Project

Redesigning a Former Church to Resurrect Community

Gothic to glassy modern, merging two styles builds a new relationship

The Lucas at 136 Shawmut Avenue

Client - New Boston Ventures
Boston, MA

Rising in Boston’s South End, this church turned condominium mixes the craftsmanship of the past with modern amenities for a new style of urban living. Our design stabilized the historic façade, removed the roof, and fit eight stories of units with a variety of interesting floor plans into the Gothic shell. The structure of bold steel and glass rises out of massive stone walls, respecting the architectural and tectonic qualities of the original edifice while breathing new life into the neighborhood.

Click here to read more about The Lucas in the Boston Sunday Globe.

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Size
82,877 SF
Scope
Renovation, Addition, Adaptive Reuse
Program
Renovation, Addition, Adaptive Reuse
Sustainability
Awards
2018 AIA New England, Merit Award for Design Excellence
2018 Engineering News Record, Best Projects Award of Merit Residential/Hospitality
In the news
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Project EUI
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“This is a confident, legible, individual chunk of architecture. By banging together two eras and two kinds of construction, it subtly celebrates the diversity of the neighborhood and the city.”
Robert Campbell, FAIA in Architectural Record, March 2018
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The badly deteriorated roof and interiors of the 1874 German Trinity Catholic Church were removed, while the granite and puddingstone masonry shell was stabilized and restored.

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Transformative design connects steel buttresses to stone ones below.