SHAPING THE EDGE
SCULPTURAL BUILDING RESPONSIVE TO NEIGHBORHOOD CONTEXT
Location
East Boston, MA
Completion Date
Completed | 2024
Size
110,000 SF | 139 Units
Client
Transom Real Estate
Team
Eric Robinson
Ruthie Kuhlman
Zack Kutchin
Katya Stassen
Collaborator
Awards
Description
Bremen 282 is strategically located at the vibrant intersection of East Boston’s lush greenspace and its bustling urban environment, offering an innovative canvas for mixed-use development. The design reflects the neighborhood’s character, which features three-story multifamily homes with distinct volumes, varied rooflines, and carefully chosen materials.
The project includes 139 residential units, with 13 dedicated to artists, along with amenity spaces and active retail on the ground floor that supports the local community. Set back from the property line, the building enhances the pedestrian experience with wide sidewalks and landscaping. Thoughtfully designed walkways elevate the first floor above the FEMA 100-year flood elevation, ensuring resilience against future storms and rising sea levels, while nurturing community engagement and sustainable living.
East Boston is primarily made up of densely built three story, multi-family homes. Using this as a catalyst, the scale of the building is broken down and defined by volumes, roof lines, and changes in material that complement the rhythm of the area.
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RELATED Perspectives
282 Bremen Street Approved by the BPDA
This week, the Boston Planning and Development Agency (BPDA) approved the design of a building aimed at addressing East Boston's housing needs while supporting the area's local artist scene.
The mixed-use development will provide 139 residential units, 13 of which are work/live spaces reserved for artists. The building also provides 2,100+ SF of artist workspace. On the ground level, 3,200 SF of retail space will be able to accommodate a variety of potential new tenants, such as a daycare facility, local market, or restaurant.
282 Bremen Street also includes many upgrades to the public realm—pedestrian and vehicular access, streetscape design, and landscaping. In addition to improving the public right of way, sloped walkways, steps, and ramps have been integrated into the design to allow the first floor of the building increasing the building’s resiliency to future storms and sea level rise.
Bremen secures BCDC Approval
RODE is proud to announce that Bremen Street received approval from the Boston Civic Design Commission, a major milestone for this striking new development facing the Bremen Street Community Park.
Our design takes great care to integrate the scale of a 145-unit building into a dense, existing residential building fabric, while also offering a bold, contemporary vision for the neighborhood. The integration with the community extends to the building program: artist units and maker-space amenities work to sustain the local creative community.
We are especially appreciative of the encouragement voiced by members of the Commission:
This is the kind of the mid-scale project that we should be encouraging all over the city. It's well-crafted architecturally with a variety that is economical and superior to typical residential projects we see in the city. / William Rawn
I'm impressed with how you took a long building that fits into the context without directly imitating. This is a nice project. / Andrea Leers
I commend you on creating something modern and new that is still responsive to the existing neighborhood. You can see the ways the module of triple-deckers in the neighborhood have translated into this design....
...I would like to add that this project should be used as a model for residential projects of this scale that come before the Commission. / Anne-Marie Lubenau
The project will now work to secure approvals from the BPDA, and looks forward to breaking ground later in the year.
