The Neponset
Work completed at Utile Design
Role: Project Manager, Design Lead
Photos by Randy Crandon
Sited at the edge of a highway off ramp, a transition zone between an area of high-rise multi-family buildings and older single family fabric, the Neponset presented an opportunity to bring a denser mode of living and higher performing building to a site that would never have been ideal for a single family or smaller multi-family building. Conceived of as stick built construction over a steel and concrete podium, the project pushes the boundaries of the type, incorporating a handful of critical details in the wall section that break down scale and bring depth and transparency to the massing.
Organized around an efficient center core, the layout maximizes access to light, air and views for residents while minimizing the proportion of facade to unit floor area. Deep units receive adequate daylight through large high performing windows that are the defining feature of the building. The airy, lacy effect of the upper facade is echoed in the masonry screen that wraps naturally ventilated trays of parking. Two tiers of zoning-required parking read as one because of the treatment of the wall section and relationship to site, minimizing the effect of having enclosed parking adjacent to a public way.
At the roof, a common roof terrace and smaller private roof decks provide access to exterior space for residents. Sedum roof trays carpet the roof between roof decks, providing visual interest and stormwater retention at roof level.