Located in the heart of the historic Old Port district in Portland, Maine, a new hotel defies the traditional brick architecture around it — instead nodding to the city’s cultural sophistication and growing stature as a tourist destination.

Sitting on the waterfront, with restaurants, bars, and shops right at its doorstep, the seven-story, 130-room Hyatt Place Portland-Old Port hotel is a virtual skyscraper, given its surroundings. And with its faceted-glass corner entrance contradicting the rest of the building — wrapped in modernistic, steel-gray sheath — the structure itself is a study in contrasts: sleek against shimmer.

The theme continues atop the penthouse level and draping down one side of the building. The source there is a random pattern of horizontal Plexineon White fixtures that appear as dashes of light by night and added adornment by day.

The Design Challenge

Working closely with architect Canal 5 Studio, Greg Day of Greg Day Lighting was looking for a way to play off the precision and regularity of the building’s facade.

He had never employed Plexineon for a project before, but decided the Hyatt project was the perfect opportunity.

“The Plexineon becomes like sparkly jewels to contrast with the masculinity of the building,” he says. “It’s part of a very Fred and Ginger dance: there’s the curve of the hotel with freeforming glass and the flat, ordered panels.”

Indeed, the fixtures themselves serve as an accessory.

“We could have hidden them between the gaps in the compressed stone siding, but we made a conscious decision to make them visible by day,” Day says.

Patrick Costin, Principal at Canal 5 Studio, agrees. “The iLight permitted us to add texture and detail to the façade during the day and a distinctive identity to the building at night.”

The Plexineon Advantage

More so, Plexineon’s warm white light offsets the coolness of the building — adding one more point of contrast along the streetscape of this small, but metropolitan, city.

Costin says, “We appreciate the pure expression of light the fixture provides.”

Day calls it “linear sparkle” and he’s delighted with the result. “It ended up being the right balance between a visible light source and adding that interest we wanted.”

Project: Hyatt Portland, Maine
Site: Portland, Maine
Location: Exterior Application
Product Use: Direct View
Lighting Design: Greg Day Lighting | www.gregdaylighting.com
Architect: Canal 5 Studio | www,canal5studio.com
Product: Plexineon White 2X 2800
Length: 250 LF (76m)