Unicorn Park, an easy-access campus of suburban office buildings, has underutilized FAR for development while lacking a sense of cohesiveness. MP’s proposed design provides a solution to these challenges by introducing an expanded building at the terminus of a new pedestrian mall connecting all the buildings. Because this part of the campus is actually needed only as a fire lane, it can be repurposed as casual outside gathering space – ready to host food trucks, café dining, and collaboration/meeting areas. The new landscaping becomes a central campus theme, ringed by common amenities to create a heightened sense of community.
Work Category: Branding & Identity
Margulies Perruzzi worked with Campanelli Companies to reposition Upland Road to appeal to tenants within the Route 128 South marketplace.
MP’s design includes a dramatic amenity street that connects the new east and west entries and offers all tenants access to the new, two-story sky-lit atrium. This central street with storefront-style tenant entrances is dotted with impromptu gathering spaces to create a community for tenants.
The large floor plates and exposed high ceilings provide tenants with open, flexible, and brightly lit spaces and can accommodate companies starting at 11,000 square feet. Multiple new exterior entrances provide convenient access to parking. New landscaped areas offer tenants seating space for outdoor meetings.
A former Polaroid manufacturing center, Upland’s dramatic revitalization includes a new full-service café, a best-in-market fitness center with a virtual ride instruction spin studio, conference facilities, and a gaming area with foosball, ping pong tables and shuffleboard.
Mill & Main was planned as a vibrant destination, drawing in both residents and workers. A beautiful courtyard connects two buildings to create a unified campus in a highly prized location.
After a major tenant moved out of the historic Clock Tower Place, the developer saw an opportunity to reinvigorate the mill building and create a new, 50-acre, mixed-use development with over 1.1 million square feet of office, retail, and open space (and plans for future adjacent residential developments).
MP’s master plan creates green spaces and sight lines to the pond. The plan envisioned boutique retail and galleries to activate the pedestrian level while visitors could stroll across a scenic boardwalk to an artisan brewpub. MP created the name Mill & Main as part of its concept to connect the old Mill building to Main Street in Maynard.
A contemporary and vibrant logo was created to help brand the property. To replace old and conflicting numbering systems, MP renumbered the buildings and significantly overhauled signage and wayfinding, including detailed kiosks that help visitors find their way.
Campanelli Companies commissioned Margulies Perruzzi to provide design services for the repositioning of this real estate asset. Built in 1982, the building required a significant update. MP lead the design strategy for improvements to the building’s exterior and interior.
The exterior work involved repositioning the front access point to a more accommodating area of the building and redesigning two entries in a more current and inviting manner. Other work on the exterior involved a redesign to the ninth floor window envelope to remove an outdated detail and replace it with a more modern design. The exterior building envelope color was also updated.
The interior scope includes a complete redesign of the building lobby, a new contemporary urban café, and a fitness center. MP also updated the materials in the existing conference center and in all core building components on upper floors such as elevator lobbies, toilet rooms and common spaces.
After completing the repositioning of Heritage Two in 2014, Margulies Perruzzi returned to help Campanelli Companies create a “building twin” to complement the Heritage Landing collection. MP’s design for Heritage One brings the same energized feel to the refreshed common spaces but gives Heritage One its own distinct style and identity.
Updated common spaces, including the front and back entry lobby, the elevator bay, and the café space, engage building occupants and give them a place to gather. A grab-and-go style dining area and a coffee bar provide an enticing amenity to distinguish the suburban space and attract potential tenants. The café space was strategically designed to convert into a full servery in the future (if needed) with minimal renovation.
Margulies Perruzzi was asked by National Development to reposition this existing building to attract new tenants and to raise its profile in the marketplace. A new open, day-lit lobby features a new glass curtain wall located on the outer building face for better visibility. A new entrance plaza allows for outside dining and casual seating. New food options and a fitness area provide upgraded amenities to building tenants and visitors.
With the MBTA University Station across the street and a new retail development going in next door, the MP team worked together with National Development and the Town of Westwood to first develop the name/address of the building, and then to create the building’s logo.
Inside, MP created a double-sided custom mural that visually enlivens the lobby while dividing the café from the adjoining fitness center. The mural evokes the surrounding transportation options, subtly underscoring a key selling feature for the building owners to present to potential tenants.
The outside also comes inside, as the lobby features casual seating arrangements along with interior “living” walls of live plants and a low planter separating the entry and café. While the building had remained vacant for years prior to the renovation, it was fully leased within one year of the project’s completion.