Archinect - News

Featured job openings at eight architecture firms (+1 school) in the Boston area

2024-11-07T14:34:00-05:00

Our latest weekly curated jobs roundup from the Archinect Job board features nine employers with exciting opportunities in the Boston area.

For helpful guidance on how to get that next job, make sure to check out Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series and our Archinect Tips collection.

Studio Luz Architects seeks a Project Manager/Designer or Architect
"We are excited to announce an opportunity for a Project Manager/Designer or Project Architect to join our dynamic team in our Boston office. We are looking for a creative professional with 5-7 years of experience in architectural practice, who is adept at designing and producing construction documentation for various projects."

Meyer Residence by Studio Luz Architects. Photo: John Horner, Tony Luong

The Galante Architecture Studio seeks a Project Manager
Qualifications include five to eight years of relevant experience, fluency in AutoCAD, Revit, SketchUp, Adobe Creative Suite, and Microsoft Office, experience with municipal projects an...

MASS Design Group debuts Gun Violence Memorial project at three sites around Boston

2024-09-04T17:37:00-04:00

MASS Design Group has opened a new Gun Violence Memorial Project in the city of Boston that will amplify individual stories of our ongoing collective tragedy nationwide. The firm says the project "aspires to be a catalyst for change and a testament to the resilience of communities affected by gun violence."

Joining the other installations at City Hall and the Institute of Contemporary Art/Boston is another memorial house created inside the firm's office at 1 Chandler Street. Each of the installations will remain on view until January 20th, 2025. MASS Design Group is inviting all those interested to attend an opening reception on Tuesday, September 17th, at 7:30 pm. You can RSVP for the event here.

Payette is recruiting a visualization designer as AI continues to transform architectural imagery

2024-09-04T08:00:00-04:00

Following our previous look at an opening for a Robotics/Prototype Specialist at the University of Redlands School of Architecture, we are using the latest edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an opening on Archinect Jobs for a Visualization Designer at Payette.

The role, based in Boston, calls for an individual who will be responsible for 3D modeling and grasshopper creation within the firm’s Design Visualizations Group, which “works closely with architecture teams to study, develop, and present complex design solutions.” Among the requirements for the role are a Bachelor’s degree in architecture, excellent 3D modeling skills with Rhino, and preferably experience in Revit, Sketchup, and Grasshopper.

Tufts University Science and Engineering Complex by Payette. Photo: Chuck Choi

Why the role interests us

The open role for a visualization designer at Payette offers us the opportunity to review recent innovations and trends within the architectural visualization space. In Ju...

7 architecture firms (+1 school) currently hiring in Boston on Archinect Jobs

2024-08-01T14:52:00-04:00

Our latest weekly curated jobs roundup from the Archinect Job board features eight employers with exciting opportunities in the Boston area.

For helpful guidance on how to get that next job, make sure to check out Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series and our Archinect Tips collection.

Payette seeks a Project Manager, a Mid-Level Architect/Designer, and a Healthcare Architect/Designer

Project Manager details: Qualifications include at least 10 years of experience, excellent written, verbal, and visual communication skills, experience effectively managing project financials, the ability to support technical design and documentation on projects of various sizes and complexities, and experience working on all phases of a project.

Mid-Level Architect/Designer details: Qualifications include at least four years of experience, proficiency with Revit, project typology experience with university, healthcare, or laboratory design and renovation, and excellent written, verbal, and visual com...

Massachusetts changes direction for reuse of Paul Rudolph's brutalist Government Service Center

2024-07-29T12:34:00-04:00

The planned reuse of Paul Rudolph’s oft-reviled Boston Government Service Center has taken on a new direction with a housing-focused proposal from the administration of Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey. The updated plan replaced a previously announced NBBJ overhaul that would have remade both the Erich Lindemann and Charles F. Hurley buildings into an office block with labs for scientific research. Now, with the demand for each shrinking, the state is poised to reroute the redevelopment to match its previous benchmarked demand for over 69,000 new homes by 2030.

The newly released press statement noted: “The site remains architecturally significant due to its unique mid-century design, and the Administration will prioritize historic preservation in the renewed redevelopment process.” A formal RFP for the new plan could come as soon as this year.

RODE Architects announces acquisition of McMahon Architects, expanding workplace capabilities

2024-06-12T17:48:00-04:00

Boston-based design and architecture firm RODE Architects has announced the acquisition of McMahon Architects, a full-service practice that specializes in workplace interiors, hospitality, restaurant, residential, and environmental design.

The acquisition aims to strengthen RODE’s capabilities in several key sectors, especially its mission to reimagine the modern workplace to suit a post-pandemic landscape. The firm views workplace, hospitality, and retails as areas of growth and strengths of McMahon Architects. According to RODE, the acquisition will center around a commitment to client service, collaboration, and design excellence.

“We have long maintained an entrepreneurial spirit, and as business owners, we seek out opportunities to strengthen our team and expand our reach,” said RODE co-founder and principal Eric Robinson. “The strategic acquisition of McMahon Architects and its expertise is a milestone moment in our history and enables us to shape the future of workplace and h...

SOM's new Schwarzman College of Computing opens at MIT

2024-05-01T14:02:00-04:00

The new home for the recently established MIT Stephen A. Schwarzman College of Computing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been completed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill.

What will be a research hub for AI and other disciplines in the computing sciences offers 185,000 square feet of labs, collaborative spaces, classrooms, and faculty areas inside a shingled profile that defines two eight-story pavilions.

Image credit: Dave Burk © SOM

The structure's design was limited by an existing railroad track running along the site’s north axis, creating the need for a 44-foot bridge that connects to either volume across three levels. After entering its oak-finished triple-height lobby from a central plaza area, engineers and researchers have space to explore flexible arrangements in the offices along its perimeter on Vassar Street.

Image credit: Dave Burk © SOM

The building includes social kitchens, a large 250-seat lecture ...

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.

Harvard is searching for a Loeb Fellowship Curator

2024-03-27T11:22:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for an Architect at the US Bureau of Reclamation, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for Curator of the Loeb Fellowship at Harvard University.

The role, based in the Harvard Graduate School of Design, calls for an individual to provide “vision and overall direction to the Loeb Fellowship program for mid-career professionals in design-related disciplines.” In addition to acting as principal spokesperson for the program, the curator will be expected to contribute to the wider GSD offering. Among the requirements for the role are a Bachelor’s degree and “proven curatorial, staff and program management, and/or development leadership in an educational/design setting including architecture, landscape architecture, urban planning, urban design or related field.”

Why the r...

Featured architecture jobs and academic fellowships in Boston

2024-02-29T14:47:00-05:00

The latest edition of our curated job highlights from Archinect Jobs features eight employers in the Boston area looking to expand with new, attractive career opportunities.

For helpful guidance on how to get that next job, make sure to check out Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series and our Archinect Tips collection.

Safdie Architects seeks a Marketing Specialist in Somerville
"Safdie Architects is looking for a dynamic, versatile, and curious marketing professional to join our team in Somerville. [...] Reporting to the Director of Marketing & Communications, you will work closely with the firm’s leadership and design teams to develop marketing strategies, content, and collateral that promote our people, process, expertise, and ingenuity and celebrate the positive impact of our projects in their communities."

LDa Architecture & Interiors seeks an Architectural Project Manager in Boston
Qualifications include ten to fifteen years of experience, proficiency with Revit and Adobe Creati...

Northeastern University launches fellowship to blend design research and teaching

2024-02-21T11:30:00-05:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for a Physical Design + Fabrication Internship at VolvoxLabs, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Design Research and Teaching Fellowship at Northeastern University.

The fellowship, which has an application deadline of March 1st, offers an “opportunity to develop a body of design research based on a specific area of interest while contributing to the vibrant intellectual culture of the school.” Applicants for the role must hold a terminal degree (PhD, Master’s, or equivalent) in their proposed area of research by the appointment start date, with a preference for prior studio teaching experience.

Related on Archinect: Northeastern University design research proposal wins AIA's $100,000 Latrobe Prize. Image courtesy Wikimedia Commons user Edward Orde.

Why the role interests us

The fellowship at Northeastern offers us the opportunity to explore the various research outputs ...

35-story Raffles Boston becomes Hancock Tower's newest neighbor

2024-01-10T13:32:00-05:00

The Architectural Team (TAT) has completed a mixed-use tower in Boston featuring the city’s first sky lobby. The Raffles Boston Hotel & Residences features a 400-foot curved glass form and is described by the team as a “sophisticated new skyline statement within a challenging and historic context.”

Image credit: Ed Wonsek

The 35-story high-rise comprises 146 homes, 147 hotel guestrooms, and 16 amenity spaces. To compensate for the site’s narrow plot, the tower’s design sees a cantilever at the fourth-floor extent over the adjacent historic University Club to support the upper 29 stories, with a further cantilever occurring at the 17th floor.

Image credit: Ed Wonsek

In addition to increasing the internal area of the tower, the cantilevering approach forms a distinctive design element of the scheme’s exterior, “granting the tower a contextually scaled street presence while also allowing the building to express itself as a sculptural form on the upper levels,” according to the team. To d...

SOM shares photos of new Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in Cambridge

2023-12-28T18:15:00-05:00

Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) have shared photos of their new U.S. DOT Volpe National Transportation Systems Center project in Cambridge, Massachusetts following the building’s formal public inauguration in September.

The 13-story, 410,000-square-foot building reclaims an existing 14-acre lot in Kendall Square that has been used by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) since 1970. Added outdoor public spaces replete with an undulating Maya Lin land art piece and further landscaping designed by Reed Hilderbrand surround the new design, which houses formerly separate laboratory facilities, data centers, and administrative offices into a singular “vertical campus” concept for the first time.

Image: © Dave Burk/SOM

The building is oriented to maximize the sun’s position throughout the year while also working to minimize glare and solar radiation at the east and west elevations. The Center's footprint has been reduced to 4 acres as part of a land-use agreement signed with MIT’s...

Harvard GSD details Gund Hall renovations

2023-12-21T12:06:00-05:00

Harvard’s Graduate School of Design has unveiled plans for a slate of renovations that will culminate next year and are aimed at improving the user experience for students and faculty at 51-year-old Gund Hall in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

The project will help preserve the familiar John Andrews design for new generations while serving as a model for the sustainable redevelopment of midcentury structures, the school announced. Boston-based Bruner/Cott Architects will be leading the process, leaning on its past renovation and remodeling of the Harvard Holyoke Center with Hopkins Architects that was completed in 2019.

The first phase of construction will insulate the building envelope in order to reduce energy costs and increase occupational comfort. Gund Hall’s iconic ‘trays,’ the terraced glass structures covering studio spaces will be reglazed. The GSD is testing out prototypes in Gund Hall’s 'The Pit' multiuse area and says they are especially hopeful for a hybrid vacuum-insulated ...

French 2D completes Boston co-housing complex grounded in community connections

2023-12-19T12:02:00-05:00

Boston-based French 2D has completed a 45,000-square-foot collective housing complex in Malden, on the outskirts of Boston. Named Bay State Commons Cohousing, the thirty-unit scheme was conceived as a collaboration with residents “through a participatory design process emphasized mutual support and the central values of consolidating and sharing resources from land and energy to cars and material goods.”

Image credit: nkubota

The scheme’s form is defined by a series of stacked, interlocking units, ranging from micro-studios to three-bedroom homes. Half of the units and common spaces overlook an interior courtyard and lawn, with exterior spaces at every level encouraging spontaneous interactions among residents.

Image credit: nkubota

“Rather than being about surveillance, these connections create reciprocity across multiple places for gardening, chatting, playing, reading, or lounging,” the team explains. “Many of the community’s older resident...

Four unique residential projects by I-Kanda Architects: Your Next Employer?

2023-11-28T11:26:00-05:00

Following our previous visit to Seattle-based Wittman Estes, we are moving our Meet Your Next Employer series to Massachussets this week to explore the work of I-Kanda Architects.

The Charlestown-based firm specializes in high-end residential projects, ranging from “mountainside cabins to penthouses, barns to unique homes.” Regardless of typology, the firm describes each project as “a new array of needs and desires out of which to craft uniquely enhanced environments that enrich the lives and experiences of individuals.”

Over on Archinect Jobs, the firm is currently hiring for a Mid-level Architect to join their Charlestown office. For candidates interested in applying for the position, or anybody interested in learning about the firm’s output, we have rounded up four bespoke homes by I-Kanda that exemplify the studio’s ethos.

Cabin on a Rock. Image credit: Matt Delphenich

Cabin on a Rock, Thronton, NH

Located on a granite outcropping in the White Mountains, the Cabin on a Rock was p...

AECOM and luis vidal + architects complete shining new Terminal E expansion at Boston Logan International Airport

2023-11-15T18:17:00-05:00

Work on the new Terminal E at Boston Logan International Airport has been completed by AECOM, luis vidal + architects, and Suffolk following a five-year and almost $640 million construction effort.

Standing out thanks to its prismatic red-colored aluminum roof panels, the 390,000-square foot expansion adds four new gates to the 49-year-old international terminal while modernizing its existing interior spaces and adding a security checkpoint, HVAC system, restaurants, and new 21,000-square-foot Delta Sky Club.

Luis Vidal, the president and founding partner of luis vidal + architects, says the result is “a bold, striking building designed with sustainable principles and focused on providing a unique, comfortable, and healthy environment for passengers and workers alike.” He has also described it as the first example of a "Fourth generation" of airport design in America.

Photo: Ema Peter

The new terminal serves as the centerpiece of the larger capital plan for Logan begun by Massport be...

Harvard's new Enterprise Research Campus breaks ground in Boston

2023-11-14T18:59:00-05:00

A master plan project at Harvard University from Studio Gang, Henning Larsen, SCAPE, and Utile has begun construction in the Boston neighborhood of Allston.

The 36-acre Enterprise Research Campus (or ERC) will coalesce an area across the Charles River from the Ivy League campus into a new multi-use innovation district with designs from MVRDV, Moody Nolan, and Marlon Blackwell, in addition to the university's first above-ground mass timber structures from Studio Gang.

Once complete, its initial two phases will entail 14 acres of redeveloped land reserved for offices, labs, conference center, hotel, residential component, and open green space.

Image courtesy SCAPE

The effort was inaugurated in 2018 in the interest of creating a "gateway to a collaborative community," which is Boston's well-known consortium of knowledge industries.

Studio Gang founding principal and partner, Jeanne Gang, said her team’s plan has "provided a framework for a vibrant and inclusive public realm that bring...

6 architecture firms (+1 school) currently hiring in the Boston area on Archinect Jobs

2023-11-03T14:14:00-04:00

Our latest weekly curated jobs roundup from the Archinect Job board highlights seven featured employers in the Greater Boston area looking to grow with new, exciting job opportunities.

To learn more about the various positions firms are offering, make sure to check out Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series. Also, consult our Archinect Tips collection for helpful guidance on how to get that next job.

Dock 72, Brooklyn, NY by Fogarty Finger.

Fogarty Finger seeks a Junior Interior Architectural Designer and an Intermediate/Senior Designer

Junior Interior Architectural Designer details: "We are seeking a talented and motivated Junior Designer for our interior architecture studio. Candidates should have significant design skills and strong 3D skills for client presentations, competitions and in-house use for a wide range of typologies. Candidates must possess a good spatial sense, an eye for detail, and ability to communicate graphically."

Intermediate/Senior Designer details: "We are s...

SGA designs concept for ‘New England’s first all-timber frame laboratory development’

2023-11-03T11:50:00-04:00

SGA has unveiled details of its proposed mass timber life sciences building, which seeks to demonstrate the potential of the construction method in future research buildings. Taking an urban site in one of Boston’s leading life sciences clusters as a test case, the team believes their concept offers “the true potential for the first mass timber research development in New England.”

Image credit: SGA

The test case sees two proposed buildings that create an “experiential research community” while being designed along three pillars of sustainability, resiliency, and construction efficiency. A nine-story building is centered on offering a flexible and efficient research environment, while the second four-story, hospitality-inspired facility delivers on-site amenities alongside an incubator space for start-up and early-stage research companies.

Image credit: SGA

The mass timber concept deploys industry-standard dimensions for laboratory bay spacing, meets the requirements for structural an...

MVRDV sets its feet in Boston with a two-tower residential design near Harvard University

2023-11-02T14:54:00-04:00

A new residential project in Boston from MVRDV and co-architect Moody Nolan will deliver much-needed housing accommodations for the burgeoning Enterprise Research Campus (ERC) district on the southern edge of Harvard University in Allston, Massachusetts.

The scheme remade a former industrial site located across from the Harvard Business School on Western Avenue into a new urban district with a 343-unit housing component (25% of which is considered ‘affordable’), new green spaces, and areas reserved for local small businesses.

Developed by Tishman Speyer using a master plan from Studio Gang and Henning Larsen, the district will serve as an innovation center with added laboratories, an office component, hotel, and a new conference center for the university. MVRDV says it will be sited in the middle of the plan, offering a connection to the Greenway, a two-acre open space linking to the Charles River. Local mainstays Utile, Inc. are also contributing to the master plan's landscape des...

A Massachusetts architect is drawing crowds with impressive Halloween installations in his driveway

2023-10-31T17:57:00-04:00

The haunting Halloween decorations created by Tom Saltsman, a CalArts and Harvard GSD graduate and the Principal of Boston-based firm SaltsmanBrenzel, are taking the spotlight once again in the architect's own driveway.

Saltsman says the inspiration for his crowd-pleasing designs stems from a desire to create perspective illusions of the home he and his fellow architect wife own in Marblehead, Massachusetts. He has been harkening his background in fine arts to create designs for trolls, a shipwreck, and other sculptural decor. He also told WBUR it takes the family and their fleet of volunteer builders months to plan and complete. Some have been realized at costs under $200.

View this post on Instagram A post shared by Saltsman Brenzel (@saltsmanbrenzel)

Visitors from as far away as China have been flocking to see the annual display, which the Saltsman family started 15 years ago. His high school-aged daughter and their neighbor both plan on studying architecture a...

Boston’s new Winthrop Center is now officially the largest Passive House office building in the world

2023-10-06T17:58:00-04:00

The new Winthrop Center in Boston by Handel Architects has just been certified by the Passive House Institute (PHI) as the largest Passive House office design in the world, according to an announcement made Friday by its developer Millennium Partners.

Inaugurated in the spring after a six-year concept and construction phase, the 691-foot mixed-use tower includes 812,000 square feet of Class A office space and another 510,000-square-foot segment with 317 luxury residences within its 52-story design.

The office component of the Center, which earned the PHI designation, incorporates between 30 and 35% more fresh air than a typical commercial design. Millennium Partners shares: "A typical Class A building in Boston’s existing stock uses 150% more energy and existing LEED Platinum buildings in Boston use 60% more energy than Winthrop Center’s office space."

Image courtesy of Millennium Partners.

“With Winthrop Center, we wanted to think beyond the status quo, and we were ready to employ ...

Boston has officially banned fossil fuels in all new city-owned buildings

2023-08-07T15:57:00-04:00

Boston is officially ending its reliance on fossil fuels in government-owned buildings after Mayor Michelle Wu signed a new executive order banning their use in all new municipal construction and renovation projects across the city.

In a press statement released on July 31st, Wu told reporters: “Week after week, we see the signs of extreme heat, storms, and flooding that remind us of a closing window to take climate action. The benefits of embracing fossil fuel-free infrastructure in our City hold no boundary across industries and communities, and Boston will continue using every possible tool to build the green, clean, healthy, and prosperous future our city deserves.”

The initiative is part of a larger Green New Deal for Boston, which takes aim at various issues surrounding topics in the built environment. Boston’s stock of municipal buildings is currently responsible for only 2.3% of emissions city-wide, and proponents say the new mandate will help speed their overall decarboniz...

Inside the expensive repair of Brutalist landmark Boston City Hall

2023-07-07T11:41:00-04:00

Local Boston news outlet WBUR has offered an insight into the multi-million dollar operation to repair and renew Boston City Hall. The Brutalist icon, now 55 years old, was recently allocated $80 million to address ongoing issues.

The most extensive renewal project to be undertaken in the building is the removal and replacement of the original hot water pipes dating from the 1960s. As WBUR reports, many of the pipes are inaccessible and completely encased in concrete.

"We've actually had to core into that concrete just to be able to repair and actually identify the leak," Boston’s commissioner of property management Eamon Shelton told the outlet. As a result, the city has budgeted $13.5 million for the pipes project alone.

Other repair and renewal projects include the replacement of all lights in the building with energy-efficient LEDs, plans to...

Looking for architecture jobs in Boston? Here are 8 featured firms currently hiring

2023-06-16T08:00:00-04:00

If you are looking for your next architectural career opportunity in the Boston area, don't miss this week's curated employment highlight from Archinect Jobs with a selection of attractive openings in the city.

To look up specific job titles from the architectural profession, consult Archinect's Guide to Job Titles series. Also, follow our Archinect Tips series to improve your portfolio, resume, interviewing skills, and increase your overall chances of getting that next job.

Payette seeks a Building Scientist, Visualization Designer, and Mid-Level Architect/Designer
"The ideal candidate will be working within the Building Science group, informing project teams through personal expertise and computer modeling, while assisting on research initiatives that range from academic literature reviews to software tool development. She or he will serve as an integral design team member beginning with early conceptual studies that analyze the impact of design options, ultimately helping develop...

Boston needs a $877 million flood barrier by 2070, according to Arup

2023-06-08T17:21:00-04:00

Arup has recommended enacting a new 1.5-mile-long protective wall following the results of a new study calling for an $877 million flood barrier protecting the central waterfront of Downtown Boston.

The recommendations call for a barrier to be put in place between Christopher Columbus Park and Congress Street in order to protect the city’s commercial, historic, and governmental structures from the devastating effects caused by an anticipated 51-inch rise in sea level that could cause some $3.9 billion in damages by the year 2070.

“It’s a really, really scary report to be honest,” Marc Margulies, principal of Boston-based architecture firm Margulies Perruzzi, told Banker & Tradesman. “Nobody wants to do this. Nobody wants to spend the money on it. But we have to do this.”

Previously on Archinect: Boston architects create a waterfront hotel with permeable ground floor to prepare for sea level rise

The report indicated City Hall could be susceptible to flood damage, which would also dev...

Your next job could be as a model maker at Safdie Architects

2023-05-11T12:52:00-04:00

Following last week’s look at an opening for an AI-Related Architectural Intern at DVLPR, we are using this week’s edition of our Job Highlights series to explore an open role on Archinect Jobs for a Digital Fabricator / Model Designers at Safdie Architects.

The role, based in Safdie’s Boston office, calls for a “creative, entrepreneurial, and detail-oriented individual” to assist in exploring the “spatial, tectonic and material properties of designs through the planning and production of digital, 3D printed, fabricated and handcrafted models, as well as scale mock-ups.” Among the skills and qualities sought in applicants are a passion for model making, experience operating digital tools such as laser cutters and 3D printers, and a knowledge of AutoCAD, Revit, Rhino, and Adobe Suite.

Archinect Feature: Archinect's Guide to Job Titles: Model Maker

Why the role interests us

The role of model makers in design practices, and the design culture at Safdie Architects, are topics our editori...

The Silicon Valley Bank crash may carry huge implications for affordable housing development in Boston

2023-03-24T17:27:00-04:00

The fallout from the recent failure of the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) is having wide-reaching effects across the country. Take Boston, for example, where advocates for multiple in-progress affordable housing developments are concerned about their future following the bank's collapse.

The Boston Globe is reporting on the underpinnings of their dilemma, which concerns the future of the bank's over $1.6 billion worth of investments in the city.

The now-dissolved SVB had purchased the previously-fledgling entity known as Boston Private Bank in 2021, leaving many of its nonprofit clients vulnerable in the wake of the failure. Boston just unveiled its plan to add some 803 units through a $67 million investment, but the 600 or more units derived from projects that were underwritten by SVB remain on precarious footing in spite of several reassurances and the recent FDIC intervention.

Deborah Berke Partners unveils completed adaptive reuse project for Harvard Law School

2023-03-07T15:35:00-05:00

A transformational new adaptive reuse project for Harvard Law School’s Lewis International Law Center has been completed recently by Deborah Berke Partners.

Meant to “holistically” meet the demands posed by modern legal education, the project remade the original 1957 Shepley, Bulfinch, Richardson, and Abbott design into a “porous, open connector” located at the heart of HLS’ Cambridge campus.

Photo: Chris Cooper, courtesy Deborah Berke Partners

Existing limestone edifices were removed to add an influx of natural light into the structure, which retained 80% of its original concrete foundation, steel-frame structure, and most of its modernist envelope. Terraces were added to the fifth floor and rooftop. A slate of new or repositioned entrances now helps to define the project’s exterior renovations, with the end of enabling greater accessibility to a campus that is now addressed from all sides.

Photo: Chris Cooper, courtesy Deborah Berke Partners

Photo: Chris Cooper, courtesy Deborah Ber...