Boston, MA – The existing conditions at the Longfellow Towers apartment complex in Boston’s West End neighborhood expressed failing site and structure conditions, including water leaking and penetration to parking and office structures below the on-structure deck and mezzanine. The pre-existing auto court and colonnade presented a cold, poorly illuminated, and generally inhospitable environment for pedestrians and visitors alike. The mezzanine level pool deck, which provided bathing and gathering for residents of the West End housing system, also expressed a vast, barren, and stark open space. In all, the client’s desire to reposition the property in order to stay competitive with the current and emerging housing market in downtown Boston served as the catalyst for this redevelopment.
To create a truly integrated design, Carol R. Johnson Associates Inc. worked collaboratively with Elkus Manfredi Architects to develop a strong relationship between architecture and landscape. Often, design creativity is hindered by a site’s context or construction limitations. CRJA chose to draw from what many consider a “Brutalist” architectural expression the essence and unique moments of shadow and repetition in the site design and detailing. Working within the very strict, tight spatial and weight limitations of the on-deck condition, the design team finely detailed and executed a rich and complementary pallet of materials. The design approach sought to provide warmth, clarity, proportion and continuity to a seemingly forgotten and underutilized space by using warm materials such as tan and brown stones and colored concrete throughout the design to offset the once cold nature of the environment. Reuse and repositioning of existing site elements which many would have chosen to demolish or ignore, such as the Vent Shaft Lantern, and turning them into fitting focal elements within the space further helped to express a truly creative landscape design approach. The transformation succeeds in creating a true urban oasis for the users of the space, providing unique and identifiable pedestrian level spaces as well as graphically contextual overhead views of the property for all of the inhabitants of the towers and adjacent structures.
West End Longfellow Place Improvements
Boston, MA – The existing conditions at the Longfellow Towers apartment complex in Boston’s West End neighborhood expressed failing site and structure conditions, including water leaking and penetration to parking and office structures below the on-structure deck and mezzanine. The pre-existing auto court and colonnade presented a cold, poorly illuminated, and generally inhospitable environment for pedestrians and visitors alike.