Adaptive Reuse of the Historical Ferdinand Building, Boston, MA

The Ferdinand Building is located in the Dudley Station Historic District, a district listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The building is located at the intersection of Washington and Warren Streets. The city of Boston proposed to construct a new municipal building on the site. There had been several proposed uses for the building in the past. None of them were successful. The redevelopment of Dudley Square was the passion of the late Mayor, Thomas M. Menino. The proposed building for the site covered the entire block and would be eight stories high. To help blend the new building into the fabric of the neighborhood the City required the walls along Washington and Warren Streets be incorporated into the design of the new building. Working with Shawmut Design and Construction, John Looney designed a bracing system to allow the old building to be removed while maintaining the façades.