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restoration of the historic
Luke building
139 Main Street
Cambridge, MAssachusetts
The project directive was a complete renovation of the historic structure and the 1980s addition. The 139 Main Street project includes the renovation and stabilization of the historic Luke Building and integration with the ongoing public space improvements around Kendall Square. On the inside of the building, paradigm-shifting interior programming for emerging technology companies couples with design that celebrates the historic structure and encourages a culture of collaboration. The newly-renovated building now hosts a series of small spaces (approximately 2,000-8,000 SF) for enterprises interested in a collaborative workspace community within proximity to MIT and the strong innovation economy of Kendall Square. The design builds on a Collaboration-forInnovation spirit that is a dynamic driving principal fostering these industries. Each floor of the building offers unique shared collaboration and amenity spaces including in-person and virtual conferencing, huddle rooms, kitchens, and a roof terrace with stunning views of Cambridge and Boston. The design team, headed by Arrowstreet, produced a design that turned a modest and largely forgotten asset into one of the most desirable office buildings in Kendall Square; an historic jewel in one of the most important scientific communities in the world.
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above The Luke Building in 1899. Photo courtesy of Cambridge Historical Commission opposite The Luke Building today. Photo by Arrowstreet
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above A view from Kendall Square in 1948. Luke Building located on far left. Photo courtesy of Cambridge Historical Commission
139 Main Street is one of the last remaining pieces of first-generation commercial construction in Cambridge.
opposite Main Street rail tracks in 1909. The Luke Building is located between the second and third cable towers from the right. Photo courtesy of Cambridge Historical Commission
Bridge, which was built starting in 1900 and incorporated plans for the subway
The Luke Building was originally built in 1874 as the home to E.H. Luke & Sons; dealers in grain, meal, hay, and straw. 139 Main Street predates the Longfellow that would become the future Red Line. The photograph at left shows original construction of the subway in 1909. The building’s location along Main Street is at an important spot connecting into Boston. This, coupled with the fact that the rear of the property fronted on the Broad Canal, kept the property in steady use through multiple changes in the economy. In the 1950s, the building housed a series of small businesses. When the building was acquired in 2017, it was in dire need of restoration; the original brick masonry walls and supporting foundations were failing, windows and doors were beyond their life, building systems were outdated, and the interior configuration was unaligned with today’s office market. Although the ultimate use and configuration were initially uncertain, it was clear that preserving this building would be a primary goal of the project.
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left 139 Main Street in the early 1940s. Photo courtesy of Cambridge Historical Commission opposite The building was ideally located between Main Street and the Lechmere Canal. Map courtesy of Cambridge Historical Commission
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tenant fifth floor
amenity space board room outdoor
fourth floor
tenant common Kitchen, informal Meeting
third floor
conference rooms
second floor
changing, shower, and Wellness room tenant ground floor
common Kitchen Meeting cube Lounge
Program diagram
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Typical Floor Diagram common amenity and conferencing space. allows tenants to collaborate and reduce non-working spaces within their own suites.
Program Overview initially, the scope of work was a core and shell renovation
each floor offers shared conference and kitchen amenities, which
providing a typical shell space for tenants. this approach, however,
benefit tenants by reducing the individual need to provide these
included the bare minimum of amenity, common, and flexible
amenities within their own space. this configuration increases the
workspaces—features desired by today’s work force.
opportunities for collaboration and serendipitous interaction with
it quickly became apparent that given the historical pedigree,
others in the building.
prime location, and growing interest in the building, it would merit
the ground level offers a lounge, conference room, break-out
a design and arrangement that would transform the building
nook, wellness room, showers, and bike storage, available to
into something better: modestly-sized, modern, and collaborative
everyone in the building. office suites on the middle floors flank
office spaces targeted towards and benefitting from the innovation
a central shared space that includes a kitchenette, different sized
community in Kendall square.
conference rooms, and break-out nooks. the top floor, part of
to attract these small start-up and innovation tenants, the space was redesigned to integrate a variety of 21st century amenities and flexible spaces to create a new model that falls somewhere between coworking and dedicated office space.
the 1980s addition, uses almost half of its floor plate for additional building-wide amenities. a kitchen with communal table, a large boardroom-sized conference room, and an exterior terrace all provide generous views to the charles river and downtown boston. 9
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The renovation celebrates the existing rich, historic fabric of the building. The design team deployed a strategy of simple, modern details and elements. Brick walls, timber ceilings, and columns were newly exposed. New walls do not enclose historic elements. Materials were synergistic to each other: wood floors, black metal, and wood paneling were chosen to harmonize with the old. Vibrant pops of color, simple furniture, the latest technology for collaboration and security, and carefully curated art create an industrial, timeless, and inviting environment.
above and opposite Historic details are celebrated. Photos by Robert Benson
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this page There was substantial deterioration of the masonry walls throughout the building. Photos by Arrowstreet opposite The newly renovated ground floor office celebrates the historic details of the building. Photo by Robert Benson
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above left and above right Workers restore and reconstruct the building’s foundations and walls. Photos by Arrowstreet left Remnants of the deteriorated timber piles during removal. Photo by Arrowstreet
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Atypical of modern brick construction, masons reconstructed the walls exactly as they were originally built in the 1800s - with multiple wythes of brick supporting a heavy timber frame. the building was originally constructed on wood foundation piles, as was typical at the turn of the 20th century. over time, however, the ground underneath the building was dewatered, causing the tops of the piles to deteriorate, and leading to substantial settling, particularly in the southeast above diagram of the area of the building that was reconstructed.
corner along Main street. this caused a significant amount of cracking and damage in that area. significant effort by the team was exerted to determine the best approach for stabilizing and restoring the building. several ideas were tested, but in the end, the entire southeast corner was deassembled, new pile-caps were installed under the entire building, and then the faรงade rebuilt brick by brick. original granite sills and arches were carefully removed and re-installed, and a new wood heavy timber secondary structure was replicated.
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above Design rendering of first floor entry. Rendering by Arrowstreet right Final photo of first floor entry. Photo by Robert Benson
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both pages First floor lounge. Photos by Robert Benson 19
above Design rendering of first floor conference room and breakout space. Rendering by Arrowstreet right Finished construction. Photo by Robert Benson
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above design rendering of third floor common space. rendering by arrowstreet right third floor common space. Photo by robert benson
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left and above The fifth floor offers a variety of options for formal and informal meeting. Photos by Robert Benson
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left and right The fifth floor roof deck offers clear views of Boston and Cambridge. Photo by Robert Benson Rendering by Arrowstreet 26
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OWNER PROJECT LOCATION
MIT 139 Main Street LLC 139 Main Street, Cambridge, MA
PROJECT SIZE
43,500 SF
PROJECT TIMELINE
2017–2019
PROJECT MANAGER ARCHITECT
Leggat McCall Properties Arrowstreet Inc.
CONSTRUCTION MANAGER
John Moriarty & Associates, Inc.
MEP/FP ENGINEER
Wozny/Barbar & Associates Inc.
STRUCTURAL ENGINEER CIVIL ENGINEER LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT BUILDING ENVELOPE CODE LIGHTING VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION ACOUSTICS SPECIFICATIONS PERMITTING
McNamara/Salvia, Inc. Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. CBA Landscape Architects, LLC Building Envelope Technologies, Inc. Hastings Consulting Incorporated Schweppe Lighting Design Inc. Syska Hennessy Group Cavanaugh Tocci Associates, Inc. Kalin Associates Inc. Dan Winny Architect
SPECIAL THANKS TO
Charles Sullivan / Cambridge Historical Commission
Copyright 2020 by Arrowstreet Inc.