In the fall of 2017, Kenneth Boroson Architects was retained by RMS Companies to design two mid-rise apartment buildings as a part of the City of New Haven’s Hill-to-Down Community Plan. Expected to be completed in late 2019, the two new multifamily residential developments will be a significant step forward in the city’s mission to transform the underused stretch between the Hill neighborhood and Downtown New Haven.

In 2003, a private community center at the heart of New Haven’s Dixwell community, known as “Q House”, closed its doors due to lack of financial support. Located on the corner of Dixwell Avenue and Foote Street, Q House stood as a fundamental anchor of the neighborhood for 79 years. Before its closing, Q House was brimming with life, providing recreational facilities and a haven for tens of thousands of Dixwell residents. For years afterwards, the reverberating loss of the beloved Q House continued, leaving the Dixwell community without a place to call their own.

In 2013, Kenneth Boroson Architects was selected by Rippowam Corporation, the development arm of Charter Oak Communities (the Housing Authority of the City of Stamford), to transform an obsolete and deteriorated rental apartment complex into a developed and self-sustaining, mixed-income community.

Passive House, a revitalized European building method, is slashing conventional heating and cooling costs by up to 90% and claiming the title of today’s highest energy standard in the process. The team at Kenneth Boroson Architects is designing their first Passive House development as a part of a well-crafted strategy to radically transform the housing landscape of downtown Meriden, Connecticut. Sustainability is nestled into a larger civic vision for Meriden that will meet the unique needs of its residents, providing them with new mixed- income and mixed-use housing along with a safe, walkable, and richly amenitized downtown.

Rockview 2, which will consist of 78 new townhouse style residential units, has just been approved to move forward by the New Haven City Plan Commission. The commissioners unanimously approved the site plan and inland wetland application. Rockview 2 is the fourth phase of the West Rock project which encompasses two complete neighborhoods (Brookside and Rockview). The project is split into six phases.  The former development consisted of 1940’s brick “barracks-style” buildings and was demolished due to its state of disrepair and the presence of mold and other environmental hazards.

For many years now, one of the most bandied about terms in the design and construction industries has been sustainability.  From design professionals to specialty contractors to product vendors to recently adopted building codes to third party certification agencies to public and private clients, the word sustainability has been on the tip of everyone’s tongues.  But what does it all mean?  

On past wood framed construction projects we’ve designed, the supporting roof structure has been constructed with prefabricated roof trusses. As with any pre-fabricated system, final design and installation drawings must be provided by the manufacturer of these systems.

Creating a fun and inviting environment for children in school can be a difficult task in today’s cultural landscape. The many tragic school shootings that have occurred in this country have put educators and municipalities alike to the task of creating safety guidelines for not only procedures but the school building itself.

At the end of 2015, our office was awarded an exciting project to create the new DISTRICT complex at the former CT Transit bus depot on James Street in New Haven. The primary goals of the project are to create a new campus for business and technology innovation in a portion of the existing building and to redevelop the site to become a vibrant contributor to a developing neighborhood.

Both! The balanced integration of artistic sensibility and scientific methodology as it applies to designing buildings and their environments is essential to creating great architecture.