Simons Architects (SA) is a fifteen-person (four partners & eleven staff) architecture, design, and planning firm located in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metropo ...

Background

SA was first established in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

in 1983 by Scott Simons,

FAIA Fellow of the American Institute of Architects (FAIA) is a postnominal title or membership, designating an individual who has been named a fellow of the American Institute of Architects (AIA). Fellowship is bestowed by the institute on AIA-member ...

and has since produced a body of work that includes cultural, institutional, academic, and residential projects of great substance and beauty. The studio is credited as designer of the LEED Platinum certified

Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens is a botanical garden in Boothbay, Maine. It was opened in 2007.

Bosarge Family Education Center The Bosarge Family Education Center in Boothbay, Maine, United States is an 8,200-square-foot facility at the Coastal Maine Botanical Gardens built in 2011. It has attained LEED Platinum certification, the highest level that USGBC offers, and has ...

in association wit
Maclay Architects
It became the "greenest building" in

Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...

and was awarded "Net Zero Energy Building of the Year" in 2012 by the North East Sustainable Energy Association
NESEA
. SA is also the architect of record for the 2010 renovation and addition to the

Portland Public Library Portland Public Library is the main library of the public library system in Portland, Maine, USA. It is located at 5 Monument Square on Congress Street in the Old Port of Portland, Maine. The library has three neighborhood branches, Burban ...

, many other Maine libraries, educational buildings, and the 2014 renovation and addition to the "transformational" Casco Bay Lines Ferry Terminal. Staff from the firm have also participated in juries for national library awards and many regional and statewide

AIA AIA or A.I.A. or Aia may refer to: Aia * Aia, a small town in the Basque province of Gipuzkoa, Spain * Aia, current Kutaisi, ancient capital of Colchis * Aia, another name for Aea (Malis), an ancient town in Greece * ''Aia'', the collected ed ...

awards programs. The work of this firm has been recognized nationally for innovative design, attention to detail, inclusion of multiple stakeholders on public projects, and is seen as one of the key architects in the area. In 2015, Simons Architects developed a Master Plan for the

Portland Museum of Art The Portland Museum of Art, or PMA, is the largest and oldest public art institution in the U.S. state of Maine. Founded as the Portland Society of Art in 1882. It is located in the downtown area known as The Arts District in Portland, Maine. ...

, which includes a 1981 addition designed by

Henry N. Cobb Henry Nichols Cobb (April 8, 1926 – March 2, 2020) was an American architect and founding partner with I.M. Pei and Eason H. Leonard of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, an international architectural firm based in New York City. Early life Henry N. ...

of I.M. Pei & Partners. In 2017 the firm designed th
Brattleboro Music Center
and Chamber Music Hall in Vermont that was recognized with design awards from AIA New England, AIA Vermont, and AIA Maine. Since its founding in 1995, the Portland, ME studio has been recognized with over 25 design awards.

Notable projects

- Portland, Maine *

(Net-Zero Energy, LEED Platinum) - Boothbay, Maine * Casco Bay Lines Ferry Terminal - Portland, Maine
Brattleboro Music Center
- Brattleboro, Vermont
Pondicherry House
(Net-Zero Energy, LEED Platinum)- Mount Desert Island, Maine * Franklin Theater (

LEED Silver Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...

) - Portland, Maine
Hillside House
- Yarmouth, Maine * Waynflete Arts Center - Portland, Maine
Freeport Community Center
- Freeport, Maine * Tilton Academic Building - Tilton, New Hampshire * Knox County Courthouse - Rockland, Maine * SMCC Lighthouse Art Studio - South Portland, Maine *

Baxter Building The Baxter Building is a fictitious 35-story office building appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The building is depicted in Manhattan, and its five upper floors house the Fantastic Four's headquarters. Publication hist ...

Renovation - Portland, Maine * Ronald McDonald House - Portland, Maine *

Campus Master Plan *

Bangor Public Library The Bangor Public Library is the public library of Bangor, Maine. It shares the URSUS online cataloging system with the University of Maine and other Maine libraries. The library's roots date to 1830, when the Bangor Mechanic Association assembl ...

Renovation and Addition * Portland Public Library - Burbank Branch * Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences - Dormitory and Visiting Scientist Residence * Patrons Oxford Insurance Offices

In progress

* Falmouth Memorial Library - Falmouth, Maine (2016) * Rice Public Library - Kittery, Maine (2018)
Tilton School Student Center
- Tilton, New Hampshire (2018) * Ecology School Dining Common (

Living Building Challenge The Living Building Challenge is an international sustainable building certification program created in 2006 by the non-profit International Living Future Institute. It is described by the Institute as a philosophy, advocacy tool and certification ...

) - Saco, Maine (2015)

List of awards and honors

* 2009 AIA New Hampshire Excellence in Architecture Award * 2010 Learning by Design Citation of Excellence * 2010 Outstanding Design, American School & University Educational Awards * 2010 Greater Portland Landmarks, Preservation Honor Award * 2011 Maine Preservation Honor Award * 2012 Maine AIA Honor Award for Design Excellence * 2012 AIA Vermont Award for Design Excellence * 2012 AIA New England Award for Design Excellence * 2013 The Phoenix Best Non-Gallery Art Space * 2013 Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) Zero Net Energy Award * 2013 AIA Maine Committee on the Environment (COTE) Residential Merit Award * 2013 AIA Maine Committee on the Environment (COTE) Institutional/Commercial Citation Award * 2014 AIA Maine Design Merit Award * 2014 AIA New England Honorable Mention * 2015 ACEC of Maine Special Recognition Award * 2015 AIA New Hampshire Honor Award * 2015 Maine Preservation Honor Award *2016 AIA Maine Honor Award *2017 AIA Maine Honor Award for Design Excellence in Unbuilt Design: Jesup Memorial Library *2018 Wood Design National Award: Green Building with Wood *2018 Greater Portland Landmarks Award: State Theater *2018 AIA Maine Award for Design Excellence: Brattleboro Music Center *2018 AIA Maine Award for Design Excellence: Patrons Oxford Insurance Office Building * 2018 AIA Maine Award for Design Excellence: Shimmield Residence Hall at Bigelow Labs

References

External links

* {{URL, simonsarchitects.com, the company's official website
Scott Simons Architects on Architizer

Casco Bay Ferry Lines Terminal Renovation
Architecture firms based in New York City Architecture firms based in Maine Companies based in Portland, Maine Design companies established in 1983 1983 establishments in New York City Privately held companies based in Maine