Hacin + Associates [architecture + design in boston]

We use this blog to post quick updates about people and projects, and to share thoughts, ideas, and photos. For more information about Hacin + Associates including a full portfolio, visit our website at www.hacin.com.

Mayor tours Innovation Center

Mayor Menino toured the Innovation Center this morning, calling it "a place to make connections and to build relationships." The mayor also announced the new name of the building, District Hall, a reference to the central role it will play in the new innovation-centric Seaport District. “This novel approach to promoting and fostering collaboration to create new solutions, new businesses and new industries," said Mayor Menino, "will only further the City of Boston’s role as a global leader in solving the world’s greatest challenges through innovation."

As mentioned in the press release, the 12,000 square foot District Hall will be used for gatherings of startups and entrepreneurs as well as host a restaurant and test kitchen, all designed by our team.

SOURCE: City of Boston, Boston Business Journal

Boston Globe: Demand for Extended Stay Hotels

The Chandler Studios was recently featured in the Boston Globe as an innovative example of a new local extended-stay hotel. Check out the article, "Short term housing needs rise in Boston."

Giving thanks to our great city

On the one-week mark of the Boston Marathon events, H+A commemorates our great city, its authorities, and its emergency response personnel -- through their courageous hard work Boston has taken an important step towards closure and healing from this tragic event.

Image courtesy of  Hairpin Communications. 

Our neighbors, the Boston Children Chorus, gave a moving performance for President Obama at the interfaith service at the Holy Cross Cathedral. We are proud to share the video of "Up To The Mountain" at Boston's Interfaith Service.

If you haven’t yet, please consider making a donation to the
One Fund Boston or purchasing merchandise of the logo above at 
One Heart Boston to help the victims of this tragedy.

Shaping Contested Projects for Tomorrow's Metropolis

David Hacin was pleased to participate in a recent symposium entitled "Shaping Contested Projects for Tomorrow's Metropolis - Public Participation and Design Review" sponsored by Northeastern University and Berlin's internationally renowned Akademie der Kunste [founded in 1696 by Frederich III], as part of the Akademie's "Culture: City" Exhibition Program.

Held on April 9th, 2013 at the Akademie's historic home on Berlin's famed Pariser Platz [renovated by Behnisch, Behnisch + Partner with Werner Durth in 2005], the symposium brought together practitioners, academics and journalists from Boston and Berlin to discuss and compare case study projects in both cities as well as to review each city's public participatory processes.

The Architect's Newspaper: Steeling Beauty

David Tabenken spoke with Nicole Anderson at The Architect's Newspaper regarding our recently completed Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard Study, done with Sasaki Associates. Check out 'Steeling Beauty', below, featured on the front page of this month's edition!

A long stretch along the Allegheny River in Pittsburgh, once home to steel mills, suffered, like so many cities along the Rust Belt, from the decline of local industry. The Allegheny Riverfront Green Boulevard (ARGB) Study, led by Sasaki Associates with the help of Hacin + Associates, seeks to transform this 6.5-mile-long strip from an industrial corridor, filled with vacant tracts of land, into a mixed-use area that provides a robust connection between the existing neighborhood and riverfront.

The Pittsburgh Urban Redevelopment Authority (URA) secured a $1.5 million Partnership for Sustainable Communities grant from the Department of Transportation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development to fund this study. Building on the 2010 Allegheny Riverfront Vision Plan by Perkins Eastman Architects, Sasaki Associates has conceived of a comprehensive plan that focuses on creating access to the Allegheny riverfront, developing parkland and green spaces, designing a bike-path along the railroad, turning the freight rail into a multimodal corridor with commuter rail service, and laying the groundwork for new residential developments and light industry to move into the area.

Continue to full article.