Passive House and WELL AP certifications reflect firm’s commitment to ongoing professional development and technical excellence
BOSTON – November 18, 2020 – Margulies Perruzzi (MP), one of New England’s most innovative architectural and interior design firms, announced today that Saul Accetta, AIA, LEED AP ID+C has become a Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC) and Kara McGuane, IIDA, NCIDQ has earned her WELL Accredited Professional (AP) certification.
“Margulies Perruzzi has a long history of supporting the professional development of our teams and staying current with emerging technologies in order to better serve our clients,” said Daniel P. Perruzzi, Jr., AIA, LEED AP, principal and senior partner at Margulies Perruzzi. “Saul and Kara’s pursuit of a specialized certification shows their dedication to the craft of architecture and interior design. We congratulate them on this professional achievement.”
Saul Accetta, AIA, LEED AP ID+C, CPHC ~ Senior Architect
According to Passive House Massachusetts, Passive House is a voluntary international building standard developed by the Passive House Institute (PHI), located in Darmstadt, Germany. The Passive House Standard is composed of several strict performance requirements for new building construction. The resulting performance produces approximately a 90% reduction in heating and cooling energy usage and up to a 75% reduction in primary energy usage compared to structures built to conventional building codes. Passive House significantly reduces the carbon footprint while making a comfortable, healthy, and affordable environment.
A senior architect with over 17 years of experience, Saul has worked on a range of project types, including R&D facilities, corporate headquarters, and office spaces with training centers.
He earned a Bachelor of Architecture from the Boston Architectural College and was a founding member of the Massachusetts Trans Political Coalition.
Kara McGuane, IIDA, NCIDQ, WELL AP ~ Senior Interior Designer
Developed by Green Building Certification Inc. (GBCI) in collaboration with the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI), the WELL AP signifies advanced knowledge in human health and wellness in the built environment, and specialization in the WELL Building Standard. The cutting-edge WELL Building Standard is the leading global rating system and the first to be focused exclusively on the way that buildings, and everything in them, can improve our comfort, drive better choices, and generally enhance, not compromise, our health and wellness.
With over a decade of experience working on projects for corporate, retail, and higher education clients, Kara holds a Bachelor of Science in Interior Design with a concentration in Sustainability from Endicott College. She is an active member of the New England chapter of the International Interior Design Association (IIDA).
About Margulies Perruzzi
As one of New England’s top architectural and interior design firms, Margulies Perruzzi (MP) designs Workplace, Health, Science, and Real Estate projects that inspire and nurture human endeavor. More information may be found at https://mparchitectsboston.com.
Seaport District location provides flexible modern space
Margulies Perruzzi (MP), one of New England’s most innovative architectural and interior design firms, announced today that it has completed a new 9,595 SF headquarters in Boston’s Seaport District for the United Way of Massachusetts Bay.
The updated space is designed to allow for flexibility to maximize the usability of the space available. The suite at 9 Channel Center utilized movable walls between all conference rooms, allowing for reconfiguration depending on need, maximizing square footage. The space also features a large conference room with a moveable wall that allows the space to convert into an even larger space open for volunteer opportunities with their community partners or event staging space.
“It was clear that we needed a headquarters that addresses the demands of an organization that no longer requires a centralized location for its workforce,” said Bob Giannino, president and CEO at United Way of Massachusetts Bay and Merrimack Valley. “The historical brick and industrial mix design reflect United Way’s grounded, foundational role in the community yet also signals that we are an innovative organization that adapts to respond to current issues and needs in the community. Our new location s bright, energizing, and efficient while at the same time providing the flexibility our staff, volunteers, community members and corporate partners need to keep pace in today’s shifting environment.”
United Way of Massachusetts Bay’s mission is to create positive, lasting change for those in need by harnessing the power of people working together. It achieves its mission by mobilizing people, businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies, neighborhoods and focuses to create better lives for those it serves in Eastern Massachusetts, Southeastern New Hampshire, and Maine.
United Way’s powerful network has the depth and scale to help ensure families have safe, affordable housing, jobs that allow them to support themselves, and access to financial tools and coaching to help build a better future, Recognizing that educational success is a strategy to break the cycle of poverty, United Way is also focused on preparing young children to enter school, providing critical social and emotional skills and ensuring youth have the support they need to stay in school and graduate.
Margulies Perruzzi strategically designed the regional headquarters to reflect the United Way’s culture and branding while preserving the character of the former industrial building. The design includes bold colorful accents while staying true to historic elements such as exposed brick and beam. Margulies Perruzzi worked closely with the United Way to provide a variety of work settings that would best support the work style of their employees, including sit-to-stand workstations, open and enclosed huddle spaces, individual phone rooms, and a multi-purpose employee hub. Technology was integrated into all these work settings to maximize functionality.
The construction team was careful to retain and reuse materials to preserve capital for the nonprofit while creating high-quality, collaborative workspace that supports internal workflow and events with their community partners.
The project team includes:
- Architect: Margulies Perruzzi
- GC/CM: Gilbane Building Co.
- MEP Engineer: Allied Consulting Engineering
About Margulies Perruzzi
As one of New England’s top architectural and interior design firms, Margulies Perruzzi (MP) designs Workplace, Health+Science, and Real Estate projects that inspire and nurture human endeavor. More information may be found at https://mparchitectsboston.com.
