TYPE: Request for Proposals
LOCATION: Charlestown, MA
CLIENT: Boston Planning & Development Agency
TEAM: Navy Yard Hospitality Group
LOCATION: Charlestown, MA
CLIENT: Boston Planning & Development Agency
TEAM: Navy Yard Hospitality Group
Teaming up with the Navy Yard Hospitality Group, Balance Architects is proposing to activate Dry Dock 2, in Charlestown's historic Navy Yard, through a 3 part intervention dubbed Boat-Light-Paint. Our approach to this RFP was heavily influenced by the BPDA's requirement that all proposals be temporary in nature for a limited interim use. Our proposal straddles the large asks of the BDPA, with the desire to intervene leaving a gentle footprint.
Boat - The Navy Yard Hospitality Group (NYHG), the Charlestown based restaurateurs and owners of Pier 6 and ReelHouse, understand the importance of utilizing one of Boston's greatest resources, Boston Harbor. Pier 6 and ReelHouse, both accessible by boat, have become summer sensations because of this unique urban amenity. Wanting to bring this experience to the next level, the NYHG & Balance Architects propose converting a historic tall ship into Boston's premier dining venue. Located in a dry dock that historically serviced boats, the menu will feature locally sourced seafood representative of the richness of our coastal environment.
Light - How do you transform an urban space without permanently transforming the infrastructure? Looking to tactical urbanism precedents, Balance Architects designed a catenary light installation, using inexpensive cables and string LED lighting, to transform the experience of Dry Dock 2. Inspired by the curvature of a sail, the stoic mast of a boat, and minimalism of tensile structures, we created forms mimicking the nautical and urban environment. The hanging canopies get larger as they move along the dry dock to Boston, culminating as a beacon to the city.
Paint - Paint is one of the least expensive building materials with the greatest ability to transform an environment. In an attempt to bridge a fractured Navy Yard at 5th Street and 1st Ave , split between the tourists visiting the Constitution and the residents and workers above 5th street, we're proposing altering the existing Harbor Walk. Following the existing shipping crane rails, we propose shifting the Harbor Walk to bring visitors between the USS Constitution Museum and the Carpenter Shop, through the legs of the historic shipping crane
Boat - The Navy Yard Hospitality Group (NYHG), the Charlestown based restaurateurs and owners of Pier 6 and ReelHouse, understand the importance of utilizing one of Boston's greatest resources, Boston Harbor. Pier 6 and ReelHouse, both accessible by boat, have become summer sensations because of this unique urban amenity. Wanting to bring this experience to the next level, the NYHG & Balance Architects propose converting a historic tall ship into Boston's premier dining venue. Located in a dry dock that historically serviced boats, the menu will feature locally sourced seafood representative of the richness of our coastal environment.
Light - How do you transform an urban space without permanently transforming the infrastructure? Looking to tactical urbanism precedents, Balance Architects designed a catenary light installation, using inexpensive cables and string LED lighting, to transform the experience of Dry Dock 2. Inspired by the curvature of a sail, the stoic mast of a boat, and minimalism of tensile structures, we created forms mimicking the nautical and urban environment. The hanging canopies get larger as they move along the dry dock to Boston, culminating as a beacon to the city.
Paint - Paint is one of the least expensive building materials with the greatest ability to transform an environment. In an attempt to bridge a fractured Navy Yard at 5th Street and 1st Ave , split between the tourists visiting the Constitution and the residents and workers above 5th street, we're proposing altering the existing Harbor Walk. Following the existing shipping crane rails, we propose shifting the Harbor Walk to bring visitors between the USS Constitution Museum and the Carpenter Shop, through the legs of the historic shipping crane
