Exterior Design

How was the proposed height and density determined?

The development team based the proposed density and Floor to Area Ratio (FAR) on adjacent and nearby properties and its proximity to Mass Ave and Porter Square. The nearby properties include the adjacent six (6) story, 60’ Russell Apartments; the five story, 68’ Henderson Carriage House directly across Mass Ave; and the eight (8) story, 71’ building located at 2130 Mass Ave. It also noted the nine (9) story, 85’ Northview Condominiums building located at 2353 Massachusetts Avenue. The development’s architects designed the building in the context of the property fronting onto Mass Ave (the busiest street in Cambridge) and is 0.3 miles from Porter Square, which offers numerous amenities within a short walking distance to the building’s future residents.

Where does the building cast its shadow?

The proposed building primarily casts its shadows to the north and northeast across Massachusetts Avenue throughout the year, having minimal impact on the residential neighborhood located behind the proposed site along Walden Street. Please refer to the supplementary shadow studies package for more details.

How was the building’s design developed?

The development’s design balances a complex set of contextual priorities, which have arisen from analysis, community meetings, and various meetings with the City of Cambridge Urban Planning, Community Development and Traffic and Parking teams. The design goals are:

Create a high-quality affordable housing apartment community for families in Cambridge

The design reflects its context, a strong corner on Cambridge’s main street.  The building massing is slender, allowing for light and air for all apartment homes.  The site is linked to amenities and services in this walkable neighborhood and the unit interiors are simple, but elegant.

Create significant transparency: Activate the streetscape

A primary design goal is to maintain transparency at street level to facilitate visual connections and to activate the streetscape. The first floor along Mass Ave will be wrapped with transparent storefront glazing and will include both the retail and residential entryway. The residential entryway will be pushed back to create a more pedestrian-scaled experience for residents. The storefront turns the corner onto Walden St and continues along with transparency into the retail and resident amenity spaces. An entrance limited to parking and a services area is hidden on the rear part of the site. 

Shaping: Building Form

The building consists of two interconnected volumes – a nine (9) story volume on Massachusetts Avenue and a five (5) story volume at the rear. Along Massachusetts Avenue and West along Walden Street, the nine-story suspended aluminum clad volume is clad in light colored anodized aluminum / zinc vertical panels with a staggered pattern, creating a light and airy volume that floats above one story of recessed storefront glazing.  The mass of the building has a strong corner presence that is visible from the street intersection and a grid of openings accentuates the volume, incorporating large windows which provide natural daylight into the interior units, as well as vertical infill composite panels that resemble wood, bringing warmth and texture. The building steps down to a five (5) story residential anchor towards the rear of the site in response to the transition between the denser urban corridor along Massachusetts Avenue to the residential neighborhood lining Walden St. On the roof of the fifth floor, a landscaped roof terrace will provide amenity space for the enjoyment of residents, while also providing opportunities for green plantings that liven the building’s appearance from the surrounding context.

Human Scale:  Material Palette

The residential anchor consists of a materials palette that relates to the surrounding residential buildings. The brick plinth / base is located on the ground floor, most prominently at the residential entry which is recessed along Mass Ave, adjacent to the retail space and bus shelter. The crafted long brick at street levels enlivens the pedestrian experience and allows for interactions as the wall angles back and forth. This culminates in a gradient of increasingly frequent openings that also serve as visibility into the parking area, as well as creating ventilation. Above the parking entry, the brick is oriented vertically as a contemporary response to the traditional lintel approach, while highlighting the playfulness of the material.

Above the brick plinth, painted clapboard comprises the main field of the body. Proportionately sized and spaced windows bordered by a trim are located along all orientations of the residential anchor. On the south elevations, each window has an infill panel below, clad in a lighter colored shingle panel to provide an accent from the main field, as well as to give the perception of the same proportions compared to windows on the north and west facades. In addition, solar shades are proposed on the South façade that not only livens the rhythm of the façade, but also serves a functional purpose of providing shade to reduce the building’s overall energy consumption. The top of the residential anchor is defined by a cornice band of half-round shingles.

There is a mature existing tree on the property line between 2050 and 2072 Mass Ave. Will the development team attempt to save this tree?

The 12” diameter at breast height (DBH) Littleleaf linden has been reviewed by the development team’s master arborist, Daniel Cathcart, who believes the tree can be retained. Mr. Cathcart drafted a tree protection plan that will be incorporated into the development’s construction plans.

Electrical transformers in new developments in Porter Square have been placed in conspicuous locations and have reduced visible green space and are unattractive. What steps are the development team taking to conceal the building’s transformer?

Pursuant to discussions with Eversource, the electrical transformer has been allocated sufficient space in an enclosed vault under the parking area so that it will not be visible nor will it impede any of the building’s amenities.

The development team was aware of this issue at Frost Terrace and located that project’s transformer below the front yard and fully out of view.

Since the rooftop amenity space will be accessible to the residents, how will you ensure safety for all?

Safety from the distinct dangers presented by a recreational space on a rooftop is paramount for residents, operational staff, and pedestrians on the street.  All current best-practices will be employed to create pleasing, yet effective barriers, for users of all ages and abilities, that meet or exceed building codes.