University of Southern Maine: Crewe Center for the Arts

Portland, ME

The Crewe Center for the Arts was designed by Perkins Eastman to resonate with the changeable nature of both music and the sea, a deeply ingrained element of the region’s history. A glass and metal façade, made safe for birds through the use of AviProtek^® E bird-friendly glass pattern 221, offers shifting reflections of the campus grounds. The glass, fabricated by Press Glass and installed by Ipswich Bay Glass, maintains views and visible light transmittance while preventing bird-glass collisions and improving energy performance, supporting the project’s target of LEED^® Gold certification. Inside the building, exposed wooden beams are a nod to Maine’s shipbuilding heritage and enhance acoustics in the 200-seat concert hall and rehearsal room.