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Sean Sanger
Sean Sanger
Title: Principal, Copley Wolff Design Group
Age: 56
Experience: 33 years
Copley Wolf Design Group has a hand in designing green spaces and outdoor gathering spots at many of Greater Boston’s multifamily developments and office building updates. Sean Sanger joined the Boston-based landscape architecture firm in 2000 and was named a principal in 2012. The firm is participating in such projects as redevelopment of the Mary Ellen McCormack housing complex in South Boston and Davis Cos.’ Alewife Research Center life science complex in Cambridge. In Boston’s North End, it’s leading the restoration of a garden and installation of a glass and water feature at the Old North Church. Last year, Copley Wolff relocated and expanded its headquarters from 160 Boylston St. to 10 Post Office Square in the Financial District.
Q: What considerations went into your selection of your new headquarters at 10 Post Office Square?
A:We absolutely wanted to stay downtown. That’s kind of who we are. The projects we do are all urban streetscape stuff. We looked at Back Bay, Fort Point Channel, Faneuil Hall, 15 or 20 locations. Our challenge was finding a space of less than 3,000 square feet. It was a good chance for us to do some purging that you never do until you move.
Copley Wolff Design is working on the consolidation of Lowell’s courthouses into the Lowell Justice Center in the Hamilton Canal District.
Q: How did the interior fitout compare to a job you’d do for a client?
A: Really very similar. We actually did a lot of the design work in our previous space. (Principal) John (Copley), being an architect as well as a landscape architect, did a lot of the space planning and working with (landlord) Synergy and their consultants Dyer Brown.
Q: How is the role of landscape architects changing as developers incorporate more green spaces, living walls and other outdoor elements?
A: There’s a lot of that. You’re getting into courtyards, roof decks, and at least on the residential side, most of the projects have water, whether it’s a pool or reflective elements. It’s really trying to up the quality and the overall gathering spaces. In a lot of these spaces, the square footage of the units is getting smaller so they’re providing more of the community spaces. Everybody’s trying to one-up everyone else, whether it’s roof decks or club rooms. It’s fun and interesting and we enjoy it
Q: What are the top amenities developers are incorporating into multifamily and office projects?
A: With most of our stuff downtown on the office side, they’ve all got some kind of exterior space with connectivity, Wi-Fi, the ability to charge things and work outside. Usually they’re more about small group meetings outside: lunch spaces, working in flexible seating and gathering spaces. The residential is more for evening and weekend events. It’s all about communal dining and grills and TVs and entertainment, those social gathering spaces. Pets and dog parks are a big thing. With dog parks, the tricky part is getting the ground plan right. You’re working with pets and how you deal with water and removal of waste. Those are not sexy and glamorous things, but you have to be smart about how you design them.
Q: What projects are you working on outside of Boston?
A: We like to create common ground, bringing people together along all races and incomes and ethnicities. In Lowell’s Hamilton Canal District, we’re working on the Lowell
The firm is now working on phase two of AvalonBay’s NorthPoint in Cambridge.
Justice Center, where they’re bringing all the courthouses together. It’s another one of those projects that will contribute to the transformation of that area. There’s a lot of residential coming in as well and vacant parcels filling in as a major transformation of that neighborhood. The architecture in those buildings is awesome and those are very difficult to recreate.
We’ve got another dog park at AvalonBay’s NorthPoint phase two in Cambridge, where we’re putting one under the Green Line viaduct. We’re looking to activate under that future area. It’s going to be a cool urban park, shaded and protected. With the success of what’s being done under I-93 in the South End (at Underground at Ink Block), this is similar. There are all sorts of mounds and forms to activate the space for the dogs to have an interest. The other great thing that AvalonBay looks at is how much those dog parks are becoming public meeting places.
Sanger’s Five Favorite California Vineyards:
- B.R. Cohn Winery, Sonoma Valley
- Ledson Winery, Sonoma Valley
- John Evan Cellars, Livermore
- Gundlach Bundschu Winery, Sonoma Valley
- Robert Sinskey Vineyard, Napa Valley
