Portland, Connecticut
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Saint Clements
Castle - Banquet and Conference Center Portland, Connecticut |
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Projects
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Saint Clements
was built in 1902 as a summer residence, near the edge of a high bluff
with a panoramic view of the Connecticut River. The site consists of 78
acres of pastoral fields and woods. Its architecture represents a re-interpretation
of a Norman manor house incorporating random rubble stone walls covered
with vines, steep half-timbered gable ends, and a tower. The juxtaposition
of forms involves a series of intersecting elements defining gardens and
courtyards with connecting stone walls and trellis walks. This integration
of architecture and landscape creates a romantic context exhibiting a certain
spiritual essence, evoking sentiment, charm, and a tendency towards self-reflection. A series of phased expansions and renovations at Saint Clements, designed by Fellner Associates Architects, is based upon the need for banquets, weddings, celebrations, and conferences. An ongoing theme is to develop a meaningful level of harmony and coherency between the old and the new. In essence, the objective is to create a setting for dining, celebration, congregation and dialogue, which becomes part of the participant's permanent memory. The key to designing each phase involves a sensitive comprehension of the existing vocabulary. There are many cues and signals inherent within the existing geometries, forms and details. The resulting design manifestations include intersecting cross gables, scissored roof planes, half-timbered facades, stone colonnades, and gardens. Ultimately, a natural outgrowth of the existing context allows for the formation of new elements, promoting a perpetual dialogue between the old and the new. The latest phase involved a 14,000 s.f. banquet and conference center expansion, completed in 2004.  |
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