Magazine Beach

The 6.25 acre site is located at the southwest corner of Cambridgeport, a neighborhood that is bounded by the Charles River to the south and the west, MIT to the east, and Riverside to the North. The site faces directly onto Memorial Drive, a highly trafficked state highway. The site is also opposite Magazine Beach, a public waterfront park with both passive and active recreation, a public swimming pool, and a boathouse.

The site is at the intersection of a fine-grained residential neighborhood oriented on a northeast-southwest grid and a strip of larger footprint commercial and institutional buildings and expansive surface parking lots that run along the Charles River. This plan will build on the existing residential fabric of Cambridgeport, extending both streets and housing typologies to Memorial Drive. Streets will converge in a new park. Microcenter and Trader Joe’s will be consolidated into a new, signature mixed-use building.

Site Analysis

Studying season shade impacts and building typologies.

Site Plan

This plan will build on the existing residential fabric of Cambridgeport, extending both streets and housing typologies to Memorial Drive. Streets will converge in a new park. Microcenter and Trader Joe’s will be consolidated into a new, signature mixed-use building.

Like Louisberg Square in Beacon Hill, Shell Square creates an intimate public yard for surrounding apartments and a green oasis for passive recreation. Large, setback apartment buildings with raised courtyards create an airy expanse along Memorial Drive. Bike lanes, planters, and parallel parking provide a buffer zone between pedestrians and fast moving traffic on Memorial Drive.