AUSTIN, TX – Austin, TX (December 11, 2008) – In their meeting today, the Austin City Council selected the team of Shepley Bulfinch and Lake|Flato to design the city’s new $90 million Central Library.

With 250,000 sf of space, the new library wil more than double the space of the city’s 110,000 sf John Henry Faulk Central Library, which was built in 1979.

As part of the design process, Austin Public Library in conjunction with the Library Commission and the Austin Public Library Foundation will actively seek citizen input through a series of public design charrettes. The library is scheduled to open in mid-2014.

AUSTIN, TX – The architecture team of Lake|Flato and Shepley Bulfinch was one of three finalists to present to Austin City Council on October 23 for the design and construction of the city’s new 250,000 sf Central Library.

Austin’s daily e-newswire, In Fact News, reported: “Few firms represent the organic Hill Country feel of architecture better than Lake|Flato… [And] it’s not surprising that Lake|Flato would feature sustainable strategies front and center in its library plans… The location of the library, on a key block right on Lady Bird Lake, plays well to Lake|Flato’s strengths… In its presentation to Council, the firm spoke of architecture rooted to the land with seamless ...[more]

NORTHBORO, MA – Saint-Gobain today broke ground on a new facility to expand the French company’s Research and Development Center in central Massachusetts. Company representatives and state and local officials were among those participating in the ceremony.

Shepley Bulfinch designed the 61,000 s.f. building to promote collaboration among research teams and to encourage innovation and creativity. It is being built using Saint-Gobain building products, including window glass, ceilings, wallboard, insulation, roofing and foundation products.The building is targeting LEED Silver certification from the US Green Building Council.

The Northboro site is the largest of Saint-Gobain’s worldwide research centers. Paris-based Saint-Gobain is the world’s largest manufacturer and distributor of building materials, ...[more]

Shepley Bulfinch’s open and collaborative Boston office and design studio wins kudos in the newly published book, Innovations in Office Design: The Critical Influence Approach to Effective Work Environments, by Diane Stegmeier (John Wiley & Sons, Inc).

The firm’s Seaport District office is cited as an exemplar of workplace design, inspiring collaboration, information exchange, and the generation of new ideas. Attention is drawn to the office’s clustering spaces for scheduled and spontaneous interaction, where staff members cross paths while arriving for a planned project meeting, an impromptu team brainstorming session, or a casual one-on-one dialogue. The open environment fosters a culture in which Shepley staff can easily leverage the creativity ...[more]

The flexibility and openness of Shepley Bulfinch’s LEED-certified Boston office was heralded in a front-page article in today’s Banker and Tradesman.

The feature, by columnist and Boston Architectural College professor Jeff Stein, applauded the mobility and horizontal organization of the office, which is designed to foster a collaborative environment and reconfiguration of staff as project demands require. The office, located in Boston’s Seaport District near the World Trade Center, was awarded LEED-CI Silver certification earlier this year.

The office will be on show next May, when Boston hosts the National Convention of the American Institute of Architects. Shepley Bulfinch is a convention sponsor.

Six Shepley Bulfinch projects were among those showcased in the 2007 edition of Real Estate and Construction Review’s New England edition, published in October.

The projects that were highlighted were:

Amherst College, James and Stearns Residence Halls (Amherst, MA): Reconstruction of residence halls on historic quad

Dana Hall School, Shipley Athletic Center (Wellesley, MA): new athletic and student center

Harvard Business School, Baker Library (Boston, MA): renovation and expansion. Library programming, in association with Robert M Stern, prime architect

Keene State College, Zorn Dining Commons (Keene, NH): New campus dining facility

Redwood Library and Athenaeum (Newport, RI): restoration and renovation of historic library

Worcester Trial Court (Worcester, MA): new six-court judicial complex

Worcester, MA – The new Worcester Trial Court has opened to rave reviews, according to an article in today’s Worcester Telegram & Gazette. With the first of a series of staged moves from the old court facility to the new one, Worcester’s Juvenile and Housing Courts went into session on Monday.

The six-story building, which has 26 courtrooms, will eventually also house the Superior, Central District, Probate and Family Courts. The building’s design incorporates a range of sustainable features which will result in significant energy savings, and is considered a model for the state.

Worcester, MA – The recently completed Worcester Trial Court was among projects recognized in a feature on sustainable design that appeared today in the Worcester (MA) Telegram and Gazette.

The article made reference to the Action Plan for Green Buildings in Massachusetts State Construction Projects, published by the Massachusetts Executive Office of Environmental Affairs and Division of Capital Asset Management in October 2006. The report cited the new Worcester Courthouse for its many sustainable design features, including .

Sustainable design features of the courthouse, include lighting, with designs that use natural light, and light and motion sensors, sophisticated heat exchange technology in its ventilation system, and other ‘green’ technologies.

The new ...[more]