Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | June 27, 2022 | Worcester Business Journal 15 A R C H I T E C T U R E & C O N S T R U C T I O N F O C U S gram offers training. Passive House is all about creating a stronger envelope for a building, including insulation and air tightness, high-performance glazing, and simpli- fied mechanical systems for lower energy use. About a decade ago, sustainability was trendy, Bald- win said. But today, it's a given. "Now everybody's doing it," he said. "You can't find a manufacturer out there that doesn't show how their prod- uct is sustainable. It just comes with the territory now." Climate legislation at the federal, state, and local lev- els are huge influences on architecture today, Crockett said. LPA | Architects is working on the new Doherty Memorial High School in Worcester, which started the design stage around the same time the city was pushing its Green Worcester Sustainability and Resilience Strategic Plan, an initiative emphasiz- ing lowering carbon footprint. "We went through an extensive process to study ways to limit the amount of fossil fuels being used on the site. It's empha- sizing electrification, and hand in hand with that is finding ways to generate energy on the site – in this case, photovol- taics," she said. "We're seeing a lot of really interesting approaches to reducing energy usage and increasing the amount of on-site energy generation. at might be something that people wouldn't necessarily look at a building and discern, but it's an enormous industry." Being sustainable means sourcing nearby materials, Richardson said. A lot of the glazing systems used by Gorman Richardson Lewis come from Connecticut, brick comes from Pennsylvania, granite is sourced from Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Vermont, and wood comes from Canada and Maine. As a material, wood has been especially popular recently, for its du- rability and sustainability, Richardson said. Bamboo is used as an interior material for cabinets and drawers. "We're still designing as energy-efficient a project as possible, using better materials, better insulation, hope- fully some natural ventilation and hopefully some more local materials as well," he said. Bringing something new to something old e new Doherty Memorial High School structure will have a clean, contemporary look with metal panels, brick, and a huge format burgundy tile looking like it's slicing the building in half. e wall of the cafeteria is decked out with a giant world map next to an illus- tration of Massachusetts and a symbol indicating the location of Worcester. It's printed digitally, which means it can be changed over time, Crockett said. e bright colors and modern techniques are quite a contrast from the 1960s building sitting across the way. "It's sitting on a hillside right next to the 1960 version of Doherty, which has a very economical, low-slung, straightforward design," Crockett said. "It's a contrast. In the 1960s, that was cutting edge." Massachusetts, a state with countless old mill build- ings, is no stranger to revamping or reconstructing historical structures. Plenty of former manufacturing plants have been converted into apartments or multi- family units across New England. But when it comes to working with old buildings, the trick is to replicate their beauty with more sustainable and modern materials. For example, in 2016, LPA | Architects completed an extension on the Shrewsbury Public Library. e library, which was built in 1903, needed some upgrades, although Crockett said many town residents wondered aloud at the time if they even still needed a central place to read in the digital age. Still, surveys found a need for a place where kids could go for story hour, and where meetings could be held in a public space. LPA added a 32,000-square-foot extension, with a technology learning center, public computer stations, a multi-purpose room and commons area, and a climate-controlled history room. e expansion was a success, and Crockett said it actually increased library membership. It plays into a trend Crockett said she's noticed since COVID: People want places to gather, and they want spaces that cater to mental well-being. "e use of libraries continues, because people need a place to meet," she said. "Some of them have carved out quiet places, where people can come for reflection. We see a big interest in well-being, in sort of a comprehen- sive, physical, mental kind of way, and it's becoming an interest in terms of facilities we're designing." In the 1980s and 1990s, there was a lot of emphasis on copying Worcester's traditional building style of brick, industrial-esque buildings, decades aer the pro- duction age had ended, Crockett said. Today, she sees more contemporary structures. But still, for a historic structure, like the Shrewsbury library or the Hanover eatre and Conservatory for the Performing Arts in Worcester, there are ways to upgrade them to make them relevant today. "ey have this historic piece to them, and a legacy and a connection to the community in the architecture," Crockett said. "Finding a way to take these jewel boxes and finding how do you make them relevant today without shooting them off to be an archival space that you have to get a key to enter." (Top) Maugel DeStefano Architects tried to infuse an artist atmosphere in the design of The Kiln housing development in Worcester. (Above) LPA seeks contemporary designs for its schools, including Worcester's South High Community School. Notable Worcester buildings and their opening years Worcester City Hall ......... 1898 Union Station ................... 1911 Mercantile Center ........... 1971 DCU Center ..................... 1982 Polar Park ........................ 2021 Sources: City of Worcester, DCU Center, Minor League Baseball PHOTO | COURTESY OF MAUGEL DESTEFANO ARCHITECTS PHOTO | COURTESY OF LPA | ARCHITECTS W

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