Construction
Reach for the Stars
It’s been a long time since I saw “The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari,” the German expressionist movie from 1920, but I’ll never forget the strange stage sets with their outlandish, angled buildings and furniture. Walls curve up, doors and windows are turned, and no two lines are parallel. The performers dance more than they walk, swinging their arms with emphasis and force.
On a recent site visit to the Somerville Brooklyn Boulders rock climbing gym, I snapped some photos as I usually do. When I returned to the office, I was struck by these two photos. The curving walls, mix of textures, angular light, and the construction machinery all mix together to bring back memories of Dr. Caligari’s set. Of course, that’s where the similarity ends. The movie is about a sleepwalker. I assure you that nobody will be sleepwalking in this facility when it’s open!
Brooklyn Boulders in the News (Again)
Check out the article in this week’s Metro, featuring Brooklyn Boulders’ rock climbing gym – opening soon in Somerville. It features our renderings of the space and a snapshot of what’s to come…
101 Main Street
Arrowstreet recently designed Biomed’s new Cambridge offices. The 9,300 square foot space on the 16th floor at 101 Main St. features a display wall spine that curves through the space with interactive large screen and pin-up displays of current projects. The wall draws visitors past conference rooms that overlook Biomed projects in Boston and Cambridge. Other features include a central café bar, open and visually transparent work spaces, and exposed ceilings with acoustic treatment. The project was a great team effort, with construction by Moriarty.
Library Design at Fenway High School
We’re currently working with Fenway High School to renovate an existing school building for their program, including a sizable library. This created a challenge for us, as the existing building layout is long and narrow, with a central hallway – not ideal for a library space. Our solution was to utilize the wide hallway to create a unique cross-corridor library with a central reading room and circulation spine…
Sustainability at KIPP Academy Lynn
Earth month seems like a good point to reflect on the recently completed and now fully occupied KIPP Academy Lynn project in Lynn, MA. Part of the challenge associated with designing this project was making the school comfortable during the warmer months without the luxury of having a budget that could support full air conditioning. While oftentimes this problem is lamented, we saw it as an opportunity to be creative with the building systems and fenestration to provide low-energy, passive, and (most importantly) low-first cost climate control…
Brooklyn Boulders Rock Climbing Gym Profiled
The Brooklyn Boulders rock climbing gym is profiled in New England Construction News . They are holding hard hat tours on May 5th for anyone interested in checking out the soon to be completed project. We have taken some photos of our own and will be posting them soon.
Site Visit to Chestnut Hill Square
Recently, the Arrowstreet staff accompanied me to the Chestnut Hill Square project for a site visit. The four new structures are each at different phases of construction, but enough is there to get a good sense of the massing, spatial relationships, and envelope finishes. Building A, the largest structure, is the one furthest along, with the brick veneer and storefront being installed and partitions and cores going up on the interior. Buildings B and C have the steel up and the exterior is starting to be framed out. The parking garage is far along- it went up quickly, within the past five weeks, with prefab concrete components…
Architectural Reclamation Centers: Benefiting the Environment through Reuse
We are all becoming more aware of the complex environmental problems that exist today; both the architectural practice and individuals are encouraged to be mindful of our planet by reducing waste, recycling, and reusing materials. One way individuals can help in this effort is to utilize architectural reclamation centers when remodeling or renovating their home or property. These centers take donated building materials and items and sell them at bargain prices to homeowners and renovators. It’s a resource that provides a benefit to the environment as items get reused instead of sent to the landfill. And furthermore, donated items are tax deductible! A few years ago, I donated to Boston Building Resources Reuse Center when doing a home renovation project. The process was extremely simple: I just called and set up a time for them to pick up the items right at my door.
There are a number of Architectural Reclamation centers around the New England area. For more information, visit the Boston Building Resources website.
Mirbeau Inn & Spa at The Pinehills Groundbreaking Ceremony
On April 4th, the Mirbeau Inn and Spa at The Pinehills in Plymouth, MA officially kicked off with a groundbreaking ceremony. The event was hosted by Pinehills, LLC President John Judge and Managing Partner Tony Green. The well-attended gathering included Gary and Linda Dower, the principals of Mirbeau Hospitality Services, as well as several town and state officials including Rep. Vinny deMacedo, R-Plymouth, and Rep. Tom Calter, D-Kingston, all of whom praised the arrival of this resort property to the area. As a part of the design team, it was a pleasure to see how warmly the Dowers and the project have been embraced by the Pinehills community…
Pier 4 Ranks #1 on BBJ’s List of Top Development Projects
Pier 4 was in the news again this week, ranking first on the Boston Business Journal’s list of commercial development projects. Check out the BBJ’s slideshow of projects.