Seven miles from downtown Boston, Northland Needham Development raises the bar for sustainability, affordability, and walkability
Northland Development is reinventing a strip mall and post-industrial site in Newton, an older suburb of Boston, Massachusetts. They engaged our team to craft an urban design strategy that would make the site a focal point for the area around it—a destination with a strong sense of character.
We took inspiration from the historic commercial villages throughout Newton. Built before cars, they embodied just the right scale for walkability. Our walkable village design is based on landscape urbanism principles—buildings with assorted green amenity roof decks reside within a new naturalistic landscape. The open spaces serve various functions and include a central village green, verdant park spaces, as well as vibrant retail streetscapes and plazas with outdoor dining. Additionally, a mobility hub plaza serves as a gateway and provides free last-mile shuttles to nearby transit.
The site includes an adapted mill building that pays homage to the site’s history while 13 new buildings offer modern design with sustainability in minds. Designed to meet high energy efficiencies using Passive House (PHI) standards, it was the largest PHI residential community in the United States at the time of approval. The development is also targeting Gold certification in LEED for Homes and LEED for Neighborhood Development.
At a Glance
- Offices
- Client
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- Northland Development
- Partners
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- Cube3 Studios
- Steven Winters Associates
- Architect
- Stantec Architecture, Cube 3 Studios
Christopher Bridle, Design Director, Landscape Architecture/Urban Design
Good design is rigorously simple—free from prescribed styles or precepts.
Jeff Sauser, Associate, Planner
As a planner and urban designer, I enjoy the opportunity to make a difference in communities across North America.
Wei Jin, Urban Designer
My design focus: people and the sense of place and environment. Integrate physical design solutions with social aspects and natural systems.
Anushree Nallapaneni, Urban Designer
I enjoy graphic visualization of design ideas and urban data analysis and strive to incorporate innovative approaches in my work.
David Dixon, Vice President, Urban Places Fellow
We help communities manage change to become more livable, equitable, and resilient.
B.K. Boley, Senior Principal, Buildings
We achieve design excellence through understanding the story behind our clients and their projects.
James Gray, Senior Principal
Housing satisfies a universal human need, and in that mandate there is the challenge I relish: design solutions at a range of scales, from the individual eye and hand to the macro level of a city.
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