Cambridge, MA

Foundry

Scope/Solutions

After obtaining the Foundry in 2009, the City of Cambridge sought community input on the best use for the property and found strong support for the arts. The city undertook a project to repurpose the 1890 building as a community center focusing on art, science, technology, engineering, and math. The Foundry offers programs and provides leasable workspaces for creators. SGH served as the structural engineer of record and consulted on the building enclosure.

SGH collaborated with the design team for the adaptive reuse of the existing building and construction of a new addition. Highlights of our work include:

  • Evaluating the condition of historic heavy timber roof trusses and roof decking and designing strengthening where needed
  • Assisting the general contractor with the design of temporary bracing for masonry walls after preexisting interior floors were removed and during excavations adjacent to stone masonry foundation walls
  • Designing the following structural elements:
    • Foundations to minimize disturbance of contaminated soils
    • Steel-framed floors within the historic brick masonry structure and a new steel-framed addition
    • A new steel lateral system to resist wind and seismic loads on both the existing structure and the addition, while limiting damage to the historic masonry
    • Steel-framed monumental stair connecting the ground level to second-level spaces
  • Assessing the condition of the existing building enclosure
  • Consulting on repairs to brick masonry walls, windows, flashing, and roofing
  • Conducting site visits, and helping address building enclosure questions and issues during construction

Project Summary

Icon: completion-date

2022

Completion Date
Icon: construction-value

38M

Construction Value
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50K

Project Size
Solutions
New Construction | Repair & Rehabilitation
Services
Building Enclosures | Structures
Markets
Culture & Entertainment | Industrial
Client(s)
Cambridge Seven Associates, Inc.
Specialized Capabilities
Building Design | Repair & Strengthening | Condition Assessments | Preservation

Key team members

Mark Webster
Senior Consulting Engineer
781.907.9369 mdwebster@sgh.com
Matthew Bronski
Senior Principal
781.907.9264 mbbronski@sgh.com

Additional Projects

Northeast

Exeter Street Theater

Hartwell and Richardson designed the Exeter Street Theater in the 1880s as the first Spiritualist Temple in Boston. In 1995, a fire severely damaged the theater. Within twenty-four hours, SGH assessed the damage, developed a stabilization program, and began remedial design.
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