University of Maine System - Portland, MEPortland, ME Harriman and The Cecil Group, a newly merged architecture, engineering urban design, planning, and landscape architecture firm with offices in Portland and Auburn, Maine, Manchester, N.H., and Boston, Mass., have recently been selected by the University of Maine System to undertake facilities master planning across all seven campuses. The comprehensive suite of documents will guide the future and management of the University System’s physical campuses.
The University of Maine System is a statewide enterprise comprised of more than 500 buildings and 9 million gross s/f across thousands of acres. It serves the citizens of Maine from every corner of the state, and includes the campuses of Fort Kent, Presque Isle, Orono, Machias, Augusta, Farmington, and Southern Maine among other locations and sites. Harriman and The Cecil Group will perform master planning and facilities planning across the University System in a unified effort with all campuses. Part of Maine’s One University Initiative, planning activities at each individual campus will develop a site-specific identity that integrates with the system as a whole. The University intends for this master planning effort to build community engagement, provide opportunity for input, and for constituents to have an awareness, understanding, and stake in the outcome.
“We have to keep tuition affordable while investing our limited resources in programs and projects that meet state needs and help our universities attract attention, out-of-state resources, and young talent to Maine,” said Norman Fournier, chair of the University of Maine System board of trustees committee on finance, facilities and technology.
The plans will be comprehensive and long-range in nature, tied to strategic direction and planning of each campus. They will also be responsive to current requirements, and sufficiently define and address the future development needs of each campus as Maine’s universities seek new opportunities through a strategic focus on their strengths. Through these activities, they will be flexible in order to respond to the ever-changing internal and external factors that influence higher education institutions.
“This master planning assignment represents an opportunity in both system-based facility planning and campus planning by putting our fields of expertise together to enhance truly meaningful academic spaces,” said Steve Cecil, AIA, ASLA, founding principal of The Cecil Group, Inc. and now a principal and owner at Harriman. “Integrated master planning across the campuses will strengthen each of Maine’s seven public universities and improve the overall capacity of public higher education to serve communities across Maine and reach learners of all ages, backgrounds and locations.”
Harriman and The Cecil Group will apply integrated, multi-disciplinary services to this project in a collaborative arrangement that highlights and takes advantage of each firm’s specific skills. As a result of the October 2015 merger, the combined firm offers a strengthened and cohesive foundation from which the master plan will be formed.
“It is wonderful to be servicing the community in which we all live and work, and to help plan for this future of this institution, which is vital to the well-being of the state,” said Mark Lee, principal with Harriman. “As we continue to grow and serve university clients, this project is a great opportunity to demonstrate how fully utilizing all aspects of our newly enhanced firm will benefit our clients.”
Harriman and The Cecil Group are collaborating with Goody Clancy and Rickes Associates on master planning, campus planning, and in-depth facility programming. An inventory of campus facility assets will detail how they are currently being used, as well as how they measure against regional and national standards.