As the sole tenant of the new 200,000-square-foot headquarters located in the
Waltham, MA, suburban office development Waltham Woods Corporate Center, the
Massachusetts Medical Society hoped for - and has realized - a facility that
incorporates the organization's medical history and tradition, the specialized
infrastructure needs of a headquarters facility, and nature. According to the
project's designer, Robert Y.C. Hsiung, FAIA, principal architect at Jung/Brannen
Associates Inc., Boston, "Yours is a profession which began with the beginning
of civilization and will last as long as civilization lasts. The design of your
new home must arch over that great span of time."
The building's basic design employed a standard structural bay system, typical
for a tenanted suburban office but adaptable to easily revert to a multi-tenant
space, ensuring that the facility is a sustainable real estate asset for the
owner. A smart building management system monitors lighting, temperature, and
security to provide a more efficient and comfortable work environment day-to-day.
In addition to the administrative offices, the headquarters include a conference
center, which accommodates 180 people and features an audio-visual center, a
cafeteria that serves more than 200 people, and an advanced printing facility.
Project highlights include:
• A soaring atrium, enclosed by a four-story, curved glass curtainwall,
that affords a meeting place in three dimensions, or stories, enabling congregation
and impromptu meetings while offering a sense of community.
• A conscious nature theme that incorporates shared daylight for employees
in their workspaces; sites glacial boulders next to the foundation and in the
atrium; allows natural growth of trees, shrubs, and plants; preserves old tree
stands, glacial formations, and old stonewalls; and includes two manmade ponds.
- Linda K. Monroe, Editorial Director