Revolution Hotel lobby / Tina Liu, Kaplan Construction
Boston, MA – Kaplan Construction, a WBE general contractor and construction management firm, announced that the renovation of the Revolution Hotel in Boston has been recognized as a winner in the Adaptive Reuse category at the Massachusetts Historical Commission’s 41st Annual Preservation Awards.
In addition, the project was recognized with the Mayor Thomas Menino Legacy Award and a People’s Choice Award at an awards gala held recently at the Copley Plaza Hotel. The project was nominated and designed by PCA/Prellwitz Chilinski Associates, Inc. of Cambridge.
Revolution Hotel lower level
Located in Boston’s chic South End within walking distance to the Back Bay, the Revolution Hotel showcases the city’s revolutionary past.
The design celebrates the “bones” of the building with tasteful upgrades and stately architecture, contrasted with bold art installations, color and graphics. Numerous vignettes are conveyed through a range of media, from the Boston Tea Party and the Boston Marathon to Wonder Woman (whose first home on Earth was Boston).
The project team includes MEP engineer, Commercial Construction Consulting (C3); and structural engineer, Roome & Guarracino.
Kaplan Construction and the design team tackled several challenges associated with changing the use of this building from dormitory to boutique hotel.
To add new bathrooms into the cast-in-place concrete building, strategic cores needed to be located and reinforced with steel beams. With 163 total rooms, existing conditions required layout of 41 different room types.
The building’s concrete slabs were supported on old masonry walls, neither of which could be breached, so all ducting, pipes and conduit were run externally along the walls and ceilings, thus requiring custom solutions for fixed furniture, casework, and lighting in each room.
Kaplan upgraded many interior features of the existing building, including energy-efficient windows, amenity areas, and a lobby that showcases custom concrete flooring and a custom mural.
Exterior work included a full roof replacement and improvements to the private courtyard as well as a full fit-out to accommodate a basement bar, lounge, and fitness room. The bar and lounge functions as the co-working space Conspire during the day.
