A recent project shows the value of designing to maximize daylighting in a space.
Southern Maine Health Care, in partnership with Maine Behavioral Healthcare, engaged Margulies Perruzzi and Array Architects to renovate a 24,000 SF unit, creating 40 new beds across two floors, and to design a five-bed Emergency Department Acute Psychiatric (EDAP) unit. This project triples the number of short stay behavioral healthcare beds available in York County, Maine.
The design team focused on incorporating as much access to daylight and nature as possible to leverage its clinical benefits. The team collaborated to situate activity rooms and common areas along the exterior walls of the building to bring in natural light and views of the Maine landscape for both patient and staff areas. Windows were maintained at patient areas while safety glass and borrowed light concepts were used to bring daylight deeper into the building. Art highlighting nature is incorporated at various seating areas throughout the unit to bring nature inside the building.
“The design team did a great job of listening to how we care for our patients and how we would be using the space. The new units will allow us to deliver a higher level of care to behavioral health patients,” said Diane Mankus, RN, senior director of behavioral health services at Southern Maine Health Care.
Margulies Perruzzi(MP), one of New England’s most innovative architectural and interior design firms, and Sladen Feinstein Integrated Lighting (SFIL), one of Boston’s premier architectural lighting design firms,announced today that they have received a Section Award of Merit from the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) for the Illumination Awards program. The award recognizes the firms’ lighting design for the 250,000 SF global headquarters for PTC Inc.(PTC), a global provider of technology that transforms how companies design, manufacture, operate, and service things in a smart connected world.
Margulies Perruzzi (MP), one of New England’s most innovative architectural and interior design firms, announced today that it has completed renovations and a two-story addition at 69 A Street in South Boston, creating a five-story 45,000 SF building that is the first “cross-laminated timber” (CLT) addition to an existing building in downtown Boston
The notable design accomplishment is that the building expansion would not have been feasible without the innovative use of CLT. This lightweight (and highly sustainable) structural system enabled the addition to be added to the 1920s era brick and beam former Rivet factory without replacing the existing foundations or columns, which would have been impossible with a standard steel or concrete structure. The exterior skin of the new levels is a metal panel rainscreen system installed with exposed metal fasteners that speak to its original use. Leaving the CLT exposed on the upper floors creates a much more appealing wood interior than standard steel construction. As the existing building is constructed directly on the lot line, Margulies Perruzzi arranged for setbacks to allow for additional light on the South side.
A new entrance mid- building is accessed via a landscaped courtyard, allowing generously enlarged windows on A Street. All the windows were replaced, but the existing building’s windows are distinguished from the new windows on the upper floors by being multi-light, which is consistent with the originals. An open-air terrace directly off the fifth floor looks west toward the Boston skyline.
A major part of this project was the zoning approval process, including coordination with the BPDA and the community before any construction could begin, and regular communication with the abutters throughout the construction period. DBI Projects, a top project management and real estate advisory firm with a diverse range of clients, was the owner’s representative for the project and successfully shepherded the project team through its successful completion.
With the building core and shell complete, it is now ready to be occupied by the next generation of tenants to be attracted to the revitalization of this part of South Boston.
The project team for 69 A Street includes:
Architect: Margulies Perruzzi
Construction Manager: Commodore Builders
Mechanical, Electrical, and Plumbing (MEP) Engineer: WB Engineers
Structural Engineer: McNamara Salva
Owner’s Project Manager: DBI Projects
BOSTON – July 20, 2021 – Margulies Perruzzi (MP), one of New England’s most innovative architectural and interior design firms, has taken an active role working with health care clients to meet the demands of the COVID-19 pandemic and recently worked with Lahey Hospital & Medical Center (LHMC) in Burlington, Mass., to create a 3,100 SF COVID-19 testing lab.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals and providers across the Commonwealth worked in numerous capacities to respond to COVID-19, caring for thousands of patients, re-configuring care settings, and endlessly innovating to meet the rapidly changing demands of this pandemic. Throughout this time, hospitals needed to find new ways to meet the growing demands for COVID-19 testing and analysis and support the achievement of the Commonwealth’s goals to grow testing capacity in the state, which was critical to ensuring robust diagnostic testing and surveillance of the spread of the disease.
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center, a world-renowned tertiary medical center known for its innovative technology, pioneering medical treatment and leading-edge research, committed to more than doubling its existing COVID-19 testing capacity to meet the demand. The renovation of existing lab space created a new expanded COVID-19 testing lab with rapid throughput testing capabilities of up to 11,100 tests per day that would allow specimens to be resulted in 24 hours or less.
“To make a project like this happen requires an enormous amount of collaboration and alignment to ensure the entire team is working together to meet the project goals,” said Bob Humenn, AIA, director of healthcare strategy at Margulies Perruzzi. “The project team worked closely with LHMC to be sure the lab design would meet their current testing needs as well as future testing requirements.”
Margulies Perruzzi and Columbia Construction worked with LHMC to create a COVID-19 testing lab designed to accommodate new and larger equipment. The design/construction team was challenged to complete the COVID-19 testing lab as quickly as possible to meet the immediate needs for COVID-19 testing during the pandemic. Multiple sites on- and off-campus were explored, and it was determined that creating the COVID-19 testing lab within the main campus laboratory would have the greatest capital and operational cost efficiency. This approach could also be built in the shortest time because the mechanical infrastructure was already in place. The challenge with this option was restrictions on planning based on available space in the existing lab. Creating sufficient contiguous space needed for the Thermofisher testing equipment involved multiple moves of existing lab services and required renovation within an existing functioning laboratory. There were several strategies to accelerate the process, including team working sessions for material approvals and finishes flexibility to work with materials more readily available. Utilizing quick ship options for materials with unavoidably long lead times and using movable lab furniture to provide more flexibility for delivery, assembling and installation.
“LHMC moved quickly during the pandemic to meet the urgent demand for testing services. It was important that the lab could process a lot of tests quickly, but the space needed to be efficient and functional also. The design and construction teams helped us achieve our goals by taking a more proactive role to address issues immediately as they arose to ensure the new lab could open quickly for the benefit of our patients, colleagues and physicians,” said Michael Slejzer, director of planning, design and construction at LHMC.
Project team members include:
Architect/Laboratory Planning: Margulies Perruzzi
Construction Manager: Columbia Construction
Owner’s Project Manager: Lehrer Cummings
MEP/FP: BR+A
Commissioning: CMTA
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.
Expanded access for behavioral health services to address shortages in treatment options
Margulies Perruzzi(MP), one of New England’s most innovative architectural and interior design firms, announced today that it has completed the expansion and repositioning of two behavioral healthcare units at the Sanford Medical Center (formerly the Goodall Hospital) for Southern Maine Health Care. The grand opening took place on October 20th. Please click here to view a video courtesy of SMHC about the new behavioral healthcare units.
Southern Maine Health Care, in partnership with Maine Behavioral Healthcare, engaged Margulies Perruzzi and Array Architects to renovate a 24,000 SF unit, creating 40 new beds across two floors, and to design a five-bed Emergency Department Acute Psychiatric (EDAP) unit. This project triples the number of short stay behavioral healthcare beds available in York County, Maine.
“Behavioral health design requires a deep level of both experience and empathy. Margulies Perruzzi worked closely with our staff – both clinical and facilities – to ensure we were able to stay within our budget and yet deliver a high-quality space for our patients,” said Nathan Howell, president of Southern Maine Health Care.
Partnering with Array Architects, a leader in healthcare planning and design, Margulies Perruzzi focused on incorporating as much access to daylight and nature as possible to leverage its clinical benefits. The team collaborated to situate activity rooms and common areas along the exterior walls of the building to bring in natural light and views of the Maine landscape for both patient and staff areas. Windows were maintained at patient areas while safety glass and borrowed light concepts were used to bring daylight deeper into the building. Art highlighting nature is incorporated at various seating areas throughout the unit to bring nature inside the building.
The new inpatient unit is secured with access through an interlocking sally port and features 20 double occupancy rooms, each with its own bathroom. To ensure the safety of patients, each room is designed to minimize ligature risk to provide both privacy and safety. Anti-ligature fixtures were used in the bathrooms and bedrooms as well as vandal proof ceilings. The design team used institutional materials with a residential look and feel to help reduce stress by providing a home-like feel for patients on the unit.
Each floor has a clinical support area with rooms designated for common dining, noisy activity, quiet activity, group therapy/multi-purpose, and private consultations with clinicians. The program accommodated a calming room on each floor that allows agitated patients a quiet area to self-calm through tactile work surface, reduced lighting levels, and reduction in both audio and visual distractions. This de-escalation space helps reduce the need for restraints or a seclusion room.
A centralized staff area provides a variety of open and closed work areas for staff. An open nurse station on the inpatient floors removes barriers between patients and staff. An enclosed private staff area can be used for charting, phone calls, and private clinical discussions.
The design team leveraged new highly efficient and anti-ligature chilled beams to heat and cool the two floors, utilizing existing duct work to maintain existing ceiling heights, and removing the prior fan coil units at the perimeter windows to address patient safety concerns.
The Emergency Department Acute Psychiatric (EDAP) suite is a five-bed assessment area located off the Emergency Department (ED). Designed as the first step in the behavioral health admissions process once patients are medically cleared in the ED, the EDAP includes five patient rooms with a toilet and shower as well as a place to store their belongings while they are being evaluated. Designed around a small common area, the circular design allows clear visibility from the nursing station. The EDAP is located directly adjacent to the security office of the hospital for emergencies.
The project team includes:
Architect:Margulies Perruzzi
Behavioral Health Architect & Interior Designer: Array Architects
Construction Manager: PC Construction
Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, and Fire Protection (MEP/FP) Engineer: Fitzmeyer & Tocci
Nathan Turner Senior Project Manager and Associate Partner, Margulies Perruzzi Age: 44 Industry experience: 22 years
Nate Turner recently marked his 22nd anniversary at Boston-based Margulies Perruzzi Architects (MPA). In recent years he’s specialized in repurposing brick-and-beam properties in neighborhoods including the Seaport District, updating historic structures for the 21st century economy. Turner’s recent projects include repositioning of three buildings on Farnsworth Street and Thomson Place with new ground-floor retail and windows, and updates to 10 and 20 Channel Center including new tenant amenities and branding materials.
Q: How did you address historic preservation guidelines when adding ground-floor retail to the Thomson Place property? A: We saw an opportunity to connect the historic thoroughfare of Congress Street with Seaport Boulevard and have Thomson Place be a prime connector. Part of the success of what we’ve been able to do so far is we’ve worked well with the Landmarks Commission starting from the place of what’s important to them. Instead of creating an uphill struggle, let’s focus on the historic elements that are desirable and build off that rather than creating something new.
How do you take a building with small window openings while trying to maximize glass for shoppers? For Thomson Place, it was trying to accentuate the arches that had been modified over the years and restore it to its rightful condition. But also taking a look at the sidewalks, the widths of those and understanding where the curb cuts and ramps are, making them pedestrian-friendly. On the finishing touches, it’s bumping out the sidewalks. We don’t want cars zooming up and down the street.
Q: What are the sweet spots in building sizes, heights and unit count that lend themselves well to cross-laminated timber construction? A: There are provisions in the building code that allow you to use it as a structural element, but there are forthcoming code changes that allow you to build up to 10 stories. In a recent project on A Street, we added a 2-story addition to a historical structure. It’s lighter in load than steel or concrete, and the same level of construction without impacting the building as much. Someone trying to do a 15-story building in Boston
might come up with some hurdles, because they would be on the leading edge of the code updates.
The 2021 code changes will allow uses in taller and bigger structures and more applications. You might see the introduction of CLT fire stairs. They might have to be clad with materials, but the more you can use heavy timber, the more they can be fastened in an interconnected way, which would lead to improved construction times. When you’re dealing with mechanical fasteners and just one trade, that’s different than having a steel fabricator and having to stop for the welding and cure the concrete and do it layer by layer.
Q: Have you received requests to do office retrofits during COVID-19? A: It’s kind of a blessing and a curse. This is a great opportunity for deferred maintenance projects or overall master planning and capital improvements. When you have lower occupancy in a building, that means fewer hurdles and headaches. The biggest challenge is just financing and that’s going to vary from owner to owner. Everyone’s trying to look at the glass as half full and saying they can take advantage of the downturn, and the labor force may be more available to deal with these projects. There may be more competitive bidding or less downtime.
In tenant spaces, it’s a similar mindset, but implemented differently with a certain amount of uncertainty about what the next three months will bring. We’ve seen a lot of tenants say, “OK, we have to do something. What are the simpler things we can do right away that are low-cost and high-impact?” Signage, sanitizing stations, that’s the easy stuff. Anybody can do it at low cost. But when you think about furniture
panels, spacing of rooms, updating office floor plans, you start getting into operational questions. People have questions. Do I need to have the conversation with the landlord about the HVAC system and how late my air stays on at night? There’s a good-better-best solution.
Q: As Boston prepares a new coastal resiliency zoning overlay, what do developers need to know about best practices in floodproofing? A: As a coastal city, we will not be the only ones dealing with this. Venice continues to be the bellwether for a lot of us. There are a lot of similarities. Boston has done a great job of creating a resiliency group that’s looking at measurable goals by 2030 and understands the risks, looking at vulnerable areas that are landmarks or neighborhoods. We’re trying to be proactive, but the solutions are not easy. It’s hard to
implement across the city in a budget-friendly manner. No matter what you do, there’s going to be a weak link.
Q: Is the above-ground podium the current preferred option for parking in multifamily projects? A: Some of it depends on the soil conditions and where the water tables are, but I’ve seen some projects look at parking as a buffer between a ground-level use and the floors above. But you’re trading some real estate from an investment perspective. What I’ve been hearing over the last year or so is the city is trying to process what the right ratios are going forward. If it’s for a building where the demographic is predominantly college students, [some developers are] looking whether to repurpose the garage into additional living units. If they’re renovating, it’s a great time to reclaim some square-footage.
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Innovative use of CLT instead of steel provided greater flexibility during hybrid historical/new construction renovations
Margulies Perruzzi (MP), one of New England’s most innovative architectural and interior design firms, announced today that it has utilized cross-laminated timber (CLT) to add two stories to an existing 1920’s era brick and beam building at 69 A Street in South Boston, creating a five-story 45,000 SF building which is a hybrid of historical and new construction. The firm navigated the complex permitting process on behalf of its client, and the building has been designed to accommodate either a single tenant or multiple tenants.
Originally the home of the Standard Rivet Company, the building was designed for industrial use with three floors and an unfinished basement. With some of the original windows – single pane with steel edging – still in place, Margulies Perruzzi was able to reference the original architecture to guide placement for building core volumes while maximizing window opening percentages. A long and narrow rectangle with 7,500 SF floor plates, the layout of the building presented a challenge from the start. The design team decided to add two floors and selected CLT for their construction, aligning with the industrial brick and beam nature of the building. The exterior skin of the new levels is a metal panel rainscreen system installed with exposed metal fasteners that speak to its original use. Leaving the CLT exposed on the upper floors creates a much more appealing exterior than standard steel construction. Designed to be on the lot line, Margulies Perruzzi arranged for setbacks to allow for additional light on the South side.
Cross-laminated timber is a processed timber product of superior strength and stability that offers unique new possibilities and unparalleled advantages in wood construction. Nordic X-Lam from Nordic Structures is made of at least three orthogonal layers of graded sawn lumber that are laminated by gluing with structural adhesives. Wood is five times lighter than concrete and 15 times lighter than steel so Margulies Perruzzi was able to retain the existing structure and it did not have to replace or reinforce the existing foundations before adding two stories. Additional benefits of CLT are the inherent fire resistance properties and a natural wood ceiling that can be left exposed to create a warm finished aesthetic.
Two new vertical stacks were introduced into the floorplate: the first is nestled in the middle of the building, with vertical circulation and a bathroom core; and the second, an egress stair, located in the back corner. Both stack elements doubled as seismic code elements without impacting the floorplate or building aesthetic.
The main entrance access is located off A Street next to a “vest-pocket” park and features interior elements that relate to the industrial nature of the building such as a custom reception desk with weathered zinc panels and blackened steel. The front half of the first floor looks out on A Street with large windows featuring a lowered sill for greater connectivity to the street. The fifth floor has a street-facing outdoor terrace accessible directly from the office space with views of the evolving West Broadway neighborhood and South Station skyline.
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.
We have news to report. The data is in on business trends for the annual Interior Design Rising Giants, the 100 largest firms after our top 100 Giants. However, there’s a catch: It’s 2020. Which means our entire world is in various stages of flux—actually, upheaval may be a better word. No one knows what will happen next week, let alone next year. So while these new numbers can give you a fine idea of what kind of year the Rising Giants had in 2019, all bets are off on guessing how the design industry and the economy overall will weather the rest of 2020 and beyond.
