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Charles River Island
Charles River Island
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Other Projects by Paul Lukez Architecture
Charles River Island
STATUS
Concept
SIZE
500,000 sqft - 1,000,000 sqft
Proposal
This project envisions replacing the Massachusetts Avenue (Harvard) Bridge with a new structure spanning the Charles River Basin. At its center, a tear-shaped island provides vibrant public spaces, gardens, and pathways for recreation and gathering. The bridge’s sculptural form rises gently 15 feet above the current span, allowing greater clearance for rowing and boating below. Its twin ribbon-like lanes expand at mid-span, framing views of the island and city beyond. Together, the bridge and island establish a new civic gateway linking MIT to Boston’s Back Bay.
Context & Inspiration
Boston’s waterfront has long been shaped by transformative engineering and design. The existing 19th-century bridge, while functional, diminishes the grandeur of the Basin. Its low profile and heavy structure cast shadows over the water, limiting both light and activity below. Drawing from Ralph Adams Cram’s 1907 “St. Botolph Island” vision and Boston’s glacial drumlins, this proposal reimagines the site as a landscape that merges infrastructure and ecology. It reclaims the Basin’s potential as both a transportation corridor and a place of public life and beauty.
Design Features
The island’s western drumlin houses a botanical garden, while the eastern supports a domed performance space aligned with MIT’s Great Dome and Boston’s skyline. The bridge’s paired ribbons carry vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians, glowing softly at night to appear light and floating above the water. Below, illuminated surfaces and wood-clad elements create warmth and welcome along the waterfront. Uniting land, water, and structure, the project transforms a utilitarian crossing into a celebrated public destination.
This project envisions replacing the Massachusetts Avenue (Harvard) Bridge with a new structure spanning the Charles River Basin. At its center, a tear-shaped island provides vibrant public spaces, gardens, and pathways for recreation and gathering. The bridge’s sculptural form rises gently 15 feet above the current span, allowing greater clearance for rowing and boating below. Its twin ribbon-like lanes expand at mid-span, framing views of the island and city beyond. Together, the bridge and island establish a new civic gateway linking MIT to Boston’s Back Bay.
Context & Inspiration
Boston’s waterfront has long been shaped by transformative engineering and design. The existing 19th-century bridge, while functional, diminishes the grandeur of the Basin. Its low profile and heavy structure cast shadows over the water, limiting both light and activity below. Drawing from Ralph Adams Cram’s 1907 “St. Botolph Island” vision and Boston’s glacial drumlins, this proposal reimagines the site as a landscape that merges infrastructure and ecology. It reclaims the Basin’s potential as both a transportation corridor and a place of public life and beauty.
Design Features
The island’s western drumlin houses a botanical garden, while the eastern supports a domed performance space aligned with MIT’s Great Dome and Boston’s skyline. The bridge’s paired ribbons carry vehicles, cyclists, and pedestrians, glowing softly at night to appear light and floating above the water. Below, illuminated surfaces and wood-clad elements create warmth and welcome along the waterfront. Uniting land, water, and structure, the project transforms a utilitarian crossing into a celebrated public destination.
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