Rendering of Congress Square. The buildings were headquarters for several banking institutions.
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There are a lot of interesting, historic buildings in Boston, and increasingly less space available for new development. As a result, developments like Congress Square are enhancing the best parts of historic buildings, and thoughtfully adding to them to create needed additional space, combining the best of both worlds. An added benefit of building up, opposed to demolishing, is that it’s more sustainable; it improves performance without the embedded carbon load of demolishing old buildings.

Key elements to making these additions and renovations successful:

• Understand the limitations: what is possible with the existing building structurally and stylistically?
• Thoughtfully meld old and new: it is possible to have a cool, historic space, as well as the amenities often only found in new office towers.
• Complement the historic elements of the structure. From exterior design to interior finishes, the new must consistently complement the old.

Downtown Boston has some amazing building stock to work with. Our team has enjoyed adding modern amenities to some of these historic structures while retaining the character that has made them landmarks.

Topics: Design, Sustainability