HMFH Architects

Worthington Place, Cambridge’s largest adaptive reuse of a historic building for residential use, consists of five separate structures from an existing 300,000 sf historic manufacturing complex renovated and converted into 186 rental units. The renovation was designed to take advantage of much of the industrial character of the building, such as the 16 foot floor-to-floor dimensions, the 2 foot diameter bell-capped concrete columns and large industrial windows. A four-story atrium, long since floored over, was restored to bring natural light into the main entrance lobby. An existing shed building in complex center was stripped to its steel frame to create a landscaped courtyard.

The original 2.5 acre site on Binney Street was built in 1879 as the Blake & Knowles Steam Pump Company, which then became the Worthington Pump Company. Worthington produced every shipboard steam pump for military use during World War I. The site was acquired in the early 1940’s for light manufacturing for the automobile industry, and was purchased in July 1997 to begin the historic renovation.