Portland, Maine : toward an essential modern language

Abstract

This work is an investigation of the sense and spirit of a place, notably the urban waterfront setting. It is an exploration of the physical and built characteristics of the setting, and how these attributes can be brought forth in a design project located on the waterfront of Portland, Maine. Five waterfront settings have been chosen for observational studies. They share certain location and physical similarities, but they each have specific characteristics that evoke a certain expression of place. These attitudes will be expressed during the design process. The purpose of this thesis is to present my attitude toward the assemblage of building and landscape forms. This process of assembly and design as the project responds to the contextual and programmatic requirements is the major emphasis of this thesis. This process will begin to delineate a design-vocabulary, lessons learned from observations of a specific place, and scruples toward the modern era we live in.