125 Huntington Avenue
Owner/Developer: American Cancer Society, New England Division
Architect: CBT Architects

Located on South Huntington Avenue in the Jamaica Plain and Mission Hill neighborhoods the Astra Zeneca Hope Lodge Center involves the historic rehabilitation of the Vincent Memorial Hospital, built by the Vincent Society to provide medical care for women and girls who could not afford proper care, and a new addition creating a forty-suite guest facility that offers residence to people receiving outpatient treatment for cancer.  The project reuses and adds to the site of the former hospital built in 1907 by architect Charles Buren Perkins and added to in the 1950s and 1960s. 

CBT Architects’ design included restoration of the late Victorian historic brick and ornamental terracotta façade and repair of the existing masonry.  An Arts and Crafts Style fireplace constructed of matte-glazed Grueby tiles was preserved in its entirety.  The fire- place, taken down tile-by-tile during construction, catalogued and stored off site, was then reassembled to recreate the original fireplace surround.The 1950s and 1960s additions and the South Huntington Avenue entry canopy were removed.  The new addition includes a “quality of Life Center” for use by neighborhood residents.  New red brick complements the original brick, and zinc shingles are used to highlight and give scale to the building, similar to how the terracotta was originally used.  Finally, a garden on the south side provides a quiet contemplative place for residents to relax or use for planting, an activity that gives them hope during treatment. The owner is pursuing LEED Gold level certification for the project. 

Photo courtesy of Rick Mandelkorn