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Margulies Perruzzi Architects (MPA), one of Boston’s architectural and interior design firms, announced that it has completed a new office at 265 Franklin Street in Boston for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (GBCC). For more than a century, the GBCC has helped drive economic growth throughout the region while building a vibrant business community of 1,400 organizations of varying size and industry.
“At the Chamber, our membership is more dynamic, innovative, and focused on the strength of the collective greater Boston business community than ever before,” says James E. Rooney, president and CEO ofGreater Boston Chamber of Commerce. “We wanted our new office space to be reflective of the Chamber’s work today, and of our vision for the future of our organization. Margulies Perruzzi Architects demonstrated their ability to understand that vision, and made our new office space reflective of who we are and how we want to serve our growing membership.”
The GBCC was evaluating new office space and engaged MPA to assist in weighing options for staying or relocating. MPA provided programming and fit-plans for several locations, and assisted the GBCC in choosing to relocate to a higher floor within the same building. A primary driver for GBCC’s new office space was the ability to host their own events and offer touchdown workspace to their business members. The GBCC’s new office also dovetailed with a broader effort to reshape their image through the rollout of a new brand identity and website.
The new 11,000 square-foot space offers an abundance of natural light and sweeping views of the city. The GBCC’s new brand image is prominently featured through the incorporation of screen displays and brand colors, as well as wall graphics promoting the organization’s mission, purpose, and logo.
MPA designed the public event area to allow GBCC staff to flexibly reconfigure the space to suit event needs. The furniture can be arranged for classroom-style lectures, theater-style seating, or emptied for networking events. By collapsing a glass wall, a corner conference room can be subdivided from the space. When an event is not in session, staff and GBCC members can avail themselves of the dining area or soft-seating collaboration space, above which the GBCC’s mission statement is proudly displayed. Telephone closets adjacent to the event space allow attendees to discreetly step away and attend to pressing business.
In the office area, the GBCC’s purpose statement is prominently visible, strategically placed at a height above the cubicle walls. In their new space, staffers enjoy modernized cubes, informal collaboration space, and sit-to-stand desks.
