Maine's lighthouses inspire Safdie Architects with new district for historic Portland

By designboom

Safdie Architects’ design for Old Port Square in Portland, Maine begins with a question: how can a tall building belong in a low-rise, historic city? The answer comes in the form of a beacon — an architectural gesture rooted in the region’s maritime lineage. Rising 380 feet at 45 Union Street, the slender tower recalls Maine’s lighthouses, reinterpreted in glass, timber, and stone. Designed in collaboration with local developer East Brown Cow, the project aims to rethread the urban fabric, long frayed by midcentury urban renewal.

The proposal is less about a single structure and more about the reassembly of a neighborhood. Encompassing four acres in the heart of the Old Port district, the masterplan introduces residences, hospitality, retail, and cultural spaces, while rehabilitating existing buildings and weaving new pedestrian paths into the historic grid. A timber-and-glass pavilion at 55 Union Street marks the western threshold, while a vaulted rooftop sky lobby crowns the tower, framing expansive views of Casco Bay and the White Mountains.

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