Copley Wolff Design Group is in the midst of work on the outdoor spaces at such high-profile projects as the new Liberty Mutual corporate headquarters in Boston, Assembly Square in Somerville and the new Charlestown home for Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital. The landscape architects have designed public spaces large and small, from the Frog Pond in the Boston Common to the layout of several parks along the Rose Kennedy Greenway. The firm’s principals sat down with Banker & Tradesman to talk about the various projects they are working on and what else is on the company’s plate.
Sean Sanger
Title: Principal
Age: 51
Experience: 28 years
Lynn Wolff
Title: Principal and President
Age: 56
Experience: 30 years
John Copley
Title: Principal
Age: 60
Experience: 35 years
Q: What are the challenges at a site like Assembly Square, where there are so many stakeholders, with entities like the state Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), site developer Federal Realty Investment Trust and apartment builder AvalonBay Communities all involved in the planning process?Copley: In this case, as mitigation for building this large development, the developer has agreed to improve the existing park for DCR.
Wolff: So the DCR feels fortunate that somebody is investing money in their park, but they want to be sure it’s done correctly – as environmentally correct as it can be, and supporting the wildlife and the public use of the park. And the different developers are very happy about it too, but also want their residents to use the park and make that connection to the river. There have been many public meetings about all of it.
Q: You’ve worked on so many mixed-use projects that have been essentially creating new places, even whole neighborhoods. Does that make you look at your work in a different way than you might look at projects that are not creating a new concept for an area?
Wolff: I think that one of the skills we have is that we understand human feel in the out-of-doors, what it feels like to be in a place that isn’t defined by walls. That includes the streetscapes, the right-of-way from building to building, how people experience shade and sun.
Copley: Each place has its own context, so you try to find that and add it into the project. Lots of times it can be subtle things, like colors, shapes or plant materials. Developers really understand the need for a place within a project. They want a better place and better landscape for their projects.
Q: John, you’re working on the Liberty Mutual headquarters in the Back Bay. What’s the context you’ve identified for that?
Copley: They’re a corporate campus and they want to seen as a single entity when you enter that campus. There will be a lot of consistency in the streetscape.
Q: Sean, can you talk about the outdoor space, or therapeutic trail, that you’re designing for Spaulding hospital?
Sanger: We’ve been working closely with their physical therapists to create a space that allows patients to begin to reconnect with the outside world. Those include things like the walking materials or slopes or ramps, different basic things people will encounter every day when they get out of the hospital. We’re trying to make the outdoor therapy space like a real-world situation for patients. We have incorporated benches, leaning rails, paving patterns and other kinds of public art for people to identify … almost like a scavenger hunt to find three-dimensional objects in the landscape.
Five Reasons To Own Your Own Business
- Ability to choose a diversity of projects, clients, and colleagues
- Being the key decision-maker
- Mentoring young talent
- Creating a fun and stimulating work environment
- Having a positive impact on the livability of cities
