A manse makeover: The Dahod Family Alumni Center at the Castle

The goal of this project was to provide a gathering place for Boston University’s more than 300,000 graduates that would put them right at the heart of the Charles River campus.

This adaptive reuse of a historic Tudor-Victorian mansion required a complete exterior restoration, the installation of a new commercial kitchen and HVAC system, and an extensive expansion of the BU Pub.

To preserve the so-called “Castle’s” load-bearing sandstone masonry, which had a highly variable ashlar pattern, the project team, led by Finegold Alexander Architects and Suffolk Construction, salvaged, cut, and matched existing stone to replace damaged stone, reducing the need for new building material.

The wood roof didn’t meet seismic codes. The project team anchored the roof to the existing masonry and blew insulation into the rafter cavities to provide a structural diaphragm for venting below the new slate.

A big part of the project involved protecting interior finishes. Existing wood windows were removed, numbered, taken offsite for restoration, and reinstalled.

HONORABLE MENTION

BUILDING TEAM Finegold Alexander Architects (submitting firm, architect) Boston University (owner/developer, CM) Thornton Tomasetti (SE) WSP (MEP) Suffolk Construction (GC) DETAILS 15,371 sf Total cost $11.4 million Construction time September 2017 to September 2018 Delivery method Design-bid-build