Portland Building

Architect: Michael Graves
Place: Portland, United States
Completed / opened: 1982
Type: Office

Published by ArchDaily

Completed: 1982

Published project facts ↗

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows, Facade — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows, Facade

A municipal office block makes its public identity through colour, oversized classical references and an emphatic base and crown.

The Portland Building in 1982. Photo by Steve Morgan via Wikimedia Commons — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
The Portland Building in 1982. Photo by Steve Morgan via Wikimedia Commons

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows, Cityscape, Facade — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows, Cityscape, Facade

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows, Facade — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows, Facade

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows

courtesy of Michael Graves & Associates — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
courtesy of Michael Graves & Associates

By Peter Meijer & Patience Stuart — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
By Peter Meijer & Patience Stuart

via archhistdaily.wordpress.com — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
via archhistdaily.wordpress.com

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Facade, Cityscape, Windows — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Facade, Cityscape, Windows

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Image 10 of 17 — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Image 10 of 17

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Image 11 of 17 — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Image 11 of 17

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Image 12 of 17 — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Image 12 of 17

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Image 13 of 17 — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Image 13 of 17

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Windows

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Facade — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Facade

AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Image 16 of 17 — Individual photographs credited in the ArchDaily project account · Published project source
AD Classics: The Portland Building / Michael Graves - Image 16 of 17

Research notes

A municipal office block makes its public identity through colour, oversized classical references and an emphatic base and crown.

The facade is useful to compare with the quieter concrete buildings in this collection. Its original appearance and its later reconstruction belong to different moments in the building's history.

What the sources do not establish

Original municipal building completed in 1982; later reconstruction reopened in 2020.
Photographs document the published source account; later alterations are not a claim about the original completion date.

Sources & evidence

ArchDaily - published project and gallery
Project identity, architecture and credited photographs
Original date reference
Original municipal building completed in 1982; later reconstruction reopened in 2020.

Research checked 2026-11-08 · Editorial policy & corrections

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