Capacity Enhancement – Michael’s Deli of Coolidge Corner

Posted on May 28, 2013 by xchangearch

What you see is what you get at Mike’s – image courtesy Michael’s Deli

For those who may not be familiar with the notorious “dining-in experience” at Mike’s Deli at 256 Harvard Street in Brookline, across the street from the Coolidge Corner T Station (hint – refer to the Yelp reviews of this place prior to May 2012…), this will soon be the stuff of urban legend and Brookline restaurant lore as we are delighted to be assisting the new management – led by hospitality veteran, Steven Peljovich – in updating the restaurant’s seating capacity this month.

We encourage restaurant operators to review occupancy permits prior to renewal to ensure that their businesses have the seating capacity that they are entitled to. In permitting restaurants in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, there is a confluence (and sometimes, confusion) of building codes and guidelines that affect the determination of the total allowable seating capacity in the customer dining area – including but not limited to 780 CMR – State Building Code (currently in its 8th Ed, with concurrence with the IBC), 521 CMR – State Accessibility Code (Massachusetts Architectural Access Board) and 248 CMR – Uniform State Plumbing Code. In some municipalities, additional restaurant seating may also trigger an increase in off-street parking requirements. When exploring seating changes, consider consulting your local design professional to identify and weigh the implications of your design alternatives.

Congratulations are in order to Steven and his team on their successful inaugural year here in Coolidge Corner.

Proposed Indoor Customer Seating Plan – 256 Harvard Street

All photographs, images and drawings copyright XChange Architects LLC, unless otherwise noted.

Brookline’s Marathon Gateway: St. Mary’s

Posted on April 13, 2013 by xchangearch

With the Boston Marathon less than 48 hours away, we are bracing for both the exhilaration and logistical insanity of the race on Monday. One of the most intriguing aspects of the Marathon is its immediate and palpable urban intensity – transforming your everyday main street into the hub of the universe for a day.

One of our main corridors here in the Town of Brookline, Beacon Street, is one such destination along the Marathon route that becomes flooded with a sea of humanity on Marathon Monday. As the final Brookline gateway before the final mile and a half of the Marathon, the St. Mary’s neighborhood, in particular, provides a uniquely dramatic backdrop for the final push: characterized by throngs of supporters (many from nearby Boston University) and the emergence of myriad large-scale graphics and banners, similar to the ones on the left and below at the St. Mary’s MBTA “T” stop.

INSPIRATION – the supergraphic advertisement at the St. Mary’s T Stop during the 2012 Marathon.

We’ve always wondered if there was a way we could capture the excitement of Marathon Monday and somehow make it a permanent part of the urban fabric of this neighborhood. The kinetic energy of movement – runners, cars, and trains – at St. Mary’s is a key design theme in our streetscape study for the Economic Development Department in the Town of Brookline. In 2012, XChange Architects was invited to assist the Town Economic Development staff in a concept-level urban design charrette to help imagine the possibilities to enhance the commercial vibrancy of the St. Mary District by rethinking existing streetscape elements.

As a threshold between the Town of Brookline and the Fenway District of Boston, we propose a public art installation for St. Mary’s in the form of a pair of large-scale directional signage that celebrates this sense of movement; borrowing from Fenway green while taking scalar clues from Marathon supergraphics.

All photographs, images and drawings copyright Blair Hines Design Associates and XChange Architects LLC, unless otherwise noted.

Smallest Whole Foods Store Opens in Brookline: Saint Mary’s Re-imagined?

Posted on April 12, 2013 by xchangearch

The smallest branch of the Whole Foods empire opened yesterday morning in the St. Mary’s Commercial District in Brookline, Massachusetts. In replacing the old Johnnie’s Fresh Market, a neighborhood favorite (disclaimer: our previous studio was a mere 2 blocks away from the store), the new addition elicited a healthy debate about change, vibrancy, and the quality of community character in the commercial districts in Brookline. Whatever your opinion of WF may be, there is no question that the new store will generate considerable foot traffic to the area, which serves as a vital eastern gateway to the City of Boston – directly abutting Audubon Circle in the Fenway.

XChange Architects was invited by the Economic Development Department in the Town of Brookline in 2012 to assist in a concept-level urban design charette with commercial area stakeholders and the Brookline Chamber of Commerce to help imagine the possibilities to enhance the commercial vibrancy of the St. Mary District by rethinking existing streetscape elements: wayfinding components, street fixtures, storefront interfaces, edge conditions, and the inter-relationship between the Commercial District and the MBTA above-ground “T” station.

PUBLIC ART – a site art concept using colorful footprints to literally map pedestrian foot traffic to highlight the MBTA platform’s role as a bridge in this neighborhood

STOREFRONTS – a potential storefront renovation concept for The Wine Press

STREET FURNITURE – a concept to provide modular retractable street furniture to subdivide public and private sidewalk spaces along Beacon Street in order to activate the deep, underutilized sidewalks on Beacon Street.

MBTA SUBWAY PLATFORM INTEGRATION THROUGH SITE INSTALLATIONS – a series of landscape interventions and site art installations were explored to improve the metering and flow of T customers accessing the platform

Design Collaborator:

Landscape Architect – Blair Hines Design Associates

All drawings, images, and photos are the copyright of Blair Hines Design Associates and XChange Architects LLC, unless otherwise indicated.

Coolidge Corner Theater Expansion: Connecting the Past, Present & Future

Posted on April 10, 2013 by xchangearch

Earlier in March, The Coolidge Corner Theater Foundation (CCTF) announced their intention to expand their current facilities into an easement area and surface parking lot with portions of this area belonging to the Town of Brookline. The CCTF will be seeking Town Meeting support in May to vote on a set of warrant articles that will allow the Coolidge to build on that easement and parking area at the rear of the theater, facing the Centre Street parking lot. A Town vote in the affirmative will allow the CCTF and their consultants to conduct more detailed planning and design studies for a proposed rear theater expansion that will result in a third major auditorium at the Coolidge. For more information on Warrant Articles 19-21, please refer to the Town of Brookline website – http://www.brooklinema.gov/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=275&Itemid=270

View of the existing Coolidge Corner Theater alleyway which connects vibrant Harvard Street to the Centre Street surface parking facility.

During the observation of the 75th Anniversary of the Coolidge Corner Theater, the CCTF retained XChange Architects, through an invited competition in 2009, to further develop a weather protection canopy concept to activate the theater’s existing alleyway into a safe and inviting area for customer queueing.

INSPIRATION: A view of the main cinema with the “Coolidge” logo cast onto the theater curtain.

Our concept envisages the canopy as a projection device that captures the movement of the sun throughout the day to create a dynamic and inviting public space. The canopy features perforated metal screens on the underside that project shadows of the Coolidge logo onto the alleyway; resulting in serendipitous branding and place-making for the Coolidge.