Awarded the project based on our innovative approach to historic properties, ThoughtCraft is working with the Town and its’ citizens to craft a vision for three historic properties.

They include a pre-civil war farmstead, a tobacco era homestead, and a turn-of-the century general store with warehouses. Through research and many interviews we’ve uncovered and documented the rich history of each property that tells the story of Cary from 1820 to 1960. Cary is not laden with historic properties like some of the surrounding towns. As such, the redevelopment of these properties will serve to preserve and educate future generations of its rich history, while providing new uses and amenities for citizens to enjoy.

This home is designed with family at its heart. The owners envisioned a space that meets the needs of their young, energetic family and anticipates how those needs will evolve—a forever home that serves as a sanctuary for play, relaxation, and connection.

The home is a series of living pavilions organized around outdoor rooms and courts, each tailored to a specific value of the family: gathering, sport, wellness, relaxation, and nature.  Inside, the home takes on a soft, minimal character, fostering a sense of warmth and comfort as a counterbalance to the hustle of daily life. A restrained material palette of wood, brick, and stone moves fluently from the inside of the home out into the landscape, weaving nature into the family's daily routines.

This home is perched on the land overlooking a wooded lot. It revolves around the warmth of wood and the glow of light to organize the many retirement hobbies of the owners. The spaces are knitted together with a wood wall that moves from the porch, through the living room, entry, kitchen, and up the stairs. Two-story lightwells pull daylight from above, producing a soft glow in the kitchen and master bath. The roofline follows the slope of the land, allowing a workshop below the master suite on one end, and hobby rooms (art, yoga, music) above the garage on the other end. 

How can we make cement board siding, now found everywhere, appear to be a more elegant and special product?

We are constantly rethinking how we use materials. Buildings are composed of wood, glass, concrete, fiber cement board, plastics, composites, metals and many other materials today. We all have associations with materials from our own experiences. Materials can make a space feel warm or cold, light or dark, or tell us we’re in a home or a hospital. They are the background to our daily routines and memories. The same material can appear refined and elegant, or mundane and ubiquitous depending on how it’s used.

One such ubiquitous material is fiber cement board, now used on most residential and multifamily construction because of its very low cost, ease of installation, and low maintenance. There are many different manufactures such as Hardie, Nichiha, CBF Silbonit, but they all feel like paper mache and have the look of flat painted drywall.

PATTERNING: In the Canyon house project, we tested various patterning techniques to break down the standard size and find more appealing proportions and effects. We assimilated patterns to the surrounding landscape to visually blend the material, taking on a more organic appearance. A number of rules were developed in the patterning sequencing, and the addition of color reinforced the organic appearance on the hillside.

STEPPING: In the Balakrishnan project we became more interested in creating visual depth in the material. We tested various ways to offset wood furring behind the fiber cement board for a more elegant effect. Accent landscape lighting can be inserted between panels to accentuate and give function to what otherwise is a blank wall. Careful detailing and execution is critical to the final product.

Re-presenting materials like fiber cement board in ways we don’t typically associate them elevates their appearance and function, while still having the low cost benefits.

How can a brick-and-mortar restaurant emphasize a brand identity?

The concept for Fresh Food Generation’s first brick and mortar space was developed around two driving ideas: garden and graffiti. Reminiscent of the brands emphasis on locally sourced food, the “garden” evokes a connection to nature while the “graffiti” was inspired by the local urban art scene and the owners desire to create a sense of community in a diverse neighborhood. Niches carved into the black stained plywood intervention and a live plant wall layer a rich natural garden aesthetic into the space. A hand painted urban graffiti wall greets customers upon entering the restaurant. These two elements combine to reinforce the essence of the delicious culinary experience rooted in farm to plate ingredients and the street vibe of their food truck origin.

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

One Way Development | TJM Consulting | Deme5

How can we simplify the space of living with an indoor/outdoor experience?

The home creates a central living space within the landscape. With floor to ceiling glass either side, the central room may be fully opened to the meadow for inside-outside living. This is analogous to the southern vernacular dog-trot home that allows both natural cooling and a central gathering space.

The two-story home is laid on an east-west axis to maximize the benefits of passive solar throughout the year. Tall pines inspired the vertical exterior siding. Movement through the home is choreographed to views and natural light. “The windows have become our art, it’s peaceful and designed around us.” – Lisa Balakrishnan

How do we create urban furniture with a collective identity while maximizing flexibility for arrangements and vendors?

As citizens work to take back their urban communities, planning departments have been playing catch- up. Shopping kiosks, parklets, push carts, food trucks, guerilla gardening, yarn bombing, and all manner of tactical urbanism have begun to proliferate urban centers. While often welcomed, this proliferation has begun to breakdown the visual coherence of city districts, edges, nodes and other elements that define identity. In response, planning departments have started embracing tactical urbanism as an instigator for renewing street life as well as attempting to write some rules to retain identity and strengthen what Kevin Lynch termed in 1960 as “The Image of the City.”

In 2011 CUBE was approached by the lease holder of a fruit and flower stand located at the prominent corner of the Old South Meeting House (a National Landmark). We were asked to design a semi- permanent structure that addressed security issues for the market as well as respected the historic nature of the building it sits aside. This led to a larger study of the many such vendors in Boston’s Downtown Crossing district, and invited conversations with the Boston Redevelopment Authority which had been struggling with the loss of a cohesive identity in the district. After speaking with the many food and retail vendor cart owners in the area, we begin to define a modular and moveable kiosk that both held identity in its form and graphics for the city, and allowed vendors to customize and graft onto for their own needs. The kiosks could be presented individually or linked in many configurations to form a full market.

One such ubiquitous material is fiber cement board, now used on most residential and multifamily construction because of its very low cost, ease of installation, and low maintenance. There are many different manufactures such as Hardie, Nichiha, CBF Silbonit, but they all feel like paper mache and have the look of flat painted drywall.

PATTERNING: In the Canyon house project, we tested various patterning techniques to break down the standard size and find more appealing proportions and effects. We assimilated patterns to the surrounding landscape to visually blend the material, taking on a more organic appearance. A number of rules were developed in the patterning sequencing, and the addition of color reinforced the organic appearance on the hillside.

STEPPING: In the Balakrishnan project we became more interested in creating visual depth in the material. We tested various ways to offset wood furring behind the fiber cement board for a more elegant effect. Accent landscape lighting can be inserted between panels to accentuate and give function to what otherwise is a blank wall. Careful detailing and execution is critical to the final product.

Re-presenting materials like fiber cement board in ways we don’t typically associate them elevates their appearance and function, while still having the low cost benefits.

How can we enhance the interactions between office and production personnel to improve the company culture?

The new headquarters for an innovative water-based screen printing company requires a workspace that improves interaction between office and production personnel while also establishing a multi-functional showroom. By proposing a series of insertions into an underutilized warehouse, this project simplifies the complex workflow of overlapping tasks as an open collaborative environment. Forming the edge of Orlando’s new Creative Village, the bold façade facelift creates a branding presence that engages clients and visitors along the interstate highway and at street level. A new entry porch provides accessibility to the renovated interior leading to an educational experience revealing the process of printing.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Adaptive reuse of a vacant warehouse

How can a home accentuate the qualities of nature?

The owners fell in love with the rich qualities of the property: a rocky stream, a gentle slope, and beautiful hardwood trees. The home is perched like a tree house, allowing the land to fall beneath it, while the upper floors move up into the tree canopy.

The southern end of the house features a two-story porch with large sliding glass doors that allow for true indoor-outdoor living. All rooms overlook the rocky stream from above. Inside, a two-story light shaft floods the center of the home with natural light. The layout of the home celebrates togetherness, while allowing space and room to grow for each individual family member. The use of color and materials reflect the family’s personality and love for the natural world.

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Aiello Builders | Lift Environmental Design | Three Oaks Engineering | Lynch Mykins Structural Engineers | Mark Herboth Photography

How can we innovatively reuse a significant mid-century building while respecting the sacred ground it stands upon?

Architect Richard Neutra’s Cyclorama Center, one of his most prized buildings, was located on the Civil War battlefield in Gettysburg, Pennsylvania. Its future was in doubt and debated nationally for decades.

Typically, preservation focuses narrowly on retaining a building as is or with minimal intervention, but there are degrees of preservation yet to be explored that lie between maintaining the original condition and demolition. We have devised the groundwork for a more nuanced form of preservation that addresses today’s societal needs while respecting our cultural heritage. Often, new pieces are added to old buildings, but why not invert the formula?

H I G H L I G H T S

• Project Preservation Document

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Recent Past Preservation Network

How can we increase access to private and communal outdoor space in a post-pandemic world?

This project redefines the ubiquitous bay and balcony pair found throughout this neighborhood’s triple-decker homes. We aim to create indoor living space and a private outdoor balcony for each unit that connects to nature.

The project site is embedded in the Codman Square neighborhood of Dorchester among a variety of apartment buildings and two- to three-family structures. Our design responds to the double wide lot by breaking down the massing into two sections and aligns the front façade to assimilate with surrounding building widths and setbacks. A transparent lobby and bicycle room mark entry at the ground floor while concealing the parking. Tenants will have access to a common rear yard on the southwest side of the building to host gatherings and interact with their neighbors.

Unlike the typical configuration, we have geometrically linked the bay and balcony in each unit as a solid and void pair. This articulation of the façade allows each unit to be legible on the exterior while controlling the scale and proportion of the building. The units will be spacious with significant daylighting and will include one-bed, two-bed, and three-bed units each with a private balcony.

The design of the Little River Residence is inspired by the concept of community. Two diverging gabled forms assimilate to the land’s natural contours, creating a central outdoor space where family and friends can gather.

In 2007, a demolition permit had been granted for Paul Rudolph’s 1960 Blue Cross Blue Shield office building to make way for New England’s tallest tower by Renzo Piano. Intrigued by the collision of new and old, and the lack of demolition alternatives, we set out to rethink the meaning of preservation using this project as an example.

The legacy of Rudolph’s building lies mainly in its innovative facade that contains the mechanical and structural systems, thereby freeing the interior floor space for office use. Drawing from the work of artist Gordon Matta-Clark, we hypothesized a series of concepts that reinterpreted preservation as: integration, anatomical exhibition, dissection, public art and remnant. In doing so, we revealed aspects of the building that prompted a new understanding of its cultural contributions, and began a new dialogue about how architecture should be preserved. These explorations led us to new projects and speaking engagements, as well as a successful stay of demolition for Rudolph’s building.

How can we define a differentiating identity for an aging office building?

The client’s primary goal in repositioning this low-grade office building was to achieve greater exposure and presence for its ideal commercial location along a major thoroughfare. We elevated the market status of the property by re-designing the parking and procession to a new lobby and canopy serving as a visual landmark and creating a strong identity for the building. The new facade and face-lift reveals the interior through a large transparent glazed wall framed by the folding canopy. Exterior surfaces overlap and appear indoors to blur the boundary between inside and out. Visitors are greeted within the space furthermore by modulated materials, reveals, colors and rhythmic lighting.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Elevated market status with cost-effective design

• Rainscreen facade

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

SGH Structural Engineers | CSI Engineering | Erland Construction

How can a café embody the values of one of the most prominent fair-trade brands?

The well-known Equal Exchange brand builds long-term fair trade partnerships that are economically just and environmentally sound, to foster mutually beneficial relationships between farmers and consumers.

Our facelift to their thriving upbeat café near North Station in Boston was a collaboration between the café staff, branding team and ThoughtCraft to get the most bang for their buck. In addition to designing the fit-out, we administered the entire construction effort and managed all of the subcontractors and fabricators. Thanks to the Equal Exchange Café team for giving us the opportunity to freshen up one of only two of their product showcasing cafés worldwide!

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

Matt Delphenich Photography

Can we preserve a building through the act of demolition?

n 2007 Paul Rudolph’s 1960 Blue Cross Blue Shield office building was slated for demolition to make way for New England’s tallest tower by Renzo Piano. Intrigued by the collision of new and old, and the lack of demolition alternatives, we set out to rethink the meaning of preservation in the form of this animation.

The legacy of Rudolph’s building lies mainly in its innovative facade that contains the mechanical and structural systems; thereby freeing the interior floor space for office use. Drawing from the work of artist Gordon Matta-Clark, we hypothesized a series of concepts that reinterpreted preservation as: integration, anatomical exhibition, dissection, public art and remnant. In doing so, we revealed aspects of the building that prompted a new understanding of its cultural contributions, and began a new dialogue about how architecture should be preserved in the modern age.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Death By Preservation | Landmarks Testimonial

• Banker & Tradesman | Countdown

Inspired by the industrial history of the area, the project utilizes familiar masonry materials presented in new ways.

The buildings are organized to form two community plazas that become the crossroads for resident activities, entry, and social gathering. Each building has a number of distinct live/work units allowing home occupations that reflect today's varied working lifestyle. The sawtooth roofs collect the suns energy to offset power usage while giving the building a unique identity. A Cross Laminated Timber structure (CLT) was explored for its sustainability aspects, exposed wood aesthetic, and speed of construction.

We collaborate with our clients in the pre-design phases of a project to help them evaluate the opportunity of a given site. We often do this before land acquisition. Our expedient, thorough, and collaborative process allows our clients to be better informed of their investments.

Pre-design service, often prior to land acquisition

• Quick evaluation of massing strategies on a given site

• Accurate data analysis of square footage and building efficiencies

• Analysis of the urban context to identify mixed use opportunities

• Sustainable site strategies

How can a small sales office offer an interactive client experience?

Insertion of a ground floor retail use into a newly renovated historically significant mixed-use building. New physical and digital interactive displays allow a unique home buying experience.

H I G H L I G H T S

• Built within the award-winning Hayden Building, LEED Homes Platinum

•Relocation and reuse of tower unit mock-up kitchen, bath and other components

C O L L A B O R A T O R S

CSI Engineering | Marc Truant & Associates | John Horner Photography