Boston High Perfomance Retrofit

Boston High Performance Retrofit

Boston, MA

Cost-effective energy upgrade strategies for iconic triple deckers of Boston.

The Challenge
To generate ideas for decarbonizing triple deckers.

Boston HiP offers a unique solution to the Boston housing market by providing highly sustainable, elegant and affordable homes that contribute to the scale and texture of the surrounding neighborhoods. Our approach to the 3+ Retrofit portion of this design challenge is to take the many strengths of the triple decker home and combine them with a prefabricated modular townhouse that complements these attributes.

Recognition
MassCEC 2021 Runner-Up

We sited our three-story modular townhouses to purposely continue the street wall, contributing to the pedestrian scale and local vernacular. Similarly, we elevated the ground floor in order to provide a continuation of elevated semi-private porches that are characteristic to these neighborhoods. We believe that the combination of increased density with the support of the porch culture will further activate the neighborhood and will contribute to Jane Jacob’s concept of “eyes on the street” which promotes community and safety.

We have also proposed a network of shared circulation paths, gardens for the tenants. Gardens have the ability to increase physical activity, promote relaxation with the final result of beautifying our yards. For many gardening goes beyond these simple goals as food security becomes an increasingly important issue. Having access to a garden brings a reliable source of healthy food while saving money. Planted on the roof of the new modular townhouses is an extensive green roof that has the ability to capture 475 gallons of water per 1” of rainfall, reducing storm water runoff while creating a habitat for wildlife.

In summary, we believe it has become our generation’s challenge to reevaluate how we interface with our environment and have committed our own work to this philosophy. As architects, we accomplish this by rethinking traditional building materials and construction techniques to provide our clients with projects that are sustainable, beautiful and resilient. We think that Boston HiP offers a solution to a deep energy upgrade of an historical building type, while addressing the apartment shortage in Boston in a form that fosters community and improves the streetscape.