As Akamai Technologies’ new global headquarters, 145 Broadway consolidates their workforce from across six disparate locations into a unified vertical campus. Creating connectivity within the building and neighborhood was a defining vision for the design.
As a major infill urban development, the design process for this approx. 482,000 gsf tower in Kendall Square was tailored to directly respond to opportunities created through deep collaboration with the design team and the City of Cambridge. This participatory design process resulted in a confident yet sensitive building that fits within the city scale, inspires employee engagement, and supports innovation.
Designed by Behnisch Architekten, Harvard University’s new Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) is a dynamic lab for research and learning. Its forward-looking design reflects the advanced, world-class spatial and technological solutions of its faculty and staff who are meeting the complex, changing requirements of scientific inquiry. The cornerstone building of the school’s new Allston Campus, located directly across the Charles River from Harvard’s 300-year home in Cambridge, the 544,000-square-foot research and teaching facility housing the School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS) sets a distinctive architectural tone for future development in one of Boston’s last undeveloped neighborhoods. Charged with becoming the “healthiest building on the Harvard campus,” the SEC establishes the university’s commitment to sustainability, cutting-edge academic and research activity, and high-quality urban design.
Chelsea Building Products, manufacturer of Everlast® advanced composite siding, recently partnered with Hood Distribution (Ayer, MA) and Schernecker Property Services (SPS) for a complete renovation of the condominiums at the Village at Hager Meadows in Marlborough, MA.
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This multifunctional studio theatre with production and support spaces provides Boston University’s internationally acclaimed School of Theatre with a 21st-century learning environment for collaboration and experimentation. Collocated on BU’s Charles River Campus with the rest of the College of Fine Arts for the first time in decades, the theatre creates a new era of engagement for the University community, the Town of Brookline, and area residents. With its dramatically reflective façade framed by a delicate concrete scrim, the 75,000-square-foot theatre complex delights and instructs, giving architectural form to Hamlet’s injunction to the players “to hold, as ‘twere, the mirror up to nature.”
Tags: Boston, Massachusetts Comments Off on Joan & Edgar Booth Theatre and the College of Fine Arts Production Center in Boston, Massachusetts by Elkus Manfredi Architects
The 2,800 square-foot design interrupts the status quo of the greater Boston neighborhood with a fresh perspective. Referencing traditional elements of the New England farmhouse from materiality, detailing, and additive massing. The design features modern detail such as asymmetrical fenestration, wide clapboard siding, and black windows. A welcoming place for extended family and friends to gather every Sunday, the residence celebrates the comforts of home living.
Nestled in a traditional New England neighborhood, the 2,800-square-foot home, and elongated garage play precedent through a modern lens with subtle nods to traditional architecture. The program calls for single floor living with guest suites upstairs, a space for extended family gatherings, and a creative solution for the owner’s growing automobile collection.
Emerson College is the nation’s pre-eminent institution in higher education devoted to communication and the arts in a liberal arts context. Over the past 25 years, Emerson has worked closely with Elkus Manfredi Architects as it steadily purchased and renovated property in the city’s historic downtown Theatre District to create a new urban campus abutting some of the city’s most important and historic places, including the Boston Common, the Boston Public Garden, the Massachusetts State House, and the Freedom Trail.
Hingham Woods is a 277-unit condominium complex built in 1986 in Hingham, MA, located just south of the historic Hingham Shipyard. The community is comprised of townhomes and garden-style homes and provides owners with amenities including a swimming pool, tennis court, exercise room, and clubroom.
Like many of the New England condominium communities built in the 1970s and 80s, the original siding at Hingham Woods was real cedar. The real wood proved expensive to maintain due to continual repainting and spot repairs to rotted sections.
Beaver Country Day School is an independent school for grades 6-12 near Boston that boasts an innovative pedagogy based on student-centered design. A new Research + Design facility was commissioned to reflect the ambition of the faculty and students to expand the nature of their school. The project involved the transformation of an existing library and a new addition that created a connected campus, placing the new R+D Center at the heart of it.
Across five structures built over the span of 90 years, there was an 8-foot elevation difference from adjacent floor levels, requiring an extensive ramp system to adjoin the levels. Thus, the design includes a three-story connecting “Bridge” that sponsors a variety of student-centered spaces: study carrels, presentation spaces, and lounge areas.
Lead Architects: Katherine Faulkner, AIA; Nader Tehrani; Arthur Chang, AIA; Gretchen Neeley, AIA; Project Team: Jin Kyu Lee, Thomas Tait, Tim Wong, AIA
Acoustic Consultants: Acentech Engineering
Civil Engineer: Nitsch Engineering, Inc.
MEP / FP Engineer: AHA Consulting Engineers
Structural Engineer: Souza, True and Partners, Inc.
An existing art institute in Brookline, MA, this building was proposed to be the new Boston cultural center for the religious institution of Soka Gakkai International. The proposal included the assessment and renovation of an existing facility which houses office space, conference rooms, meditation rooms, and an outdoor landscaping element. Located along a highly trafficked street, the intervention of a wood wall and screening system transformed the existing facade into an interactive and dynamic street-front landmark. A pallet of light tones, painted brick, and articulated greenery create an accepting atmosphere that reflects the ideals and identity of SGI. The motif of wood and light carries through the entry and into a re-invented atrium space where an articulation of skylights work into a double height space highlighting a connection to the main worship space and additional program beyond.
This facility is programmed for ultimate flexibility, and has already housed multiple faculty lectures, theatrical performances, talks by politicians, and many other activities. An art gallery welcomes visitors just off the entrance, and adjacent to offices. A flexible classroom allows for computer training, interactive classrooms, and video gaming events to happen. The theater can house full production, and allow news agencies to tie into their broadcast systems for live streaming of events, and HarvardX recordings and transmission. An Art Studio, a Science Lab, and six mentoring rooms provide opportunities for young Boston students to be part of the growing STEAM programs set up by Harvard students focused on education. In all, the place is a mecca for learning, studying, and culture.
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