Viridian, 1282 Boylston Street - Boston, MA

Boston, MA Bruner/Cott & Associates, a design firm with emphasis on large institutional projects and urban development, has completed of The Viridian, a $200 million, 350,000 s/f, mixed-used high-rise at 1282 Boylston St. The development is a center for modern living in the city’s historic Fenway Park district, and is part of the transformation a one story retail strip to a smart-growth, transit-oriented neighborhood.

Small in size, big on design, the building’s apartment layouts shift the emphasis from large personal space to community and amenity venues. Over half of the 342 units are 700 s/f or less, with “Micro” studio units and one-bedroom “Metro” units as well as traditional one, two, and three-bedroom units. Thirty-eight of the units meet affordable housing requirements. This unit mix supports a diverse population from graduate students to empty-nesters.

The Viridian’s 350-foot-long street plane is highly activated, with 10,000 s/f of neighborhood retail space that provides the base for its two residential towers and includes a new Fenway Community Center. Highly articulated and transparent at the pedestrian scale, a large three-story opening marks the residential entry into a contemporary “living room” lobby that engages Boylston St. The building’s 20^th floor sky deck offers “a bird’s-eye view of the ballpark from a height more than five times greater than the fabled left-field wall” according to the Boston Globe. Below-grade parking provides space for 290 vehicles and over 300 bicycles.

Responding to local neighborhood associations’ concerns about context, the owner/design team conceived the steel-framed complex in multiple volumes that ease the transition from historic low-rise buildings nearby to the new towers. These volumes include zinc and glass bays along with a ceramic tile rainscreen of varying textures, colors, and glazed accents designed to read at a variety of human and urban scales.

LEED Gold registered, the project includes energy-efficient mechanical systems, environmentally responsible materials, and easily-accessible bicycle storage.

It is the latest of Bruner/Cott’s major residential projects in New England.  

Bruner/Cott & Associates is an architecture and planning firm with a legacy of working in partnership with clients to shape ideas and create memorable spaces. Recipient of the AIA National Honor Award for Design, the practice is highly regarded for successful campus, cultural, and commercial initiatives including: master planning, new construction, the adaptive reuse of mid-century modern buildings, and rehabilitation of historically significant structures. Its seminal projects include: MASS MoCA (North Adams, MA); the reimagined Boston University School of Law complex; and 45 Province, a 31-story, mixed-use residential building in BostonLs historic Midtown Cultural District.