The City of Boston’s architectural heritage is rich. Walking the City and/or driving through the surrounding region, there are many architectural gems – from the buildings that fill Harvard, MIT, the Fenway and Longwood Avenue to iconic civic buildings like City Hall and the JFK Library.
We are proud to have a role in continuing this City and region’s powerful vision for design. We’ve been fortunate to work with leading institutions in the City from Boston University, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Simmons College, Boston College and Novartis to name just a few.
I am proud to lead the design efforts for our Boston office where we promote a philosophy that embraces design as the responsibility of every member of our team. We all get to play a role in innovating, informing and enhancing design for our clients. Our long history in Boston has been driven by a passionate belief that architecture is primarily about ideas – and then bringing those ideas to life.
We have had many high points from our design efforts throughout our time in this city, but I would like to highlight a few recent, interesting projects I and my colleagues have been focused on.
Lasell College
Lasell College’s new academic complex will add new science lab and classroom space to the Newton school.
We are designing a new academic center that will give Lasell College the state-of-the-art spaces it needs to teach science and support an active learning environment. The architectural expression of the new building builds on the modern immediate context while respecting the residential neighborhood in which it sits.
In addition to classrooms and labs, the building provides a string of social spaces where students can interact with each other. The ground level is energized by a small cafe, tech services, a bookstore and lounge spaces for students. The building opens up at the entrance level to connect the lounge spaces with an outdoor terrace that overlooks the sport fields.
EMD Millipore
We have been helping EMD Millipore rebrand their existing facilities to better communicate their organizational culture and what they do. Additionally, we have been assisting with the image for their new headquarters.
Nantucket Cottage Hospital
Our team is working on the only hospital on Nantucket Island. Given the island’s remote environment and exposure to the open sea, we are promoting a sustainable and resilient approach that will provide the survivability it needs. The building design is respectful of the architectural tradition on the island while promoting forward thinking health care.
Elms College
The chapel at Elms College seeks to create a mystical place on campus that fuses the built environment with the landscape.
We have been working closely with Elms College to help enhance the campus environment through landscape and master planning. Within this framework we are designing a new chapel that seeks to create a mystical place on campus that fuses the built environment with the landscape. Special attention was paid to the spatial sequence as one approaches the building and moves through its interior spaces. We have harnessed the sculptural qualities of the interaction of the built form with natural light. We are currently in schematic design and look forward to the chapel evolving into a truly evocative building on this campus.
Hallmark Health
Exterior view of Hallmark Health’s new outpatient center.
We are working on a new outpatient center for Hallmark Health. This building will provide open views into the landscape from the waiting area and the therapy spaces, bringing in natural light and creating a strong connection between the indoor spaces and the outdoor spaces.
Design Awards
I’m also proud to note we have recently been recognized for our design efforts with two regional AIA awards:
North Carolina Agriculture and Technology’s new student center won the NC AIA Unbuilt Merit Award and Baltimore’s Langsdon Library competition won an AIA Baltimore Design Award.
North Carolina Agriculture and Technology’s New Student Center
I’m excited by the design work in our office and am looking forward to future opportunities.
Sebastian leads CannonDesign’s Boston architecture studio. He’s an award-winning designer with 20 years’ experience in both healthcare and higher education design, working on a wide range of projects locally and internationally.