58 Glen Coop
A 100 year old triple-decker, now cooperatively owned by friends in Jamiaca Plain is going through a deep energy retrofit and decarbonization process. All gas infrastructure has been replaced by electric heat pump systems, new cavity insulation, and targeted air sealing. A new ‘core wall’ forms the basis for a 21st century hearth of custom millwork closets, bookshelves, and backdrops to the colorfully adorned interior.
Boston, MA
In Construction
3 Homes
2022—Ongoing
Inefficient closets and wardrobes are transformed into a new centralized ‘core wall’ clad in warm birch wood casework. The volume acts as an orienting device and home for clothes, books, utilities and infrastructure.
Some remnants of the existing non-bearing walls were removed, while others were stripped to the studs and left bare as a both an architectural memory and functional room divider.
Within the building wood stud sizes vary in dimension and grain density. Working within the old balloon framing and re-using studs became a design/build constraint in order to save carbon and build spatial character.