Charlestown, MA CBT, an award-winning, internationally recognized planning and design firm, has signed a lease spanning 40,000 s/f of indoor space and 10,000 s/f of outdoor space at One Constitution Wharf, owned by Jamestown L.P., for the site of its new headquarters. Featuring generous outdoor space, public connections to local parks, and engagement with the waterfront and Boston’s famed Harborwalk, One Constitution Wharf will house CBT’s 200 design professionals on one floor for the first time in the firm’s 54-year history.
“Moving to our new headquarters will allow us to push the next generation of our office and the way we do our work. It will afford CBT a way to experiment for the future, explore dynamic ways of communicating with our clients, and totally rethink the way we practice,” said David Nagahiro, principal and president at CBT. “We will be advancing our creative practice and how we design; it’s a very different day than it was before. The pandemic ended up being a catalyst for the way that our firm works, and this move is a way for us to rethink everything.”
As the world embarks upon new ways of living, working and creating as a result of the global health crisis, the new office will embody CBT’s core tenets of connection, equity and resilience, while prioritizing employee wellbeing through generous access to the outdoors, fresh air and natural light. The office will also be a hybrid ecosystem for remote and in-office work, deploying future-forward workplace design and technological approaches to elevate creativity and collaboration across multiple settings.
In addition to addressing essential workplace needs, CBT will utilize One Constitution Wharf as a working laboratory, design workshop, and space for co-creation. The new headquarters will include an expanded maker space, photo and video studio, and areas for industry collaboration and innovation. The office’s proximity to the Harbor will also enable the firm to study interactions between the built environment and the tides, informing CBT’s world-renowned work in resiliency.
“We will be experimenting with this new workspace and enhancing collaboration with our partners. Being on the harbor and experiencing sea level rise firsthand will positively elevate the work we’ve been immersed in for years,” said Alfred Wojciechowski, Senior Principal at CBT. “Our new headquarters will dedicate substantial space to supporting our efforts to advance exploration and collaboration in our industry.”
Over the course of the firm’s 20-year tenure in the Bulfinch Triangle neighborhood, CBT was the architect and designer of many of the projects that defined the area’s transformation into a distinctive neighborhood. These projects include the new Bulfinch Crossing development at Government Center Garage; the Beverly, one of the city’s most celebrated affordable/workforce housing and mixed-use developments; and the transit-oriented residential high-rise Avalon North Station.
CBT has entered a four-year sublease with the opportunity to renew and will move into the space in the first quarter of 2022. Colliers served as the broker for this transaction.
