The Awards Acknowledgement winning project of Kennedy & Violich Architecture has now been completed with ten apartments, studios and penthouses in the urban in-fill development. The building creates a unique identity through its set-back terraced façade that gives out onto the street, its transformation of wrought iron fire escapes into a digitally designed and fabricated screen wall. 

The Chrysanthemum Building in Boston’s oldest residential district of North End broke ground in September 2014 and excavation was completed in December 2014. Building works using wooden framing commenced in mid-2015. The building will also use sustainable regional forest plywood for built-in storage elements and wall finishes, reducing the need for drywall.

A short drone video courtesy of architect Frano Violich illustrates progress on construction. The use of locally harvested renewable wood will sequester 32 metric tons of carbon and also minimize construction disruption. The project creates an affordable, sustainable new model for residential development in a dense urban infill site. The project includes 4 micro-units and 6 adaptable family lofts.

The design for the Chrysanthemum Building in Boston offers a viable solution to the “housing question” – promoting an affordable model for residential development in a dense urban neighborhood. The ten apartments include four micro-units and six adaptable family lofts. The structure, a wooden construction with a layered metal screen, takes its identity from its immediate surroundings through set-back terraces, the transformation of wrought iron fire escapes into digitally fabricated shading elements, and a commercial space at street level.

The proposal integrates mobile phone applications for bike sharing and building-systems monitoring and promotes the use of social media to enhance user participation and communication.

Read project feature in 4th Holcim Awards 2014/2015 (flip-book)

“Chrysanthemum Building: Affordable residential urban infill development, Boston, USA” by Kennedy & Violich Architecture doesn’t make a separation between natural resources and resources that are found in the city. The project won a Holcim Awards Acknowledgement and promotes sustainability as a ‘common sense’ culture.

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The winning projects of the Holcim Awards 2014 for North America are at the cutting edge of efficiency and innovation in sustainable construction. The top prize went to a water supply and flood mitigation project in Las Vegas designed by Amy Mielke and Caitlin Taylor. BIG’s urban flood-protection concept for lower Manhattan was conferred the silver Award, and a zero-carbon compostable structure recently on display at MoMA New York designed by David Benjamin received bronze.

Acknowledgement prizes were presented to Sheila Kennedy and J Frano Violich of Kennedy & Violich Architecture of Boston for the Chrysanthemum Building; architects Nader Tehrani and Katherine Faulkner of NADAAA in Boston for the renovation and extension of the University of Toronto’s John H Daniels building; a public park and interactive wall for urban revival in Seattle by Paris-based ABF-lab architects; and to Peter and Hadley Arnold of the Arid Lands Institute, Woodbury University for Divining LA, a digital tool for urban design and water-use planning in Los Angeles.

Watch video of all 4 Acknowledgement prize winners