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Dec. 11, 2014 — Lovejoy Wharf, a mixed-use waterfront redevelopment currently under construction in Boston, will re-imagine familiar waterfront structures for a new era, according to The Architectural Team, the architect for a major adaptive reuse component of the project.
The Architectural Team's contribution begins with the rehabilitation and repurposing of the nine-story industrial brick building as corporate office space. The structure is an iconic linchpin for the historic Lovejoy Wharf remembered by some as a warehouse for local ice cream maker Schrafft's.
Once completed, Fortune 500 footwear manufacturer Converse will make eight of the nine floors into its new headquarters, with interiors by New York-based Jennifer Carpenter Architect.
"Unlike typical historic adaptive reuse projects, our design re-imagines the building with a new architectural identity for a corporate waterfront project," said Michael Liu, AIA, vice president and principal with The Architectural Team. "Our solution involves a melding of the historic massing with a contemporary two-story glass addition."
The firm's design of the 220,000-square-foot building includes space for offices, ground-floor retail, a 300-seat restaurant, and a 50,000-square-foot glass-enclosed addition to serve as showroom and meeting space. The development also includes a 30,000-square-foot public waterfront plaza, and a 7,000-square-foot wharf pavilion.
Added Liu, "Introducing this new architectural vocabulary to an older structure suggests a new gateway to Boston at the Zakim Bunker Hill Bridge. The completed Lovejoy Wharf will reconnect the North End and the West End via the Harbor Walk."
The Architectural Team are bringing to bear significant expertise in design for waterfront redevelopment, as well as in historic preservation, adaptive reuse, and high-profile urban revitalization. The firm's work on the wharf will help turn a privately owned waterfront into a public amenity by extending the popular Harborwalk with new open spaces: floating docks, public water transportation facilities, and a visitor's center.
The wharf redevelopment by Related Beal will also include a major new condominium building designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. Boston-based ADD, Inc., is serving as architect-of-record.
