Barbara Hicks

Our project for Home Base won the Best Practice Award for a Medium Sized Project at IFMA’s Boston Chapter award ceremony! Congratulations to Home Base and thank you for all you do to help our veterans!

BOSTON – May 14, 2019 – Middlesex Savings Bank, one of the largest mutual banks in Massachusetts with more than $4.8 billion in assets, and Margulies Perruzzi (MP), one of New England’s most innovative architectural and interior design firms, are pleased to announce the re-opening of the Bank’s newly renovated branch at 64 Main Street in Concord, Mass. Located in the town’s quaint historic district, the Concord branch renovation focused on celebrating and honoring the historic interior architectural features of the building while incorporating modern amenities, comforts, and features for employees and customers.

Middlesex Savings Bank was founded as Middlesex Institution for Savings in 1835 in the Town of Concord. At a time when banking focused more on businesses than on consumers, the Bank’s founders, in an act of true community spirit, set out to create a bank where people of modest means, who had no other alternatives, could have a safe place to save. The Greek Revival structure in Concord Center, erected in 1932, served as the Bank’s headquarters until its merger with Natick Five Cents Savings Bank.

“We are thrilled with the outcome. The Town of Concord has been an excellent partner and has assisted with the permitting and approval process required to address the nearly 100 year old infrastructure in the building. Middlesex Savings Bank is pleased to be able to continue serving the community in the redesigned space,” said Adam Fandrey, senior vice president and corporate real estate director at Middlesex Savings Bank.

The goal for the 9,000 square foot renovation was to keep the integrity of the historic features yet improve the function, flow, and visibility of employees to enhance the customer experience. Focusing on the Bank’s top priorities of customer service and accessibility, Margulies Perruzzi worked closely with the Bank to consider all the features of the space and their influence to make customers feel welcome and comfortable. Porticos and private offices were opened up to increase visibility, enabling customers to quickly and easily see where to go for help. A customer service pod was aptly placed in the center of the branch, and a previously unused mezzanine level was re-designed with a conference room and additional customer service workstations. A glass half-wall was installed on the balcony to keep the space open while offering speech privacy.

To brighten the space, dark millwork panels on the walls and ceiling were painted white, emphasizing the beauty of the existing dark wood columns within an aesthetically pleasing visual rhythm. Historically-inspired details, like natural stone at the teller line and at the base of the wood columns, are a subtle nod to the rich history of traditional banking interior design. The “community wall” of local landmarks was reimagined in the Concord branch as wall-mounted photography in the alcoves behind the teller line. The color palette and finishes were kept neutral, with the Bank’s brand colors of blue and yellow used on the teller stations and carpet. Soft seating was strategically placed throughout the branch, and a hot beverage area was located near the entrance.

New lighting played a major role in improving the functional and aesthetic quality of the space. Margulies Perruzzi used a mix of modern and transitional-style light fixtures to highlight the natural beauty of the interior architecture as well as improve energy efficiency. Electrical and mechanical systems were updated, with close attention paid to making the heating, air conditioning and sprinkler equipment fit within the wood intricacies of the space. Without modifying the historic façade, all exterior windows and part of the roof were replaced.

Since 2010, Margulies Perruzzi has collaborated with Middlesex Savings Bank on many projects, including the relocation and/or re-design of branches in Ashland, Bellingham, Franklin, Holliston, Medway, Millis, Medfield, Sherborn, Wayland Center, and Wellesley Hills, and the renovation of the Bank’s main branch in Natick.

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 http://mparchitectsboston.com.

Originally posted in High Profile

Concord – Middlesex Savings Bank and Margulies Perruzzi (MP) announced the re-opening of the newly renovated branch at 64 Main Street in Concord. The renovation focused on celebrating and honoring the historic interior architectural features of the building while incorporating modern amenities, comforts, and features.

The goal for the 9,000sf renovation was to keep the integrity of the historic features yet improve the function, flow, and visibility of employees.

The project team includes J. Calnan & Associates, construction manager and BLW Engineers, MEP engineering.

MP worked closely with the bank to consider all the features of the space and its influence to make customers feel welcome. Porticos and private offices were opened up to increase visibility, enabling customers to quickly and easily see where to go for help.

A customer service pod was placed in the center of the branch, and a previously unused mezzanine level was re-designed with a conference room and additional customer service workstations. A glass half-wall was installed on the balcony to keep the space open while offering speech privacy.

To brighten the space, dark millwork panels on the walls and ceiling were painted white, emphasizing the beauty of the existing dark wood columns. Natural stone at the teller line and at the base of the wood columns, are a subtle nod to the rich history of traditional banking interior design.

The “community wall” of local landmarks was reimagined as wall-mounted photography in the alcoves behind the teller line. The color palette and finishes were kept neutral, with the Bank’s brand colors of blue and yellow used on the teller stations and carpet. Soft seating was placed throughout, and a hot beverage area was located near the entrance.

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Congratulations to Northbridge High School for their big win at the Eco-Carpentry Challenge 2019, taking home the Best in Class Small Shop! Mentors included John Greene from Margulies Perruzzi, Mike Maclean of Peabody Office, and Chelsea Snow of AIS (Affordable Interior Systems).

The Furniture Trust, a nonprofit committed to responsible reuse of unwanted office furniture, held its annual signature event, the Eco-Carpentry Challenge, designed to promote resourcefulness and upcycling while providing students critical skills. Used office furniture donated by local businesses was delivered to ten high schools where students had five months to use teamwork, imagination, and carpentry skills to transform these materials into new products, later donated back into the community.

Originally posted in the Boston Business Journal

Boston – Industrial software company PTC Inc. (Nasdaq: PTC) has officially moved from Needham to Boston’s Seaport District, celebrating the grand opening of its 250,000-square-foot headquarters at 121 Seaport Blvd. on April 25.

The office was designed by Margulies Perruzzi Architects and built out by Gilbane Building Co.

The office features museum-like exhibits showcasing PTC software in action, from its uses in Caterpillar heavy machinery to ESAB welding equipment and Celli Group taps serving up Downeast Cider beverages. At a customer experience center, customers can use a tablet loaded with PTC software to take a virtual tour of the Seaport District. Smaller touches including a conference table made from the remains of a shipwrecked schooner, discovered in 2016 amid the construction of 121 Seaport Blvd.

“121 Seaport’s design, amenities and location made the selection of our new global headquarters an easy one,” said PTC CEO Jim Heppelmann in a prepared statement when the company announced its move in September 2017. “We believe our choice sends a strong message to our more than 6,000 employees, our customers, and our partners that PTC will continue to be on the leading edge of technology and breakthroughs that will shape the way we all live and work.”

Cresa Boston negotiated an 18.5-year lease for PTC with previous building owner Skanska. Skanska sold the 17-story office for $455 million, or $1,137 per square foot in December 2018 to American Realty Advisors and Norges Bank Real Estate Management.

That sale was the second-highest per-square-foot sale price for a commercial building in Boston, behind Tishman Speyer’s $450 million, $1,208 per-square-foot sale of the Pier 4 office building, also located in Boston’s Seaport District.

For over thirty years, Margulies Perruzzi has been designed buildings and interiors that nurture and inspire. Over that entire time we have remained laser-focused on helping our clients increase productivity and creativity, attract and retain talent, and enhance mission engagement. On this anniversary of the founding of the firm, the Partners are delighted to announce the elevation of nine talented professionals to positions of Associate and Senior Associate. They are being recognized for their exemplary leadership, commitment, professional competence, values/character, and client service. New Associates include Sarah Farrell, Marnie Glover Kaplan, Caitlin Greenwood, Jenna Meyers, and Rui Ribeiro. New Senior Associates include Karen Estabrook, Joe Flynn, Kim Smith, and Jane Sullivan. These friends and colleagues will continue their dedication to our clients’ success, to stewardship of the planet’s resources, and to the well-being of our community at large. Please join us in congratulating these wonderful individuals who we know will further enhance Margulies Perruzzi’s innovative approach to the design of buildings and interiors across the country.

-By Tim Bailey

Wired certification is a new trend in the marketplace….

A few notes from wiredscore.com…

“Without reliable internet, businesses cannot function. Tenant-focused commercial real estate landlords pursue Wired Certification so current and future tenants can rest assured that they are paying for future-proofed, business-ready office space. Wired Certification provides crucial insight into connectivity as telecom requirements for tenants become more complex.”- Wiredscore.com

Want your building to be certified?

“Work with us to implement best practices to ensure the design and construction of your building meets the connectivity needs of the commercial tenants of the future. Buildings can achieve Wired Certification during the planning, engineering, construction, or early occupation stages of the development process. Owners and developers can promote their Wired Certification achievement across all marketing and PR channels as soon as the building rating has been awarded.”- wiredscore.com

For additional information please visit….

https://wiredscore.com/en/

Originally published in High Profile Monthly. By Marc Margulies, FAIA, LEED AP

Design of the built environment is changing radically for three fundamental reasons: improved technologies, improved products, and improved processes. These transformative drivers have revolutionized all facets of the construction industry and every aspect of how and what we build.

Improved Technologies

Gone are the days of delivering a set of drawings to a contractor who builds according to the plans and specifications. The distinction between design and delivery has progressively been dissolved. Contractors and subcontractors now participate in the design phase through a variety of delivery methods and contract types, including design-build, design-assist, and component-assist. Previously, architects and engineers illustrated their intent in 2D representation. Now, all design documents are in 3D, and most components are downloaded in 3D from product manufacturers, complete with parametric data on performance, maintenance programs, and infrastructure requirements. While this allows designers to take advantage of the detailed expertise of product manufacturers, it can also prejudice their selection based on the quality of the available downloads.

Through the collaboration of architects with contractors, subcontractors, and manufacturers, buildings and interiors can now be fully constructed virtually. Virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technologies can create immersive environments as convincing as those used in the gaming industry, blurring the lines between visualization and documentation.

Manipulation of scripted mathematical algorithms to autogenerate complex forms allows the exploration of every possible solution, not just the few that designers and contractors can sketch. Multiple schemes can be tested for appearance, fit, performance, and cost. Documentation is now dynamic, with the static sheet of drawings replaced by computers, iPads, headsets, and other electronic supports that permit builders to view, query, and coordinate such that conflict and waste can be eliminated.

Implications for architects include the expectation that subcontractor shop drawings will arrive electronically, prepared by those most knowledgeable about and responsible for their trade. The vastly more complex products and systems require expertise that no single source can provide, and collaborative technologies (BIM 360 and others) allow each professional to refine this marvelous building model in advance of beginning actual construction. Improvements in innovation, communication, cost control, risk reduction, and outcomes assurance will be momentous.

Improved Products

Modularity is increasingly sweeping aside field assembly. Traditionally, buildings are constructed piece by piece, brick by brick — regardless of rain, snow, or temperature. Would you buy a car built that way? Of course not; the quality would suffer too much. More and more of the components of a building are being delivered to the construction site ready for placement. These components range in size and complexity from light fixtures and unitized exterior building façades to whole buildings.

Improved technologies also facilitate CAD/CAM production directly from the design drawings. Sprinkler piping, for example, instead of being measured and cut in the field, can be shop fabricated to the precise dimensions and delivered to the exact intended location for installation. CNC machines, essentially robotic manufacturers, produce cabinetry ready for final assembly and require limited human intervention for production.

Modular housing is built in a factory efficiently and safely, delivered complete with finishes, appliances, plumbing fixtures, HVAC, and sprinklers fully tested to unequalled quality standards. Factories can actually sequence and assemble differently than what’s possible in the field, altering traditional responsibility-by-trade paradigms.

The use of mass customization is on the cusp of becoming routine practice. Why must all bricks be rectangular? Instead of using rectangular molds, what if molds could be easily and inexpensively created via software/robot interface such that bricks could be any shape we want? Materials will be 3D printed more often as printers and printable products evolve and designers discover more opportunities. Building mass was previously part of how material performance was measured; now lightweight, highly engineered assemblies and materials are crafted according to highly specialized characteristics at a nanotechnology level. Building integrated photovoltaic glazing (BIPV), which transforms entire surfaces of buildings into solar energy collectors, is an example of the highly integrated multidisciplinary nature of materials that now combine the characteristics of transparency, insulation, waterproofing, building protection, and electrical integration in ways that simpler materials never did.

Improved Processes

By its very nature, the traditional model of design-bid-build tends to cultivate mistrust. Today, clients want to work with building teams focused on delivery of the best product for the best price. More innovative contract models, such as integrated project delivery (IPD), create a relationship where the owner, designer, and contractor are all legal clients of the project, sharing liability and reward. There are many other team formats — design-build or design-assist, for example — that establish relationships that are highly collaborative and mutually respectful. While the architect used to be the “master builder,” the ubiquity of the owner’s project manager (OPM) now means that traditional roles have been upended. Some companies will even assume responsibilities for everything from leasing of premises to delivery of furniture, IT, and AV in addition to design and construction. New FASB accounting rules dictate recognition of construction costs far earlier than previously done. The response by corporate tenants (who represent 50% of building users) has been to negotiate that building owners assume responsibility for design and construction through turnkey deals that further blur the lines of direct accountability. If the relationships between industry professionals are contractually different, altered processes must result.

Architects wonder about the future of the profession. The adoption of innovative technologies, incorporation of specialized products, and embrace of more-collaborative processes can either help the discipline flourish or relegate designers to the junior position of façade decorator. Creating unique, one-of-a-kind buildings can be inefficient, risky, and expensive, yet construction is one of the greatest and most noble creations of humankind. How will we choose to build in the future?

About the Author
Marc Margulies, FAIA, LEED AP, is a principal and senior partner at Margulies Perruzzi.

Originally posted in NEREJ

Boston, MA – According to Margulies Perruzzi Architects (MPA), John Fowler, AIA, EDAC, LEED AP, has been elevated to the position of associate partner of the firm. Fowler is the 12th member of the firm’s partnership and will continue to lead MPA’s growing healthcare studio, along with associate principal and partner Jason Costello, AIA, EDAC.

MPA also welcomed Mark Thomsen, AIA, NCARB, LEED AP, as senior project manager for healthcare. Thomsen brings 23 years of experience as a master planner, project manager, and healthcare planner for a wide variety of hospital and healthcare clients and project types.

“The addition of Mark Thomsen to MPA’s healthcare studio offers our clients deep technical expertise coupled with proven project management skill. As an associate partner and associate principal advancing MPA’s healthcare practice, John Fowler has worked tirelessly with Jason Costello to secure new clients and position the firm for continued growth in the healthcare market,” said Marc Margulies, FAIA, LEED AP, senior partner and principal at Margulies Perruzzi Architects. “We look forward to the collaboration of these three healthcare architects to design and deliver successful projects for our clients.”

For the past 20 years, Fowler has been designing healthcare and science facilities throughout the U.S. His focus on improving the built environment for patients and the clinicians that care for them is a passion that permeates every project with which he is involved. Fowler’s expertise in healthcare planning and design includes leading clinical 3P planning events, facility master planning, feasibility studies and strategic planning, in addition to architectural services. His recent project experience includes cancer care centers, surgical centers, endoscopy departments, compounding pharmacies, diagnostic imaging, and multi-specialty clinics.

Prior to joining MPA, Thomsen spent more than 23 years as a healthcare planner and project manager at a Boston-based healthcare architecture firm, where his experience ranged from hospital campus master planning to large hospital projects and outpatient clinics. His portfolio includes Jahra Hospital in Kuwait, Albany Memorial Hospital in New York, and Valley Hospital in Ridgewood, New Jersey. Most recently, Thomsen led design teams for the multi-phased Boston Medical Center Menino Pavilion, working on several aspects of the project including medical/surgical inpatient units, the ICU, the central sterile department, and the pharmacy.