Foundry | Cambridge - Massachusetts | 2022

Architects: CambridgeSeven
Design Team: Stefanie Greenfield, Justin Crane, Danielle McDonough, and Wonyeop Seok
General Contractor: W.T. Rich Company
Client: City of Cambridge
Photographers: Anton Grassl

The East Cambridge neighborhood in Cambridge, Massachusetts, has been transformed over the past decade by a major life science and biotechnology boom. What was once a modest, working-class neighborhood of mid-rises has become a global destination with expansive developments to accommodate students, researchers and product innovators. For this very reason, city leaders and long-time residents saw an increasing need to claim a pocket of the historic district, formerly the Blake & Knowles Steam Pump Works industrial campus, and provide a creative community venue to fulfill the needs of local residents and small businesses.

The City of Cambridge targeted the renovation of a retired steam pump manufacturing facility that had undergone several renovations over the past 130 years, but had been sitting vacant for most of the 21st century. A new cohort - The Foundry Consortium - was formed to craft the goals and vision of this new space. Working with the Cambridge Redevelopment Authority, the City of Cambridge, local artists and activists, and the architects at CambridgeSeven, The Foundry took shape over many collaborative work sessions. Lively, creative community engagement and research, from neighborhood listening sessions to all-ages brainstorming workshops to economic and demographic investigations, resulted in a dynamic and unique program for the future of this underutilized historic resource: youth workforce training, group studio space for local artists, and community gathering space open to the public. Individual workshops include a food lab and test kitchen, maker spaces, textile, metalsmith, and carpentry workshops, a dance studio and a flexible performance space. Private leasable office spaces help provide revenue to fund the Foundry’s public amenities.

CambridgeSeven harnessed the architectural history of the building to create an inviting and innovative design that integrates and restores the building’s historic wood structure, detailing, masonry shell, and original fenestration. By opening the stacked floor design, the new layout celebrates the heart of the atrium triple-height space that more closely resembles the original steam pump factory, providing visual and physical connection among the workshops and forming a central gathering and event space serving the community. This approach encourages cross-pollination of shared creativity and a sense of ownership and empowerment for locals.

Alongside the restored Foundry building is a publicly accessible yard with seating and bike storage for visitors and employees. The street in front of the Foundry was previously neglected and unwelcoming. This project widened the street and resurfaced it with decorative pavers so it can be shared by vehicles, pedestrians and cyclists; inserted new planters and rain gardens for stormwater control and phosphorous removal; and installed street furniture and lighting to increase the area’s safety and accessibility. The decision to reuse an existing building substantially cuts this project’s environmental footprint by reducing the embodied carbon that comes with new material use.

The building uses ultra-low-energy mechanical systems and high-efficiency energy recovery systems. Increased insulation and high-performance glass improve building performance and allow ample daylight into most interior spaces. The new design enhances the Foundry’s climate resiliency by lifting the building’s program and equipment above the projected base flood elevation for 2070. The design also reduces automobile use by providing excellent bicycle facilities, which replaced all onsite automobile parking and encourage the use of the area’s extensive public transportation.

CambridgeSeven is working with the City of Cambridge to create a self-guided tour for tenants and visitors that highlights the sustainable features of the building including the environmental benefits of preservation. The design also incorporates an interpretive historical exhibit designed by CambridgeSeven that celebrates the building’s architectural history as well as the role it played in the women’s labor movement. Telling the story of the transition and struggle of women to gain their rightful place in labor, the From Steam to STEAM, graphic narrates how immigrant women working in the Foundry played an important part in achieving the first minimum wage law for women in the country as passed by the Massachusetts legislature, and the important role women now play in the STEAM (Science Technology Engineering Arts and Math) disciplines.