POWDERHOUSE

• multi-family residential/urban 

• commercial 

• green roofs & landscape 

• solar array 

• adaptive reuse & recycled components

This public-private partnership project is an adaptive re-use development of a 1970’s era school originally designed by TAC that was abandoned for 15 years. Its non-structural load-bearing walls were eroded to introduce daylight and ventiliation for its new life as a mixed-use development. 

The building is a complex array of program with 45,486 SF dedicated as residential condominiums, and 24,387 SF as long-term and short-term rental space. Both total to 48 residential units of studio / lofts, one-bedroom to three bedroom apartments. It houses 22,144 SF for commercial spaces - with a total of 7 commercial units. Its amenities include a community room, community kitchen, gym, two courtyards, an outdoor covered plaza and an outdoor amphitheater as performing and events space. 

The building’s corten steel and metal panel exterior finishes are meant to act as canvases for artists. There currently are 7 murals out of 84 available walls with work created by local and international artists to form a publicly accessible Urban Museum. 

The building incorporates 10,623 SF of green roofs meant to alleviate the heat island effect within the urban neighborhood, introduce as much private+public green space as possible, retain stormwater, and conceal its indoor garage that hosts 48 cars and 57 bikes. It was designed with a new 248 kW solar array system with 270 PV modules, low flow plumbing systems and natural ventilation strategies using automated glass garage roll down doors to maximize energy efficiency. 

Adjacent to the building structure, is a new park of 40,576 SF programmed and designed for all ages and abilities with over 53% of the overall property plot re-designed as open green space. 

We were part of the team of architects who worked on the architectural and landscape design of this project, and additionally oversaw its construction for design and technical elements as Owner’s Project Manager. 

We are currently retained as the architectural consultant for the condominium board. 

• architectural design

• bidding

• permitting

• construction observation / administration

• owner project management

• operations management support

Architects Local, Sebastian Mariscal Studio, Workstudio, Groundview Llc, Wozny Barbar & Associates, Cosentini Associates, Fohley Buhl Roberts & Associates, Kaplan Construction, Recover Green Roof, Emanouil Inc., Neovirtus Engineering, Might & Main, Whitney Veigas Architectural Signage, Collaborative Living Project, The City Of Somerville

Nina Gonzalez, Hector Castillo