Hacin Re-Envisions Historic Buildings at Iron Works
Hacin is proud to be the design team working with National Development to re-envision two buildings at the center of their 2M square foot Iron Works development in South Boston. The entire future development will be mixed-use, including residential and life-science buildings, while these two buildings, formerly owned by the Cole Hersee Company, will ignite the first phase of repositioning the area within the neighborhood. Located at 10-80 Old Colony Avenue in South Boston, “Iron Works” will include creative offices and restaurant, fitness, retail, and maker space, as well as outdoor amenity areas.
Before (bottom) + After (top) – Cole Hersee Buildings at Iron Works Development
National Development announced that “Iron Works” is an homage to the site’s industrial and innovative heritage. During the latter half of the 19th century, the site contributed to South Boston’s reputation as one of the strongest industrial areas in the region, and the new visual treatment to the Cole Hersee buildings was inspired to celebrate this history. Hacin played a key role in both preserving the building’s industrial character and reimagining the façade with new storefront designs and graphic murals for both buildings. This began with an interdisciplinary conceptual visioning process that transitioned into architectural and visual identity services, devising specific improvements strategies for each of the two buildings. The exterior deployment of the project’s visual identity and graphic murals is one particularly exciting aspect of the façade development, conceived by Hacin and executed by local muralist Mark Grundig.
Before (bottom) + After (top) – Cole Hersee Buildings at Iron Works Development
Before (bottom) + After (top) – Cole Hersee Buildings at Iron Works Development
The repositioning process is still ongoing, including new storefronts, bold exterior graphic accents, and historic character cut outs. Building tenants include Tatte Bakery, Castle Island Brewing, Rock Spot Climbing, a B/SPOKE Studios pop-up, and Freight Farms’ headquarters and showroom. Future tenants will include a pickleball/restaurant concept by PKL and a dumpling factory and café by Mei Mei; both are set to open in Spring 2022. National Development announced that “Iron Works” is an homage to the site’s industrial and innovative heritage. During the latter half of the 19th century, the site contributed to South Boston’s reputation as one of the strongest industrial areas in the region.
Photos by Gunnar Gleuck – Flaunt Boston