Bruner/Cott Architects has recently completed the renovation of The Speedway in Brighton, Mass. The project is a mixed-use transformation of a 19th-century trotting horse stable and metropolitan park police station and jail on the Charles River. Bruner/Cott worked with Architectural Heritage Foundation (AHF) to preserve and revitalize the complex to stimulate community growth and economic development.
The original 1899 development turned a stretch of tidal mudflats into an interconnected series of public parks. The stables and park offices supported a race track beside the river for bicycle and trotting races. An irregular roofline connects six shingle-style buildings, creating a single-story courtyard, highlighted by arched gable entrances, porches, double hung windows, and wood trim.
The renovated complex now acts as a new gateway to the Allston-Brighton neighborhood, supporting a tenant mix including small retail shops and food vendors, a publicly-accessible community courtyard, a flexible event space, and anchor tenant Notch Brewing’s biergarten and brewery.
Bruner/Cott’s design approach to preservation included the removal of piecemeal garage extensions at historic stable frontages and the reconstruction of lost features including wooden carriage access, sliding barn doors, and an extensive series of carefully restored and replicated windows. Interior plaster was so damaged by a fire and rain that it was removed entirely to add insulation. Stables and a 1940 concrete garage were fitted with recessive glazed fronts and overhead doors to make connections to outdoor gathering spaces.
The buildings were designed to look like they did in 1899, 1904, and 1920 while supporting modern tenants.
Related Stories
| May 3, 2012
NSF publishes ANSI standard evaluating the sustainability of single ply roofing membranes
New NSF Standard provides manufacturers, specifiers and building industry with verifiable, objective criteria to identify sustainable roofing products.
| Apr 30, 2012
KBE Building completes renovation at the ConnCAT
The $1.2 million project consisted of a 16,000-sf interior renovation.
| Apr 27, 2012
GreenExpo365.com to offer webinars on EPA’s WaterSense Program
Architects and builders interested in developing water-efficient buildings invited to attend free sessions featuring experts discussing water-efficient building practices.
| Apr 20, 2012
Century-old courthouse renovated for Delaware law firm offices
To account for future expansion, Francis Cauffman developed a plan to accommodate the addition of an 8-story tower to the building.
| Apr 16, 2012
University of Michigan study seeks to create efficient building design
The result, the researchers say, could be technologies capable of cutting the carbon footprint created by the huge power demands buildings place on the nation’s electrical grid.
