The new buildings will?be built efficiently and sustainably?with cross-laminated timber (CLT) and prefabricated panels. It is a model for how a mixed-income?project can raise up everyone, providing the?same unit layouts, finishes, security, and?amenities?regardless of economics.

Several drivers emerged as powerful?guiding principles alongside our strategies?for urban planning. Our design work for?Bunker Hill shows?the important elements of creating successful mixed-income communities: emphasis on?active participation of community residents?in the design process, developing strong?connections to the history and culture of the?place, and achieving parity in quality of space?and amenities for all residents.

Participation

Successful design solutions emerged?from a?process of thoughtful engagement with the?community, which for Bunker Hill includes?the current residents, the larger Charlestown?neighborhood, and the City of Boston through?the Boston Planning and Development?Agency. From the start, the planning process?was inclusive of the?Charlestown?Residents?Alliance (CRA), which represented the existing?residents. Their voices were critical because?this is?essentially their neighborhood.

It was interesting to hear the residents eschew?brick, for example. It is ubiquitous in Charlestown but brings mostly?negative connotations as it reflects the existing old housing project made up of uniformly brick buildings.?The process also included numerous public?meetings with the wider neighborhood,?the Charlestown historic review board,?and extensive discussions with the?City.?Over several years, this input resulted in a?plan that scaled back the height and total?number of units in the new development,?increased the amount of open space, and?eliminated structured parking garages.

Engagement with the community and City pushed?the development team and us as designers?to produce a more contextual scale and?ultimately a better master plan that the?residents, community, City Hall, and the developer can stand behind.?

Reconnection

Typical of many public housing projects of the?1940s, the existing development at Bunker Hill is characterized by repetitive buildings that have no?relationship to the surroundings, presenting an unwelcoming edge that separates people living?there from the nearby neighborhood. Except for Monument Street, the existing street grid was?erased as it crossed Bunker Hill Street, reinforcing?a sense of isolation for residents.??

Our plan does three things to connect to the?neighborhood.?First, it reconnects and extends the?street grid through the development, organizing all the buildings?along new tree-lined streets. Second, the plan?creates a variety of open spaces that invite?the public in and through the new development. And?third, in place of the blank brick walls of the existing?buildings, the plan features a series of storefronts?along Bunker Hill offering retail opportunities that?will be accessible to lower-income residents and?the wider community of Charlestown.?

There is an?opportunity for the National Park Service to extend?the Freedom Trail from the Bunker Hill Monument?through the Boston Housing Authority development?to the Charlestown Navy Yard, bringing tourists?into the neighborhood to hear stories of how this?area and its immigrant population played a role in?the historical narrative of Boston, from the?American Revolution to now.?

Aesthetics

Charlestown is one of Boston¡¯s most cohesive?historic neighborhoods, with brick and clapboard?street walls that have both variety and a set of?rules regarding windows, doors, bases, tops, and?decorative details. While we did not want to replicate?the existing fabric, we looked at the context and?design principles so that we could connect to the?uniqueness of the place.?

We observed a rhythm of ¡°fabric¡± and ¡°object¡±?buildings with a relationship to open spaces reminiscent?of the dots and dashes in Morse Code¡ªan inspiring coincidence as the inventor?of Morse Code, Samuel Morse, was born?and raised in Charlestown. We¡¯ve applied?that Morse Code to our plan to?create?relationships to the color and quality of?historic buildings and to continue the?texture and rhythm of streets as they?traverse over Bunker Hill and into the?new neighborhood.?

Our goal was to?develop a conversation between the?architecture of the new buildings and?the existing neighborhood. Several?architecture firms will be engaged to?design each of the buildings within this?multi-phased development to ensure a?thoughtful variation in architecture from?block to block.

Parity

To achieve and support 1,100 deeply affordable?housing units, the development increases the?density of the neighborhood and adds housing?for a total of 2,699 units. Market-rate units?will partially subsidize the affordable units to?create the mixed-income project. Three buildings will be entirely affordable housing, with the remaining 12?buildings being a combination of market rate?and affordable. The design makes?no distinction?between market rate and affordable apartments?in terms of finishes, quality standards of?construction, and materials.?

The public-private?partnership will fund future maintenance, open?space, and program events that will help make?this a vibrant part of Charlestown. Our team?designed the multifamily residential buildings?with private outdoor space including courtyards?with seating, dining and grilling areas, pergolas,?and recreation spaces. Parity is paramount.?The same high-quality outdoor spaces are?available to both mixed-income and affordable-housing buildings.

Long-term maintenance will be taken care of?by a management entity through a housing?trust that will no longer need to rely on public-housing funding. This is a critical component?of the public-private partnership that will?ensure that the units, the buildings, and the?open spaces do not deteriorate, making the?project financially resilient over the long haul?for residents of all incomes.?

Sustainability

When we implement a performance-based?set of design criteria known as?Passive House?on projects it results?in highly energy-efficient buildings.?All 15 new buildings at Bunker Hill?will be designed to meet Passive House Institute US?certification¡ªthey will be highly insulated?and outfitted with extremely efficient?mechanical systems, which will result?in an 85% reduction of on-site burning?of fossil fuels and a reduction in pollutant emissions.?

PHIUS certification requires that?these dwellings provide a constant?higher-than-code level of ventilation to bedrooms and living rooms. This?will greatly improve the air quality?of the housing for all residents and?represents a critical move toward?improving public health and wellness?for the most vulnerable.?In terms of reducing greenhouse?gas emissions, all floors will be?constructed of CLT, a durable renewable?building material and one of the only?structural materials that sequesters carbon. By using CLT and limiting?the use of concrete, we reduce the?embodied carbon across the project.

With the knowledge that housing?will continue to be a critical issue?for cities across North America, but?especially in Boston where the high?cost of living is squeezing out the?lower and middle class, we believe?that projects like Charlestown¡¯s?Bunker Hill help to move the?needle toward a more equitable approach to housing. By engaging?with the residents, reconnecting?the site to the neighborhood,?picking up on architectural cues?that create a sense of belonging,?and championing sustainable and?resilient construction techniques,?the project will create an equitable,?resilient, and cohesive community?that will endure for generations.