Archinect - News

Boston reprioritizes Planning and Development Agency as reformers push to eliminate structural inequality

2024-04-03T19:07:00-04:00

The Boston City Council passed a measure Wednesday to shift planning authority away from the Boston Planning and Development Agency, a body that's reshaped much of the city in the 20th century and has faced criticism for the power it wields over building and urban renewal. The newly minted Boston Planning Department will assume many of the responsibilities, property and staff currently under the old agency, which will retain oversight of large developments.

As per WBUR, Boston Mayor Michelle Wu has been adamant about phasing out the current planning system during her time in office, calling it "an anachronism plagued by lack of transparency and misguided priorities."

Other critics have amplified her call, arguing that it inculcates structural racism. As a 2020 Boston Globe article stated: "The quasi-governmental agency referees Boston’s major real estate development, a sector that one agency board member described [...] as overwhelmingly white and male. The BPDA has been criticized in recent years for the cost of housing and what some view as overdevelopment."

The city is in the midst of several reforms aimed at increasing affordable housing and decarbonizing its built environment and needs to plan a massive flood barrier to protect against the effects of climate change by 2070.

SO – IL presents designs for their new Williams College Museum of Art expansion

2024-03-08T13:48:00-05:00

SO – IL’s plans for an extension of the Williams College Museum of Art in western Massachusetts have been made public as the institution prepares to house its important collection in a free-standing and purpose-built new home for the first time in its 100-year history.

The project will enhance the museum’s mission as an on-campus educational resource while creating a new gateway between the college and the community of Williamstown.

SO – IL says they envision their plan to culminate in 2027. When it does, the project will yield a total of 15,000 square feet worth of new gallery spaces in a three-story structure that houses a 6,400-square-foot study center, auditorium, art studios, and a café. Reed Hilderbrand will be included to complete the project's landscaping. The project was announced in 2021 following a two-year programming study that was made in consultation with TenBerke through the pandemic.

Image credit: Jeudi.Wang, courtesy SO–IL and the Williams College Museum of Art

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Art and science come together as a comprehensive whole in EskewDumezRipple's new Bruce Museum expansion

2024-03-07T13:00:00-05:00

The Bruce Museum in Greenwich, Connecticut, has shared photos of its recent expansion project that was completed by EskewDumezRipple in April of 2023 at a cost of $67 million.

Drawing inspiration from coastal New England granite quarries, the project added a total of 42,000 square feet via the new William L. Richter Art Wing. The expansion was undertaken to allow the museum’s art and science holdings to expand and be better interpreted as a coherent whole.

The design also created an easier access point to its grounds, replete with an additional landscape component from Reed Hilderbrand.

Photo: Tim Hursley

"We can host the community in a way we’ve never been able to before," the Bruce Museum's Executive Director, Robert Wolterstorff, who is also trained as an architectural historian, explains. "In the past, we had no permanent collections galleries. By adding these spaces, the museum is able to showcase works that local collectors have generously donated, providing...

HGA leverages Maine's 'working forest' identity for a pair of mass timber structures at Bowdoin College

2023-12-13T14:54:00-05:00

A new mass timber academic design for Bowdoin College from HGA has been unveiled for the first time following the project’s completion earlier this year in Brunswick, Maine.

The Barry Mills Hall and the John and Lile Gibbons Center for Arctic Studies project called for the construction of two opposing asymmetrical structures totaling 46,000 square feet to be used as educational and art exhibition spaces for students on the 207-acre campus.

“This project was an opportunity for Bowdoin to further demonstrate their commitment to sustainability, not only through high-performance buildings but also by investing in generous, flexible learning, teaching, and research spaces,” Rebecca Celis, principal and arts, community and education sector leader at HGA, says of the design. “These buildings will grow Bowdoin’s education and research capabilities while embracing the college’s environmental ethos.”

The campus red Mills Hall design is set to host the college’s C...

Marcel Breuer's Wellfleet Cottage is at the center of a preservation battle on Cape Cod

2023-08-24T12:12:00-04:00

Campaigners seeking to save Marcel Breuer’s 1949 Wellfleet Cottage residence on Cape Cod have launched a $1.4 million fundraising effort aimed at saving the home from an expected demolition that’s likely to come in the next few years.

The Cape Cod Modern House Trust is spearheading the effort and says the home they have agreed to purchase from Breuer’s son is in danger adding to the tally of historic designs in the area they have been unable to save through preservation since 2016.

The house was at one time a haven and meeting place for Bauhaus alumni and intellectuals associated with Breuer and his wife Connie. The architect himself designed a large art studio addition in 1961 before adding another apartment and darkroom for his photographer son Tamas in 1968. The Trust says its sale will include all of the home's original furnishings (including pieces from the Eames' and Eero Saarinen), art collection, and private library, which will all be made available to public view after the ...

A historic home in Cape Cod is teetering on the brink after this weekend’s bomb cyclone

2022-02-02T10:39:00-05:00

The blizzard over the weekend dumped more than two feet of snow in many areas, while also inflicting major damage to communities along the Massachusetts coastline. In Truro, a house was left suspended on stilts over a beach after violent waves from the blizzard’s storm surge essentially washed away its remaining foundation.

The home was once owned and operated by the U.S. Coast Guard and was subject to a hastened attempt late last week by the homeowner to stabilize its pilings and prevent a total loss after a January 17th storm eroded nearly 20 feet of beach from the front of the property. A 2016 profile of the beach community published by The Seattle Times revealed a rare “managed retreat” organized amongst the locals. The town said the owners have made plans to move back their property in a press statement released just prior to the storm.

The $1.5 million property was almost entirely fronted by a large dune only only a few short months ago which has now almost completely eroded, leaving a dramatic impression on anyone with an eye on the disappearing backside of the Cape’s 70-mile shoreline. Globally, similar beaches are expected to lose about 22,430 miles of sand to erosion over the next 30 years, a figure that will nearly triple by the end of the century.

Drone footage of house nearly falling int...

The archived works of Cape Cod-style architect Royal Barry Wills are now publicly available

2020-03-13T13:08:00-04:00

Historic New England, one of one of the oldest and largest regional architectural heritage organizations in the United States, has announced that the archives of Boston-based architecture firm Royal Barry Wills Associates will be made available to the public for the first time. Founded in 1925, Royal Barry Wills, FAIA is famously known for its mastery of the iconic Cape Cod-style house, in addition to other notable projects reflecting Colonial Revival designs.

The collection was made possible by Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) and Wills' son, who donated a majority of the firm's archives to Historic New England in 2013. Consisting of architectural drawings, photographs, negatives, and other firm documents dating between the 1920s and 2003, the collection is another example of organizations aiding in providing access to pieces of architectural history.

By digitizing and cataloging the collection, Historic New England will provide the public with an account of Wills' ...

Boston Society of Architects presents the 2013 Design Award Winners

2014-02-05T13:26:00-05:00

Recognizing the best design throughout Massachusetts and the New England region, the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) revealed the winners of the 2013 BSA Design Awards. Winners received awards in several Programs like Accessible Design; Education Facilities Design; John M. Clancy Awards for Socially Responsible Housing; Sustainable Design; Unbuilt Architecture and Design; Honor Award for Design Excellence; and the Harleston Parker Medal.

Check out a selection of the winning projects.

Pictured above: Honor Awards for Design Excellence, Honor Award Education Facilities Design (K-12 Facilities Design) and Winner of the Harleston Parker Medal: Jonathan Levi Architects with Stantec Architecture for Roger E. Wellington Elementary School

Honor Award Education Facilities Design (Higher Education Facilities Design): Leers Weinzapfel Associates for University of Connecticut Social Sciences and Classroom Buildings, Oak and Laurel Halls

Honor Awards for Design Excellence: Flansburgh Architects for American International School of Johannesburg New Aquatics Center.

Honor Award John M. Clancy Award for Socially Responsible Housing: Dattner Architects and Grimshaw Architects for Via Verde—The Green Way.

Honor Award Unbuilt Architecture and Design: over,under and Harry Gugger Studio with Seis Arquitectos for Museo Maya de America

Find the full list of winners on Bustler.

Winners of TIMBER New England Design + Fabrication competition

2013-08-23T20:45:00-04:00

The winners for the TIMBER New England Design + Fabrication competition were recently announced on TIMBER's website. Entrants had to propose a site specific installation inspired by traditional New England building and crafting, using engineered lumber or heavy timber. Each winning team will be paired with an architectural firm, a structural engineer, and a material supplier—and $7,500—to have their proposals realized at the URBAN TIMBER exhibit at BSA Space, opening in February 2014.

Here are the winning projects and teams:

Four Corners by Ultramoderne
Coopered Column by Timothy Olson
Duck-Work by Sean Gaffney and Christina Nguyen
M2X3 by Gen Y Design Collaborative / Jeffery Lee, Christopher Taurasi and Lexi White

The mentoring firms who will help the winners develop their project installations are: NADAAA (Boston), Anmahian Winton Architects (Cambridge), Gray Organschi Architecture (New Haven), and Waugh Thistleton Architects (London).