Form + Place: Update on Urban Planning Work

2022 has emerged as a year filled with a diverse and exciting collection of urban planning projects at Form + Place. While we continue to work on a wide range of residential projects and some commercial mixed-use place-making efforts, it is our urban design and planning sector work that is rapidly growing, allowing Form + Place to forge new collaborations and explore new community contexts.

In Springfield, we recently completed a Master Plan for the Northeast Downtown District that called for re-visioning the Chestnut Street corridor into a two-way mixed-use spine, in addition to other key public realm improvements, as a means to stimulate private investment. We continue to explore a range of planning studies in this fascinating area around Union Station – the perfect location for more dense transit-oriented development - including work in the Apremont Triangle and Stearns Square areas.

We also continue to work with the City of Newton’s Planning & Development Department as one of their Urban Design On-Call Consultants. Our current efforts have been focused on helping the city review Mark Development’s Schematic Design drawings for the Riverside Station project. The Riverside Station approvals calls for a “consistency review” process whereby evolving building design and site design parameters are checked against Special Permit requirements and a set of comprehensive Design Guidelines that were drafted by Form + Place and adopted in the fall of 2021.

 In addition to these ongoing efforts, we currently have three exciting new urban planning projects on the boards:

Groveland Comprehensive Plan              

Form + Place has been collaborating with Emily Innes of Innes Associates to produce a Comprehensive Plan for the Town of Groveland, MA. The project is ramping up in the month of May with three community outreach workshops scheduled for the week of the 9th. Our team is taking a “place-based” approach – utilizing 3 key sites - to explore the usual Comp Plan elements - Land Use, Open Space & Rec, Housing, etc. We have structured the workshops to help explore the community’s goals through specific thematic lenses, such as gateways, connectivity, place-making, and balancing development and preservation.

Hull Urban Renewal Plan            

Form + Place is currently working with the Hull Redevelopment Authority to help refine the vision for the HRA-owned parcels in the Nantasket Beach Redevelopment Area. On a critical site that has the potential to link two distinct neighborhoods within the Hull community, and also has major resiliency issues to contend with, Form + Place is building on previous studies that have attempted to frame the “ideal” public-private redevelopment opportunity. Working in conjunction with TEC, who has been integral in exploring infrastructure improvements along Nantasket Avenue and Hull Shore Drive, we are striving to help the HRA define the appropriate character and scale for development in the area while ensuring the preservation of key public open spaces.

Winchester’s North Main Street Corridor            

Form + Place has recently been retained to work with Winchester’s Planning Department and Planning Board to help with the implementation of a refined vision for the North Main Street corridor, which links the downtown core to the Woburn city line. Winchester’s recent Master Plan 2030 and its associated Action Plan, together with a corridor study completed in 2021 by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council, have provided a strong starting point, identifying the corridor as an Evolving Opportunity Area. North Main Street has an eclectic mix of uses today and suffers a lack of cohesiveness, including an over-abundance of auto-centric uses – a problem common to many similarly-scaled communities in the inner ring areas around their Center Business Districts. Form + Place looks forward to working with the town to explore a wide range of variables, from strategizing regarding infrastructure improvements to rethinking zoning and design guidelines, in an effort to enhance this critical gateway to the downtown.

Collaboration : Expanding Its Use and Definition

By John Rufo

When someone describes the design process as collaborative, an image comes to mind of designers gathered around a table of drawings, a computer screen, or standing at a wall reviewing pinned-up documents and sketches as they problem solve and flesh out solutions. But seeing collaboration through this narrow lens stifles the potential of an understanding of the larger process as more inclusive and participatory by all the individuals that a given project will impact.

Michael Wang leads City of Newton design professionals forum on Zoning Redesign

The firm profile at Form + Place is one of few employees and lots of collaborators. In recent years we intentionally shaped the firm this way to allow the principals to stay closer to the work while drawing from a larger and more diverse range of experience and expertise beyond the walls of our studio. What advantage does this serve? One of our frequent collaborators, Jessica Bessette of Bessette Architecture and Design puts it like this:

“Ideally outcomes of the process end up in a different place than if any one person’s ideas were on their own.  Involving the people we are trying to solve problems for as well as people outside of yourself leads to higher satisfaction both in the end product and in the relationships formed in the process.”

Jessica points out that “collaboration” and “co-creation” are often blended in a process that is driven by teaming with other people and disciplines.

Hello Washington Street – community feedback session

Co-creation, as described by Lauren Fischer of Call the Collective is a “boundary spanning process” that “produces something that did not exist before”. While we as designers regularly collaborate with other disciplines in the design field to produce results that are familiar and somewhat expected to us, it may be helpful to expand the notion of collaboration to include co-creation, especially when the process involves a community dialogue. One of our frequent collaborators, structural engineer Steve Siegel said to me recently,

“Our expertise is deep but narrow, so our problem solutions must incorporate inputs from other experts, who in turn don’t know what we know… effective collaboration is all about empathy.”

In the same way that we listen to the ideas and needs of our clients and collaborators with empathy, we can reframe the interface with community as a critical part of the creative process to heighten a spirit of collaborative community building.

Urban Land Institute - Jackson Square Walking Tour information session

So how does this play out? As part of the work that Form + Place regularly performs, my partner Michael Wang and I often present at and attend a variety of community forums that make up the entitlement process on projects as small as single-family homes and as large as 1 million + square foot mixed-use projects. Two examples of larger efforts are the Riverside and Newton Northland projects for which Form + Place served on the city of Newton’s peer review team. In both cases the project proponents embraced a collaborative review process as a key piece of the ongoing design dialogue and the city was able to reap the benefit of several experts to help form a cogent critique of proposed design and expand public input in the process.

Michael Wang updates the Charles River Regional Chamber on Newton Northland peer review process

We’ve come to see that along with words and phrases like “create a vision”, “complete a master plan”, or  “create a sense of place”, the process of collaboration and co-creation needs to also include phrases like “community stakeholder”, “public forum”, “chamber of commerce”, “building consensus”, etc… When these touch points are thought of as inside the boundary of the creative process, our relationship to them changes and we are able to bring new voices into the dialogue rather than think of them as hurdles to be jumped over further down the track. The process is not actually easier. It requires patience, attention to details and a thick skin. Joel Kadis of Linear Retail once said to me that a good design partner

“will excel at listening to our needs, have the conviction to stand up for what they believe, integrate our thoughts, and do it all with a sense of humor”.

John Rufo scoops ice cream at an Upper Falls Rail Trail art opening and community awareness event

At the end of the day, every work of design locates itself within a community. Design leaders and community leaders have their particular expertise and a priority of issues that they are charged with addressing and getting right. The process can be long, but you need to trust that process to believe that the results will be there. Another one of our frequent collaborators, Brian Hilliard of tomhill Studio describes our collaborative model like this.

“I like to think of collaboration in the design process as the creative version of Just In Time (JIT) manufacturing. When everyone brings a particular skillset to the table it's a way to be more nimble, proactive (instead of reactive) and innovative.”

A Sustainable Housing Model for Adults with Developmental Disabilities

By Michael A. Wang

When communities proactively engage in promoting diversity, housing opportunities are often at the center of the debate. While affordable housing is typically the focus, providing housing for adults with developmental disabilities is another important piece of this equation, and it deserves more attention. Where does one look for examples of sustainable models? A noteworthy precedent originated in 1983 when Specialized Housing Inc. [SHI] developed a model for supporting adults with disabilities to live independently, while also having a stake in home ownership.

Congregate living environments take many forms but SHI’s model is based on building a sense of community that relies on foundational relationships between residents, staff and family groups. Integration with the surrounding community – whether through jobs, volunteer work or community-based programs – is a key component of daily life for residents, allowing them to develop independence and critical skills, such as self-advocacy.

SHI homes in Brookline and Newton, established over the past four decades

While each house has its own culture, the underlying tenet of home ownership fosters long term commitments and offers residents the opportunity for personal growth, building self-esteem, and participating in both responsible citizenship and community involvement.

Form + Place has been working with SHI over the past year to evaluate the built environments in some of their more established homes, in an effort to help plan for the evolving needs of residents as they age in place. One fundamental aspect of the SHI model is the integration of separate apartments for “live-in” staff – often two - who reside on site and are available to address any overnight emergencies that may arise. While newer SHI homes have been designed upfront to accommodate staff apartments, many of the older homes need to find creative ways to reconfigure their available space to meet residents’ evolving needs.

For adults with disabilities, having the opportunity to live in a single-family home – independent from their nuclear family – is truly liberating. From an architectural design perspective, accommodating up to ten individual residences [rooms], shared bathroom facilities [often 1 per every 2 residents], common areas, plus two one-bedroom staff apartments, can be a challenge. The fact that this congregate living model is considered by zoning to be classified as a single-family residence, helps facilitate some creative design solutions and simplifies approvals processes for certain components, that might normally require a Special Permit, such as accessory apartments.

A recent project in Newton Highlands converted a beautiful second empire home on a .4 acre parcel into an SHI home by building an addition onto the side of the existing house. The lower level of the addition was developed into one staff apartment and the unfinished basement of the existing house was adapted to accommodate a second apartment. With some clever grading and the introduction of areaways, these apartments are quite attractive and have ample light. Access to the apartments is provided directly from the exterior, as well as through internal stairs, giving staff a degree of privacy.

Well landscaped areaways allowing access and light into lower level apartments

Retrofitting staff apartments into some of the more established SHI houses – first occupied in the 1980’s and 1990’s and, therefore, now housing individuals in their 60’s – has been quite a design puzzle. Form + Place is currently working on two homes in Brookline with the goals of solving staffing needs, enhancing the resident’s common areas and contemplating potential future accessibility needs [elevators/lifts]. In one home, a completely subterranean unfinished basement is being converted into a new staff apartment by excavating a lower-level entry patio at the rear of the house and designing additional areaways that will integrate into the house’s landscaped side yard.

New sunken entry patio providing access

The second Brookline home involves a much more significant intervention that will have a notable positive impact on the aging residents’ use of the house. In this home – the original SHI house, dating back to 1983 – two new staff apartments, complete with separate kitchens and bathrooms, will be finished out at the lower garden patio level. This will allow for a new communal kitchen and dining area to be relocated on the main living level of the home, eliminating the need for residents to negotiate a small, winding stair to the lower level. In addition, access to the outdoor patio in the rear will be enhanced by redesigning a covered exterior stair.

Revisioning kitchen/dining/living areas

Basement level staff apartments

First floor common rooms

These homes for adults with disabilities truly exemplify what it means to build a diverse community, on multiple levels. The sense of empowerment that residents feel by living a supported, yet independent, lifestyle with their peers is matched by the meaningful contributions that they make to their larger communities – communities such as Newton, Brookline and Arlington. Form + Place is honored to be able to participate in helping to make this unique model become a sustainable reality. Surely there are lessons to be learned from this private group home ownership model for communities that want to focus on providing diverse long term housing opportunities that are accessible to all adults with developmental and intellectual disabilities. Whether helping to secure funding through mechanisms such as a Community Development Block Grant (CDBG), offering support with approvals processes or facilitating land acquisition in village centers and transit nodes, communities do have an important role to play in this potential public-private partnership.

Accessible outdoor amenity space

Form + Place New Direction

After ten years in business, Form + Place is pleased to announce that we are embarking on a new path. Founding partners Michael Wang and John Rufo will continue their collaborative work in architecture, urban design and planning, with the goal of delivering thoughtful solutions across a continuum of community-based projects that range from urban master plans to mixed-use and multi-family planning to single-family private residential design.

We would like to take a moment to acknowledge the contributions that Mike Manship has made to the firm over the past eight years and wish him well in his future endeavors. Form + Place will continue to provide unparalleled personal service to our clients through our ongoing strategic alliances with a group of incredibly talented individuals, including Jessica Bessette, Brian Hilliard and others.

Through our regular blog posts and articles, as well as through working with you, we strive to explore new ideas and creative solutions to transform the way we interact with and shape the communities in which we live. We look forward to collaborating with you!

Designing With People In Mind: An Approach To Creating Contemporary Communities That Put People First

Form + Place (https://www.bisnow.com/blog/form-place) Julia Troy, Bisnow Custom Content Writer (Originally published on October 21, 2021)

A rendering of Springfield’s Chestnut Street corridor redesigned by Form + Place

The way people interact with their communities is changing. Habits are evolving, with more people working from home or looking for office space they can easily access through public transit, micro-transit or a shorter commute.

But beyond that, people want more input into how their cities are designed. Walkable streets, with more space for events and outdoor socializing and less space for cars, are in high demand and people are looking for fast, easy ways to access nearby areas without having to own a car.

To accommodate these changing needs, municipalities need to work with urban planning firms that understand these trends and have the know-how to bring them to life in ways that benefit people and businesses alike.

“People are demanding that the focus of cities should be on people, who are the building block of every community,” said John Rufo, principal at Form + Place, a Newton, Massachusetts-based architecture, planning and urban design firm.

Form + Place has been working to help communities design the people-driven spaces that residents are now demanding. Michael Wang, principal at Form + Place, said that the firm mediates between cities and developers, understanding the needs of each, while helping them to establish partnerships that ultimately allow both to realize their goals. When it comes to approving complex projects, developers need a degree of flexibility, he said, while cities are looking for certainty.

“Each city or town is unique, and some communities are more accepting of change than others,” Wang said. “It’s important to have a deep understanding of what is happening in a community before promoting specific redevelopment strategies.”

Wang and Rufo walked Bisnow through some of the firm’s recent projects and explained how they are working to keep communities involved and create more engaging environments.

An aerial rendering of a revitalized Apremont Triangle in Springfield designed by Form + Place

Springfield

Springfield, located in Western Massachusetts, is the fourth-most-populous city in New England. The Northeast Downtown District of Springfield, while close to a newly renovated transit hub, is in desperate need of a vision, Wang said. Form + Place has been working with the city to put together a master plan for the area to help identify how best to stimulate private investment through public infrastructure improvements. The focus on revitalizing public open spaces and streetscapes, he said, is intended to entice developers to invest in rebuilding a mixed-use neighborhood where greater residential density supports a 24/7 downtown vibe.

Some highlights of what the Form + Place team planned with the people of Springfield include developing a mixed-use commercial spine that stimulates growth in the surrounding neighborhood and implementing “complete streets”: streets with dedicated bike lanes, pedestrian environments, parking, and flex zones for outdoor dining and retail. Other priorities included redesigning parks to help them better connect to the surrounding blocks and storefronts and creating new open space with amenities like tot lots, dog runs and flexible event space.

The Form + Place team is encouraging the city to help developers facilitate the integration of more ground-floor commercial and community spaces. This, Wang said, will support opportunities for local businesses to remain a part of the neighborhood.

A proposed multifamily residential project in Freeport, ME designed by Form + Place

Freeport

Freeport, Maine, is a town that’s known for its exciting retail options, from the Freeport Outlets to the L.L. Bean flagship store. But the one thing that is missing is a multifamily development that could provide more residential options for the area and offer Freeport residents a place where they could live in the center of the action — close to the best shops and just a stone’s throw from the Amtrak station that can transport them to Portland and areas to the south.

JHR Development has been working on a project to fill that void. The Depot Street apartments feature 67 residential units right in the heart of Freeport Village. Form + Place has contributed conceptual designs to this project that highlight a variety of strategies for accommodating parking, both under the building and on grade in a thoughtfully landscaped parking court.

“Many areas that began as commercial corridors are now adding residential developments and the mix of uses creates diversity and a sense of belonging,” Rufo said. “In some instances, like in typical small American towns of the industrial era, they're going back to the original roots that formed an organic mix of uses along Main Street, where residential and commercial uses mixed and fed off each other. This project exemplifies that.”

A proposed urban design for Salem’s Court House Square by Form + Place

Salem

Salem, Massachusetts, is one of the most well-known historical cities in New England. Form + Place worked closely with JHR Development to provide a master plan for the section of downtown Salem that encompasses the historic 1861 Superior Courthouse, the County Commissioners building and an adjacent waterfront lot next to the MBTA Commuter Rail Station.

The plan focused on preserving and providing public access to key historic features of the buildings by proposing a downtown campus for Salem State University, while integrating several new office spaces and multifamily residential buildings into the development. Form + Place’s designs also included an expanded courthouse green; an amphitheater that connected an upper and lower plaza; a publicly accessible kayak launch; and an urban design strategy that linked downtown Salem and the courthouses to the North River, a new waterfront multifamily building and the MBTA Station. The goal, Wang said, was to create a “more vibrant and ceremonial gateway to the downtown.”

“Salem is such an interesting study in how to realize the potential of what is right in front of you,” Rufo said. “The site of the old courthouse and County Commissioner’s building is surrounded by an incredible array of active uses. From the commuter rail station linking Salem to Boston, to the new court buildings immediately adjacent to the site, to the bustling, quirky, historic downtown of Salem that people love — it really has every type of use you could want.”

He added that, despite these charms, pedestrians walk past the site and don't pay much attention to the beauty of these historic buildings. Form + Place’s goal was to find a way to put people in the middle of the equation to create something with energy and staying power.

“In each of these projects, the insertion of multifamily residential into an existing mixed-use context provides the critical mass needed to support a more diverse and engaged community,” Wang said. “This is at the core of Form + Place’s mission.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Studio B and Form + Place (https://www.formandplace.com/). Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content. Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com. Contact Julia Troy at julia.troy@bisnow.com (mailto:julia.troy@bisnow.com)

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