ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS

In its effort to revitalize Dudley Square, the historical center of culture and commerce in the Roxbury Neighborhood of Boston, the City intends to redistribute municipal functions from downtown locations to a new facility at Dudley. Stull & Lee, in joint venture with Jacobs Corporation was a competition participant and developed this concept design for the Dudley Square Site.

The building is to share its site with the Ferdinand Building, an existing landmark and prominent symbol of Dudley Square. The primary urban objective sets the building lobby and ground floor in a public plaza with180 degree public access, and creates an “History Walk” marking the path of what was once an elevated tramway. The building is a transparent glass structure forming
a flowing backdrop that frames, displays and counterpoints the solidity of the Ferdinand, a transparency also intended to furthur accessibility. Two very large glass panels appear to float like “masks” held away from the flowing transparency that shapes the structure. These panels are meant to be ever-changing “story walls” that graphically communicate information of civic and cultural importance to the Roxbury community; a concept taken directly from the long world history of writing and painting on walls.

Dudley Municipal Office Building Tearsheet (PDF)