Acentech, Commodore Builders, Höweler + Yoon Architecture, and STV|DPM finish new global headquarters for Continuum

Boston, MA Acentech, Commodore Builders, Höweler + Yoon Architecture, and STV|DPM have completed a new global headquarters for Continuum, a global innovation design consultancy. The firms jointly provided design, consulting, and construction services for Continuum’s new 50,000 s/f office in the Seaport’s Innovation and Design Building, a 1.4 million s/f mixed-use complex. Continuum’s workspace supports the firm’s identity as a pioneering design and innovation company, developing products, services, and experiences that improve people’s lives around the world.

Continuum - Boston, MA

Relocating its 120 employees from West Newton, Continuum sought to create an open work environment with opportunities for collaboration and space for client interaction. Designed by Höweler + Yoon and built by Commodore, the office supports the unique work patterns of Continuum’s interdisciplinary design practice, balancing the need for open and informal spaces for interaction and collaboration, private spaces for individual work and small group meetings, and public spaces for visitor tours, large meetings, and events. Acentech provided acoustical, audiovisual and IT system design for the project, ensuring that technological amenities and proper acoustics were seamlessly integrated throughout the space. STV|DPM provided lease review, design/construction oversight, FF&E (furniture fixtures and equipment) coordination, and move management for Continuum’s new office.

“Our move back to Boston – and the Innovation and Design Building in particular – puts Continuum at the center of technology and design innovation, and allows us to recruit top talent in the City of Boston,” said Carmencita Bua, Chief Operating Officer at Continuum. “This dedicated project team collaborated seamlessly to deliver a unique and edgy workspace that fits our firm, how we work, and how we innovate with our clients.”

To extend creativity into the office environment and company workflow, Höweler + Yoon’s design strategy took two approaches: workshops, laboratories, and flexible collaboration areas are located in the center of the office, allowing circulation to pass through these spaces, and project rooms, open plan work areas, and public spaces are placed on the periphery. Continuum’s Made Real Lab in the center serve as part laboratory and part showroom to create an intermediate zone between public areas and private project rooms. The deliberate sequencing of rooms allows visitors and employees alike the opportunity to observe how people interact with products and environments.

Continuum - Boston, MA

To ensure speech privacy in the open spaces and sound isolation from noisy equipment, Acentech provided guidance to keep these open, collaborative spaces free from distractions. Proper room finishes, sound absorptive features, desk configurations, and mechanical system noise control all contribute to the workability of these large areas. Audiovisual features such as live streaming, web conferencing, large screen displays, speech reinforcement, audio playback, ADA-compliant assistive listening, system controls, and digital signage, including a video wall in the lobby, are all components in this workspace. A premium 10G structured cabling system was designed for the intense amounts of bandwidth on the corporate networks and to support streaming digital video. The structured cabling system is flexible, expanding to support Continuum’s audiovisual presentation systems when needed. These technologies were integrated into conference rooms, project suites, breakout rooms, public spaces, and the lobby. The result is a revolutionary office space that stimulates the collaboration of its diverse users.

Commodore Builders, the construction manager for the project, has completed several other projects for Continuum, including an expansion and a renovation project at their former headquarters in West Newton, and has also worked with Höweler + Yoon Architecture on the design of the BSA Space at Atlantic Wharf.

Acentech is a multi-disciplinary acoustics, audiovisual system, IT and security system design, and vibration consulting firm providing a wide range of services. The company serves a diverse group of clients from its offices in Cambridge, Mass.; Trevose, Penn.; and Los Angeles, Calif. With a professional staff of more than 50 consultants, Acentech is one of the oldest and largest organizations of its type: an unequaled resource to engineers, architects, and designers worldwide. For more information, please visit www.acentech.com or on Twitter at @AcentechTweet.

Commodore Builders provides clients with a wide range of construction management services, from project conception to pre-construction, execution, closeout and warranty service. Our mission is to make the construction process easy for clients and the outcome excellence in execution. Commodore is listed annually as a top place to work in Massachusetts and is a dedicated charitable contributor. For more information, please visit www.commodorebuilders.com.

Diversified Project Management (DPM), a leading provider of owner’s project management services throughout the Greater Boston/New England region, is now a part of STV and doing business as STV|DPM. STV|DPM is comprised of more than 70 professionals throughout New England. Founded more than 100 years ago, STV is a leader in providing construction management, architectural, planning, engineering, and environmental services for buildings, transportation systems, infrastructure, energy and other facilities. The firm is ranked 40th in Engineering News-Record’s Top 500 Design Firms survey and 16th in Building Design + Construction magazine’s Top 40 Construction Management firms. STV is 100 percent employee-owned.

Continuum is a leading global innovation design firm. We design products, services, and brand experiences that improve people’s lives, in small and large ways, while taking our clients’ business into the future. Founded in 1983 in Boston, Continuum has more than 30 years of experience creating breakthrough innovations. ContinuumInnovation.com