Kennedy Biscuit Lofts
Hamilton Heights | San Marco | Kennedy Biscuit Lofts
Lafayette Place | Baker Chocolate Factory | The Car Barn
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Project
The adaptive reuse and rehabilitation of an historic building into 132 residential apartments and artist live/work space in Cambridge, Massachusetts

Client
Keen Development Corporation
Cambridge, Massachusetts

Budget
$10,000,000

Design Challenge
To create a coherent massing and circulation through the selective demolition of historically insignificant former additions and to develop a variety of unit types which take the best advantage of unique existing features and spaces

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Awards Received:

  • Massachusetts Historical Commission
    Preservation Award

The adaptive reuse of Kennedy Biscuit Lofts, a former cookie factory, won a Preservation Award from the Massachusetts Historical Commission and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Like many historic mill buildings, the Kennedy Biscuit complex was an agglomeration of separate buildings built over time. The design required the strategic demolition of historically insignificant portions of the building to create a depth-of-building suitable for multifamily housing. The reconfiguration of space allowed for the creation of entry courtyards, day care play areas, and parking space.

The building's industrial qualities were preserved to highlight unique features, such as exposed masonry and framing, skylights, brick vaults and arches, and in one instance, an original room-size baking oven. The tall, sky-lit industrial space of an early 20th century section was converted into artist studio lofts.

Different sections of the building called for distinct unit types, taking advantage of varying space and height characteristics. Two- and three-bedroom duplex units with individual entrances made use of the basement level as bedrooms. A large, structurally unstable party wall was rebuilt to present a contemporary yet historically compatible new facade at the entrance of University Park, the larger development of which Kennedy Biscuit is a part.