Photo courtesy of JCJ Architecture
Harry Wheeler
Principal, JCJ Architecture
Age: 51
Industry experience: 30 years
From the Boston Harbor Hotel to the recently rebranded Pennyweight Hotel in Boston’s Bulfinch Triangle, local lodging properties are taking on a new look with updates designed by JCJ Architecture. The architecture and interior design firm acquired Boston-based Group One Partners in 2023, expanding its local market share including Group One’s specialty in the hospitality sector. The two firms recently consolidated their local offices at Channel Center in South Boston. Headquartered in Hartford, Connecticut since its founding in 1936, JCJ launched its national expansion in 2005 and has opened offices in Boston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego and Tulsa.
Q: How does the new Channel Center office reflect your workplace strategy?
A: JCJ and my former company, Group One, merged 18 months ago. JCJ had a small office [at 1 State St.] with six people, and we had about 26 people at our office on West 3rd St. It was an older South Boston brownstone. We were spread over three different floors. Not only were we looking for something that was one floor, but something that had great breathing room. Our space is all post-and-beam, large windows, great personality, lots of collaboration space.
This location at Channel Center checked all the boxes. We looked at this building right before COVID, and luckily one of the floors was still available. All of our people – architects, designers, accountants – are intermingled. It makes for great conversations. Everyone is overhearing what other people are talking about. As a company, we are “anti-office.” We don’t have individual offices or cubes. We all sit together. We get to collaborate. We also have phone rooms if people need privacy, but the new space is generating some conversions. We have a white noise machine to mask some of the background and provide some ambient noise.
Q: What are some of your recent projects in the hotels and hospitality sector, and how do they reflect the design trends?
A: We are completing a renovation of the public meeting rooms and the restaurant at the Boston Harbor Hotel, which is a high-visibility project. We designed the plans for a new 300-room hotel in Back Bay, the former Red Lantern restaurant site [at 39 Stanhope St.]. There were a lot of conversations during the permitting with the Historical Commission and the neighborhood. We saved the facade, which is part of the old historic stable building. That will be the entryway to the hotel.
Aside from the facade, we are taking everything behind it down. We have a very contemporary 27-story building above that, which has a great separation from new to old. A glass-roof restaurant will sit atop the stable building on the second floor. That will be the buffer between the modern facade and the stable building. There also will be a ground-floor lobby lounge bar.
Q: What’s your impression of the Boston Planning Department proposal to encourage adaptive reuse of buildings in Downtown Crossing while raising maximum heights?
A: I’m all for it. Some of these projects that are historic, sometimes are just not the size that can support the style of development. It’s great for the city to get these buildings back active again.
Q: Are you seeing additional demand for office conversions and which types of reuse projects are attracting the most interest beyond residential?
A: We are studying a lot of projects and a lot of office buildings in different cities. We have one in Boston at 15-19 Congress St., [an approved hotel conversion of] an old quirky office building. They are becoming more understandable. Some of the larger corporate office park buildings may not work out, but these unique quirky ones in Boston and some areas of D.C. fit really well.
Q: What are the changes under way at the Boston Harbor Hotel?
A: We are providing the indoor spaces with operable window walls so the restaurants interact better with the waterfront. We renovated it probably 10 years ago, and the goal this time was reinvigorating the restaurant with a new concept and all new finishes and layout.
Q: What are the major sources of design work in the hotel industry?
A: New construction definitely stays busy with the select or mid-service: the Courtyards and Hampton Inns and the major brands. We’re seeing these new lifestyle brands take on a life of their own. The new Tempo brand by Hilton is gaining traction. We opened the Canopy by Hilton hotel near Faneuil Hall [in 2022]. That is another neighborhood lifestyle focused hotel.
The more boutique brand is at the forefront of everyone’s mind. The parent companies are looking to cover more opportunities for travelers. They continue to find gaps in the market and fill the gaps. It’s market-driven to drive higher rates and higher returns. Not every market dictates many of these, but in these urban core districts like Boston, setting yourself apart from the competition is what everybody is looking to do.
Q: What’s JCJ Architecture’s business growth strategy?
A: Our practice is focused on a couple of markets: higher ed and K-12 education, as well as hospitality. And we also have commercial work such as mixed-use residential. We are very strong in these markets. We just want to grow our foothold across the sectors. With our new office space and room to grow internally, we are reenergized.
Wheeler’s Five Favorite Ice Cream Flavors:
- M&M chocolate
- Chocolate chip
- Phish food
- Peppermint
- Vanilla Bean
