Project Description
Located at 1282 Boylston Street in Boston’s historic Fenway Park district, a dense and highly sought-after urban village, the transportation-friendly Viridian development is a center for modern living that epitomizes the “new Boston.”
Comprising residential and commercial spaces as well as a Fenway neighborhood community center, the Viridian provides accommodations for professionals, students, young families, and empty-nesters moving back into the city. Appealing to area residents’ desire for affordable living spaces, over half of the 342 residential units (including 38 affordable housing units) in the complex’s two towers are 700 square feet or less. Small in size yet big on design, the project’s diverse unit mix meets a variety of price points. “Micro”-type studio units are complemented by 485-square-foot one-bedroom “Metro” units as well as traditional one-, two-, and three-bedroom units.
Viridian’s site along Boylston Street is over 350 feet long. Ten-thousand square feet of continuous ground-level retail space provides the base for two residential towers. Highly articulated and transparent at the pedestrian scale, a large three-story opening marks the residential entry into a contemporary “living room” lobby that engages Boylston Street. Below-grade parking provides space for 290 vehicles and over 300 bicycles.
Responding to local neighborhood associations’ concerns about context, the owner/design team conceived the steel-framed complex in multiple volumes that ease the transition from historic low-rise buildings nearby to the new towers. These volumes include zinc and glass bays along with a ceramic tile rainscreen of varying textures, colors, and glazed accents designed to read at a variety of human and urban scales.
LEED Gold registered, the project includes energy-efficient mechanical systems, environmentally responsible materials, and easily-accessible bicycle storage.