Welcome Boston Design Week, and Welcome Home Mr. Otis!
In January, MCLD happily accepted an invitation from Design New England magazine and Historic New England to join esteemed architect, Patrick Ahern, and preeminent interior designer, Steven Favreau, in a program geared towards celebrating the City’s first annual “Boston Design Week.” The 10-day citywide festival is meant to increase the public’s awareness and appreciation of all aspects of design, foster recognition of the vital role design plays in our lives, and bring new audiences to a wide array of design industries and organizations. We are honored to participate in what we hope will become a yearly celebration of the amazing talent and magnificent venues throughout our incredible City!
The task was to “reimagine and reinterpret” a historic Beacon Hill mansion, The Otis House, for modern day living. The prominent Federal-style, brick home was built in 1796 for Harrison Gray Otis, (onetime Mayor of Boston), and stands today as a wonderful landmark reflecting the early history of Beacon Hill. Each firm was asked to imagine a modern-day Mr. Otis as our client, and the goal for each team was to merge the historic relevance of the property with the realities of a 2014 lifestyle for a family with extravagant taste and unlimited resources. Talk about a fun client and awesome project, right? In short, Molly Campbell and Gail Ravgiala from Design New England said, “let your imaginations run wild, and………. you have an unlimited budget!”
We treated this like a real client, and real project from the start. The existing property is stunning, and provided immediate inspiration. With the help of one of my incredibly talented designers, Julia Rose Sim, we developed an elaborate masterplan that fuses old and new, resulting in a series of luxurious outdoor garden rooms. Every move carefully considers ways to bridge the interior floor plan to the adjacent exterior spaces. A spectacular granite wall retains and elevates the front of the property above the hustle and bustle of busy Cambridge Street, and there were excellent opportunities to develop areas for the client to enjoy both sun and shade, year round.
Our proposal includes the addition of an elegant outdoor living room and entry court, embellished with linear bands of gorgeous reclaimed granite paving, and a custom granite and blackened stainless steel water feature surrounded by lush native plantings! An underutilized internal courtyard with a fantastic 4-story brick wall at the heart of the property becomes a porous, peastone dining court, and we incorporated a rainwater capture system that would collect storm water from the building’s roof that would be used for irrigation. We converted an empty roof area into a verdant green roof, and designed a vegetated vertical wall that spans all four stories with a vibrant tapestry of hardy perennials. Our renderings include a night scene that illuminate the planted wall—brace yourselves, because the wall would be visible from the street, and we guarantee it would be a traffic stopper! Last but not least, we included a cobblestone parking court, an herb and veggie court off the kitchen, and a 900-square-foot activity lawn. The modern-day Otis House incorporates many green and sustainable design concepts, and becomes a private urban oasis for a prominent modern family in the heart of historic Boston.
Both presentations on March 26th were completely sold out, and we shared an excellent day with our accomplished and talented peers. Thank you so much to both Design New England and Historic New England for inviting us to participate in such a fun and creative process for Boston Design Week. We hope to see you again in 2015 and beyond!
