheOldPortandtheFederal

stylebrickbuildingsnearthemuseum4.Furthermore,fromthegroundlookingupatthePayson

building,oneisstruckwithhowthefaçade’ssemicircularopeningsencasetheairandlightofMaine,

makingitpartofthebuilding2.Asimilareffectisachievedwiththebuilding’smanyoctagonal

clerestories3.Theseclerestoriesalsorecalltheviewingdecksoftheregion’slighthousesaswellasthe

octagonalPortlandObservatory,amajorcityicon.Additionally,porthole‐likewindowsrevealviewsof

theForeRiverrecallingMaine’srichnauticalhistory4.

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Figure1:Bird’seyeviewofthemainfaçadeoftheCharlesShipmanPaysonBuildingImagecourtesyofPeiCobbFreed&Partners

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Figure2:RearelevationoftheCharlesShipmanPaysonBuildingsteppingdownandbackImagecourtesyofPeiCobbFreed&Partners

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Figure3:MainhalloftheCharlesShipmanPaysonBuildingwithnotedskylightImagecourtesyofPeiCobbFreed&Partners

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WorksCited

1‐Brenson,Michael."NewPortlandMuseumPursuesaHumanScale."TheNewYorkTimes9Aug.

1983,LateCityFinalEdition,sec.C:13.ThissourceisanewsarticlefromtheNewYorkTimes

publishedaroundthetimethemuseumopened.Iusedthissourceforbasicinformationandfor

someinformationaboutthebuilding’slayoutfortheregionalismsection.Ihavenoreasonto

doubtthissourceastheNYTisatrustworthynewspaper.

2‐Cobb,HenryNichols.WhereIstand:Lecture.Cambridge:GraduateSchoolOfDesign,Harvard

University],1981.ThisisatranscriptionofatalkCobbgaveattheHarvardGraduateDesign

schooljustbeforethePaysonbuildingwastobeconstructed.Intheendofhisspeech,hespent

severalminutestalkingexclusivelyaboutthePaysonBuilding,whichprovedtobeaninvaluable

resourceformethroughoutthepaperasIcouldrefertothearchitectsintentnotan

interpretationofhisintent.Ihavenoreasontodoubtthissourceasitisfromthearchitect

himself.

3‐Thorn,Megan.CharlesShipmanPaysonBuilding.Portland:ThePortlandMuseumOfArt,1983.This

sourceisabookcelebratingtheopeningofthePaysonBuilding.Itismostlyfocusedontheart

tobecontainedwithinthebuilding,buttheintroductionprovidedmewithgoodbasic

informationonthePaysonbuilding.Ihavenoreasontodistrustthissourceasitispublishedby

thePMA.

4‐Conforti,JosephA.CreatingPortland:HistoryandPlaceinNorthernNewEngland(RevisitingNew

Eng.Hanover:UniversityPressofNewEngland,2005.Thissourceisabookreviewingthe

creationofPortland.Iusedthesectionontheart’stogainusefultidbitsformyregionalism

sectionaswellassomebasicinfo.Ihavenoreasontodistrustthissourceasitispublishedbya

trustedpublisher.

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5–Campbell,Robert.“ModulesStackedBehinda‘Billboard’.”AmericanArchitectureofthe1980s.

Washington,D.C.:TheAmericanInstituteofArchitectsPress,1990.Thissourceisacritical

articlewrittenaboutthePaysonbuilding.Itwasveryusefulfordescribingthelayoutofthe

buildingaswellasexposingmetonegativecommentaryaboutthebuilding.Itrustthissource

becauseatrustedpublisherofarchitectureliteraturepublishesit.

6‐Schmertz,MildredF."Formandfigure;ThePortlandMuseumofArt,CharlesShipmanPayson

Building,Portland,Maine."ArchitecturalRecord171.13(1983):108‐199.Thissourceisthe

ArchitecturalRecordofthePaysonbuilding.Itwasveryhelpfulthroughoutthepaperasit

providedrichdescriptionsofthebuildingandfactssuchasCobb’shistoricalinfluencesthatwere

notfoundelsewhere.Additionally,thesourcealsocontainedmanyquotesfromthearchitect,

whichwereinvaluable.Itrustthissourcebecauseitistheofficialarchitecturalrecord.