El nuevo edificio municipal abrió sus puertas a principios de este año. Con un presupuesto de 125 millones de dólares, se proyecta con la intención de ser un catalizador de la hasta ahora descuidada Plaza Dudley y pretende ser un símbolo del barrio, huyendo de la imagen fría y desagradable de los edificios institucionales.

El edificio fue diseñado por el estudio holandés Mecanoo, junto con la firma Sasaki Associates afincada en Estados Unidos. El edificio municipal Bruce C. Bolling de Boston alberga el departamento de Escuelas Públicas de Boston (BPS) y desempeña un papel central en la reactivación del barrio de Roxbury Dudley. El edificio de ocho plantas alberga las oficinas de la escuela pública así como espacios de estudio para estudiantes, eventos educativos y reuniones de la comunidad. En planta baja incluye locales comerciales y el Centro de Innovación de Roxbury.

Descripción del proyecto por Mecanoo

Como testimonio de la visión del último alcalde Thomas M. Menino, el edificio municipal Bruce C. Bolling  se emplaza con orgullo sobre la Plaza Dudley. Fue Menino quien decidió que en la Ciudad de Boston se desarrollase una trama de vital importancia mediante la agrupación de 500 funcionarios del departamento de Escuelas Públicas de Boston en un nuevo edificio de oficinas municipales dedicadas a la educación, junto con un centro comunitario y espacio comercial.

La segunda planta del edificio es la sede del Centro de Innovación de Roxbury, iniciada por el alcalde Martin J. Walsh. El diseño de Mecanoo y Sasaki encarna la visión de la ciudad de un símbolo de cambio, un edificio libremente accesible a todos que celebra la historia de Roxbury inaugurando una nueva era para el barrio. Debido a que cada estudiante y sus padres en el estado visitará el BPS al menos una vez, el edificio está diseñado para ser amigable, positivo y de inspiración para la gente de todas las edades.

Desafía lo que es un edificio de oficinas, proponiendo nuevas formas de trabajo y la promoción de la colaboración y la transparencia a través de un diseño abierto. Las fachadas históricas existentes de los edificios Ferdinand, Curtis y Waterman han sido ampliamente restauradas y tejidas en un edificio nuevo y brillante.

Haciendo referencia a estos edificios históricos, el volumen central del nuevo centro municipal también encarna un acercamiento consagrado al oficio de la construcción. Como un edificio bostoniano con un toque holandés, una interpretación contemporánea de la estratificación clásica se manifiesta en la fábrica de ladrillo que abarca una serie de diferentes  técnicas de albañilería desde el aparejo a soga, el horizontal apilado y el aparejo a soga vertical continuo. Dentro de la fachada de ladrillo hay elementos en relieve, que se arrojan sombras los unos a los otros en un ritmo juguetón. Debido a las propiedades vítreas del ladrillo, la fachada refleja la luz de diferentes maneras dependiendo de las condiciones meteorológicas.

Diseñado para tener un zócalo transparente en la planta baja, conocida como la "Nueva Plaza Dudley"  y un remate superior a modo de faro, la forma del edificio se remite a la trama urbana.

Los visitantes también podrán maravillarse en el quinto piso con la terraza de la azotea, de forma única y accesible a todos, ofrece vistas de la metrópoli hacia el centro y de la bahía a lo lejos, suponiendo el renacer de la plaza de Dudley en un punto neurálgico de la ciudad de Boston.

CREDITOS. FICHA TÉCNICA.-

Arquitecto. Esquipo de diseño.- Mecanoo, Sasaki associates.
Paisajismo e ingeniería civil.- Sasaki Associates, Watertown, MA/US.
Asesor de preservación histórica.- Building Conservation Associates, Dedham, MA/US.
Ingeniería.- Arup, Cambridge, MA/US.
Consultor de iluminación.- Lam Partners, Cambridge, MA/US.
Constructora.- Shawmut Design and Construction, Boston, MA/US.
Gestor del proyecto.- PMA Consultants, Braintree, MA/US.
Cliente.- Ayuntamiento de Boston.
Superficie.- 16,700 m2.
Estado.- Completado (2012 - 2015)
Programa.- LEED Silver office building for Boston Public Schools integrating historic buildings and facades with community space and retail.
Dirección.- Dudley Square Main Street, Boston, USA. 

 

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Francine Houben (Holland 1955) began formulating the three fundamentals of her lifelong architectural vision while studying at the Delft University of Technology. It was in this crucible of higher learning that she began an architectural practice with two fellow students with the design of a groundbreaking social housing development. As a result, she graduated as architect with cum laude honours in 1984 and officially founded Mecanoo architecten with these same partners.

Francine has remained true to her architectural vision, Composition, Contrast, Complexity throughout her career. Always looking for inspiration and the secret of a specific location, Francine bases her work on both analyses and intuition. She enjoys interweaving social, technical, playful and humane aspects together in order to form a unique solution to each situation. Francine Houben combines the disciplines of architecture, urban planning and landscape architecture in an untraditional way; with sensitivity for light and beauty.

Her use of material is expressive. She is known as one of the most prolific architects in Europe today. Her wide-ranging portfolio comprises an intimate chapel built on the foundations of a former 19th century chapel in Rotterdam (2001) to Europe’s largest library in Birmingham (2013). Francine Houben’s work reveals a sensory aspect determined by form and space, a lavish use or subtle combinations of the most diverse materials, as well as planes of saturated colour. Francine’s contribution to the profession of architecture is widely recognized. She was granted lifelong membership to the Akademie der Künste, Berlin in 2010.

In 2008, she received the Veuve Clicquot Business Woman of the Year Award. Honorary fellowships to the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada, and an international fellowship to the Royal Institute of British Architects were granted to her in previous years. The past three decades have seen her cumulative effect on the profession of architecture. Francine lectures all over the world and takes part as a jury member in prestigious competitions.

Her commitment to research and education is evidenced in her instatement as professor in Architecture, Chair of Aesthetics of Mobility at the Delft University of Technology (2000), her professorship at the Universitá della Svizzera Italiania, Accademia di architettura, Switzerland (2000) and her appointment as visiting professor at Harvard (2007). Dedication to her alma mater is reflected in generous sponsorship of the UfD-Mecanoo Award for the best graduating student of the Delft University of Technology.

Francine Houben lives in Rotterdam, a modern city where the skyline is dotted with buildings designed by world renowned architects; including her award winning Montevideo Skyscraper (2005). It was in this dynamic city that she directed and curated the First International Architecture Biennale Rotterdam (2003), with the theme, ‘Mobility, a room with a view’. She has realised numerous signature projects throughout the Netherlands and Europe including Philips Business Innovation Centre, FiftyTwoDegrees in Nijmegen, (2005-2006), La Llotja Theatre and Conference Centre in Lleida, Spain (2009) and the Delft University of Technology Library (1999). Currently, she is expanding her architectural vision to other continents with the design of Taiwan’s largest theatre complex, The Wei-Wu-Ying Center for the Arts in Kaohsiung (2014), Dudley Municipal Center in Boston (USA) and Shenzhen Cultural Center (China). In 2011 the book Dutch Mountains was released, a chronicle of Francine Houben and eight special projects in five different countries.

Francine maintains an active presence in academia and culture, regularly publishing and giving lectures worldwide. She has performed in many academic and professional capacities throughout her career, including Chair of Architecture and Aesthetics of Mobility at Delft University of Technology, visiting professor at Harvard Graduate School of Design, and as director of the First International Architecture Biennale in Rotterdam.

Francine has received honorary fellowships from the Royal Institute of British Architects, the American Institute of Architects and the Royal Architectural Institute of Canada. In 2014 Francine was named Woman Architect of the Year by the Architects’ Journal and in November 2015 Queen Máxima of The Netherlands presented Francine with the Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds Prize for her wide-ranging career. Francine was awarded Honorary Doctorates from the Université de Mons, Belgium (2017) and the Utrecht University (2016).

“Architecture must appeal to all the senses. Architecture is never a purely intellectual, conceptual, or visual game alone. Architecture is about combining all the individual elements into a single concept. What counts in the end is the arrangement of form and emotion.”

Francine Houben, architect/creative director Mecanoo Architecten.

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