Jefferson Park Apartments

Architect: Abacus Architects + Planners

Owner: Jefferson Park Apartments, LLC

Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

Category: Multifamily Housing (category three)

Cambridge Housing Authority residents are supported by a physical environment that provides privacy, a sense of community, connections to nature and places to play and gather.

Jefferson Park replaces public housing built in 1951. A local street is extended across Rindge Avenue into the heart of the community, knitting Jefferson Park into the neighborhood fabric. Four landscaped courtyards line this central spine, with walkways, landscaping, terraces and yards creating a carefully articulated gradation of space from public to private. The glass-wrapped community spaces lining the avenue offer places for meetings and classes.

Two story townhouses over one story flats are the primary building block. Flats have landscaped patios; stairs lead up to townhouse terraces and entries, giving every apartment its own doors and identity. To maintain a high density and quality of life two elevator buildings with patios and balconies anchor opposite corners of the site.

The massing, articulated with recessed terraces, stairs, pergolas, screens and south facing roofs uses a cross-cultural architectural language of solids and voids, horizontals and verticals, natural materials and bright colors.

Additional information

Developer/Manager: Cambridge Housing Authority

Landscape Architect: Stantec, Inc.

Engineer - Civil: Allen & Major Associates, Inc.

Engineer - MPFP: Norian/Siani Engineering, Inc.

Engineer - Electrical: Nangle Engineering, Inc.

Engineer - Structural: Lin Associates, Inc.

Engineer - Geo-technical: McPhail Associates, LLC

Engineering Consultant - Security: Safer Places, Inc.

Consultant - Specifications: Collective Wisdom Corporation

Consultant - Hazardous Materials: ATC Group Services LLC

Consultant - Building Envelope and Roofing: Russo Barr Associates, Inc.

Consultant - Waste Management and Recycling: GreenGoat

Consultant - Energy and Green Communities: CleaResult Consulting, Inc.

Consultant - Traffic and Parking: Nelson Nygaard Consulting Associates, Inc.

Consultant - Traffic Signalization: World Tech Engineering LLC

Consultant - Code: R.W. Sullivan

Consultant - Radon: Fuss + O'Neill EnviroScience, LLC

Consultant - Lighting: Available Light, Inc.

General Contractor: W.T. Rich Company, Inc.

Jury

Simon Ha, AIA (Jury Chair), Steinberg Hart, Los Angeles, California

Kai-Uwe Bergmann, FAIA, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), New York, New York

Hans Butzer, AIA, Butzer Architects and Urbanism, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma

Mary Cerrone, AIA, Mary Cerrone Architects, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Image credits

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Damianos Photography

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Bruce T. Martin Photography

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David Pollak

Jefferson Park Apartments-07 R

Bruce T. Martin Photography

Jefferson Park Apartments-06 R

Damianos Photography