Project type: Adaptive Reuse, Renovation or Historic Preservation
Merit
William D. Smith Memorial Commendation Project name: Curley Community Center
Project overview: Built in 1932 as the L-Street Bathhouse, the historic building is central to the urban fabric of South Boston. Purpose-built as a public bathhouse by Mayor James Michael Curley, the Center has been a locus of activity for nearly a century. While beloved, the structure had numerous inequities built into its unique quarter-mile-long linear configuration, including gender segregation within the building and its corresponding beaches, as well as inaccessible connections between building and site. Additionally, its largely opaque facades prevented views to the water, which is its most valuable asset. The re-imagined Curley Center supports modern community-focused programming, and does so while tackling larger issues of transparency, accessibility, safety, equity, and resiliency.
The renovation included restoration work at the historic envelope to ensure better environmental performance. Given the Curley Center’s location within the floodplain, the team tackled complex resiliency measures engineered to protect the historic building in anticipation of sea level rise. These efforts included waterproofing of the slabs and wall, abandoning and sealing the existing basement, installing doors with removable flood barriers, and moving critical building equipment to the upper levels. The design team worked closely with the City of Boston to complete a full interior transformation of the building, so that it may better support contemporary wellness and recreational needs for its tenant, the Boston Centers for Youth and Families.
Project location: Boston, Massachusetts
Firm name: designLAB architects
Architect of Record: designLAB architects
Completion: 2023
Client: Boston Public Facilities Department
Jury comments: The design team thoughtfully incorporated the design excellence measures into this historic restoration, increasing its resilience, energy performance and its ability to serve all of the modern public. This is a wonderful rehab of a building to maintain public access to water. A well executed project with great examples of building adaptation measures for flooding.
Images/Photographer(s): Anton Grassl General Contractor: Charlie Penta, Boston Building & Bridge Civil Engineer: Steven Ventresca, Nitsch Engineering Specifications: Lisa Goodwin Robbins, Kalin Associates Structural: William Faucer, Allied Engineering Mechanical: Anthony Davis, Allied Engineering Electrical: Catherine Faucer, Allied Engineering Plumbing: Anthony Davis, Allied Engineering Acoustics: Jonah Sacks, Acentect Audio Visual: David Bateman, Acentech Interiors: Kelly Ard, designLAB architects Landscaping: Lisa Giersbach, G2 Collaborative Lighting: Sylvie Markiewicz, Allied Engineering
