Design
Salem Fire Department Renovation
Recently, Kristen Barrow and I traveled to Salem for a project on the historic North Street Fire Station. Built in 1881, the fire station has seen some significant wear over the years, and the City of Salem is hoping to repair the station to its former state. We spent the day examining the building and taking field measurements for drawings…
Micro-units and Urban Living
Earlier this past spring, I attended a lecture given by The Center for Real Estate and the Greater Boston Real Estate Board (GBREB) entitled “Micro-Housing: Rethinking Urban Living.” As the third event in the Building Boston 2030 series, the lecture was co-sponsored by Suffolk University’s Sawyer Business School and the GBREB, and comprised a robust, well informed panel including the Boston Redevelopment Authority’s Chief Planner Kairos Shen.
Anyone in or around the design, construction, and real estate development of urban housing in Boston can tell you the current hot topic on the street is micro-units…
Historic Histrionics
As part of the Edward Brooke Mattapan Charter School project, the design team is pursuing the award of historic tax credits that are administered by the National Park Service. That pursuit guided many of the scoping decisions for the renovation and restoration of the combined 1911 and 1959 vintage structures that will house the school. The historic tax credit process…
Stair Reconstruction
In the center of the Edward Brooke Mattapan Charter School is a unique egress stair, an anomaly compared to what is a necessary, yet nondescript, element of many buildings. In much commercial construction, egress stairs are designed solely for the logistical purpose of getting occupants out in the event of an emergency. In schools, however, while still providing that code-required functionality, egress stairs also serve as arteries for student movement. Since these stairs are central to a school’s vertical circulation patterns, considering the spatial qualities of an egress stair is just as important as making sure that it is code-compliant…
The EpiCenter To Expand
Artists for Humanity will be expanding their studio space in South Boston with the gift of land by Gillette. It’s hard to believe the EpiCenter we designed for AFH (Boston’s first LEED Platinum building) opened almost nine years ago now. They have grown to employ more than 250 teen artists. Arrowstreet has continued to work with AFH over the years, including generating ideas for how they could expand…
Renovations at the Harvard Square Hotel
In June of last year, Arrowstreet completed an interiors renovation of the Harvard Square Hotel’s entry lobby and guestrooms. Our aim was to create a refreshed look in contemporary finishes, with a signature frosted glass rail staircase leading from the Mt. Auburn Street entry up to the concierge. To follow on the internal renovations, Arrowstreet is now assisting the hotel in a visual identity and rebranding effort on the building’s exterior…
Scala Shopping Center
Arrowstreet designed a new shopping center in the Cumbayá district of Quito. Scala consists over 170 shops and restaurants wrapped around a beautiful open-air plaza, effectively turning the mall “inside out” to create a vibrant, active shopping experience. High-end finishes and details appeal to both sought-after tenants and visitors. As part of the development’s commitment to sustainability, the shopping center features an energy-saving passive ventilation system and over 90,000 square feet of vertical gardens.
Designed in partnership with local architect Marco Coello.
Arrowstreet Moving to Post Office Square
Here is our press release on our upcoming move to PO Square! We are all excited about the new location, and plan to share more about what the new space will look like as plans develop…
Building Information Marveling
Perhaps it’s the inner BIM (Building Information Modeling) geek in me, but I’m constantly impressed while looking at the construction document level MEP models that our engineers generate. While there is a certain level of mundanity to the subject matter, there is also an elegance that stems from being able to visualize the entirety of the air and hydronic systems in a building in three dimensions. The models at this stage of development are notable because they represent the many hours of thought and effort from the engineering disciplines all consolidated into one digital representation…
Rock Spring Centre
Arrowstreet is continuing our design support for Rock Spring Centre. We’ve been helping our client, DRI, as they work with grocery/market and other tenants for this mixed-use development in Montgomery County, Maryland. The full project will provide retail, office, hotel, and housing strategically located at a confluence of major highways just north of Washington, D.C.