Photo courtesy of Google Maps

Photo courtesy of Google Maps

What: Newton Pavilion
Where: 88 East Newton St., Boston
Owner: Massachusetts Division of Capital Asset Management and Maintenance
Built: 1978 

A vacant former hospital building on the Boston Medical Center campus has been converted into a temporary quarantine shelter containing 304 non-acute beds for the homeless in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The S/L/A/M Collaborative’s Boston studio and Gilbane Building Co. led the technical planning, design and construction of the temporary shelter at the facility, which has been inactive since October 2018.

BMC will manage operations for the temporary facility, and patient care will be administered by their clinical staff. The total reoccupied project area makes up approximately 166,500 square feet spanning eight floors. The project scope included reactivation and upgrades to building systems including life safety, HVAC, fire protection, plumbing, fire protection, medical gasses and electrical equipment. 

Following the Army Corps of Engineers review and approval of the occupancy plan, Gilbane mobilized on-site to deliver the project ahead of schedule. 

They Said It:  

“The project team understood from day one that reinvigorating the space and systems of a ‘mothballed hospital would require expertise, proactivity, coordination and flexibility. From the commonwealth to the subcontractors, I’ve never seen a purer example of unyielding technical collaboration and speed to serve the most vulnerable populations at a more critical time in our community.”
— Gabriel Comstock, lead healthcare planner and design architect, SLAM Boston Studio