Described by Boston Globe Pulitzer Prize-winning author and architect Robert Campbell, FAIA, as “a glass vitrine at the scale of architecture … a display case for the contents inside,” the Design Research Headquarters Building has been offering passers-by a crystal-clear view of Modern architecture and its accoutrements since the building opened in 1969. Designed by Boston’s BTA Architects Inc. (formerly known as Benjamin Thompson & Associates), the building has been named the 2003 recipient of the AIA Twenty-five Year Award, honoring structures completed 25 to 35 years ago that have maintained both purpose and poise.

Both an instant success and an enduring favorite, the Design Research Headquarters Building, standing proud at its prominent corner of Brattle and Story streets in Harvard Square, offers a classic example of an AIA Twenty-five Year Award winner. “The glass facets of the façade give it the character of a cut jewel,” Campbell wrote. “The building is intended as an example of the kind of good design you’d find in the household articles inside: simple but well and honestly crafted, supporting a joyous life of social and sensual interaction among flowers and bright Marimekko fabrics.”

Tribute to its age
“This building stands as a tribute to the period in which it was created,” wrote Henry S. Reeder, FAIA, in his nomination letter. “Frameless tempered glass sealed in a stepping concrete floor slab produce a language of construction appropriate to the intention of the program. In a city block of brick buildings, it is a landmark glass and concrete structure that is an important reference point in the history of architecture.”

The late Benjamin Thompson designed the structure to house Design Research Inc., a commercial venture he founded in 1953 to offer well-designed fittings and furnishings for sale. He conceived the new 24,000-square-foot building as a three-dimensional “show window” and foil for merchandise. Communicating stairs through open wells allowed customer circulation to flow through the lower three floors, creating a unified, multi-level interior, while neutral and simple finishes enhanced the lines and colors of the wares. Benjamin Thomson and Associates designed all of the original settings.

The exterior of the building breaks the box by combining the play of offset bays and inset diagonal corners. Still today the building’s glass-to-glass corners dazzle, while frameless clear-glass walls seem to disappear, emphasizing the horizontal lines of sandblasted concrete floors. “Multiple glass corners, unobstructed by frames or other articulation, yield a transparency that breaks down the ‘wall’ between shop and street,” write the nominators, “and through its reflections, mirrors the evolving streetscape of Harvard Square.”

BTA closed its Design Research venture in the mid-1970s. Since 1975, the building has served as the East Coast flagship of Crate and Barrel, which, like its predecessor, showcases contemporary furnishings, household goods, and colorful fabrics. The only changes to the retail areas are the addition of wood-strip ceilings, new interior wall surfaces and lighting, and stair treads and rails that have been brought up to code. The upper two floors, which are now offices, use Venetian blinds to temper the transparency so valuable to the original retail space.

Awards galore
Since its inception, the Design Research Headquarters Building has delighted the public, architects, and critics alike. Among its many accolades and awards are:
• 1970 Boston Society of Architects Parker Medal, cosponsored by the City of Boston, which annually honors the most beautiful piece of architecture in the metropolitan area
• 1970 New England AIA Honor Award
• 1971 AIA National Honor Award.

The building also earned listing as a contributor to the Harvard Square Historic District in 1988.

“The building truly meets the criteria of eligibility. Not only is it in ‘substantially completed form and in good condition,’ but it still ‘carries out the original program’ with grace and dignity,” concluded Reeder. “It has remained as a showpiece for modern interior design since its completion.”

The Design Research Headquarters Building will be honored at the American Architectural Foundation’s Accent on Architecture gala March 8 at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C.

Copyright 2003 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.