Somerville, MA | 1960’s Urbanism

Assembly Square:

By Katherine Ginn Ubben

Remembering the Past + Creating a New Identity

Historical Evidence

Former Wetlands of the Mystic River

Brick Manufacture Boom

1890s

Ford MotorAssembly Plant

1920s

N

Long before the lowlands of Assembly Square were developed, it was orginally home to wetlands, running along the Mystic River. Today, You can still find evidence of this, where wild grasses grow in the damp areas of the site.

“The largest non-agricultural employer in town, and the industry which characterized the landscape for 70 years following the Revolution, was the brick-making business. The proximity of a major metropolitan area, coupled with the extensive glacial clay deposits of the Boston Basin, provided the impetus for early brick manufacture in the inland towns of Medford, Cambridge, and Somerville.”

24 Million bricks were produced in Somerville at the height of the brick-making industry.

“The Ford Motor Company opened its first Boston-area assembly plant in Cambridge in 1914. In 1926, the company moved to Somerville, constructing a model assembly plant on filled land near the Mystic River (near the reputed location of the 1636 lauching of Governor Winthrop’s ship “Blessing of the Bay”).

400 Number of cars made at the Ford Assembly Plant within every 8 hours.

70 Percentage of Assembly Square that was orginally wetland

1700s

Great Cove added, now Financial District South Cove added, now Chinatown/Tufts Medical

Trimount

Copps Hill

Fort Hill

Land added along Charles Street/West End Created ropeworks on west end of the Commons

+ 203 Acres

West Cove

1634 Boston SettledKnown as the Shawmut PeninsulaDefined by three hills: Copps Hill,Trimount, and Fort Hill

Beacon Hill cut to fill Mill PondState House erected atop reduced Beacon Hill

Added more land than the entire Shawmut PeninsulaFill was transported from Needham Heights

Back Bay

+ 507 Acres

Great Cove

South Cove

+ 298 Acres

Mill Pond

+ 50 Acres487 Acres

1830 Mill Pond Filled 1845 Great + South Cove Filled 1865 West Cove Filled 1890 Back Bay Filled

Boston’s Landfill History

45%Industrial

25%Residential

31%Infrastructure

1

23

4

USS Constitution Museum

Big Dig + Columbus Waterfront Park Fort Point - South Boston

Piers Park Sailing Center 1 2

3 4

Regional Analysis:Adaptive Re-Use of Industrial Sites

Industrial

Park

Assembly Square

Not Shown as Park

Google 2012

Taxonomy ofAssembly SquareHistorical FillMajorMinor

MajorMinor

Historical Site Originally WetlandMajor

Minor

Area Lacking Character

Area of Isolation

MajorMinor

Node

PathMajor

Minor

Thesis + ConceptWith the objective of providing more open-space for the

residents of Somerville, I highlighted the history of the site by recreating the wetlands and reconstructing the

Assembly Square water tower.

By lifting the land, I introduced a hill that provides better views of the riverfront, the site, and the Boston skyline.

The infrastructure that supports the hill submerges the ground level of the program while allowing for a system

to filter greywater through the wetlands.

Framework for Assembly SquarePoints of History

Historical Site

Edge

Axis

Open Space

Wetland

Winter - Snow Sledding Summer - Picnic Summer - Outdoor Movie

Concept of Open Space

I - 93

McGr

ath Hi

ghwa

y

Broadway Avenue

Sullivan

Chelsea

Wellin

gton

Foss P

ark

Framework forAssembly Square

Mystic River

Draw Seven Park

Foss Park

Ten Hills

N

High Density Residential = 459,900 SFMixed Use = 165,000 SF

Retail = 150,000 SF

Office = 208,600 SF

Hotel = 263,500 SF

Community = 55,000 SF

Parking = 312,000 SF

Program

Open Space = 338,000 SF

I - 93 Home Depot

Public AtriumConstructed Wetland

First Stage of Water FiltrationMBTA

Orange Line to Oak Grove

Node: Community Center

Natural WetlandSecond Stage of Filtration

MBTACommuter Rail to

Newburyport/Rockport

Mystic RiverFinal Stage of Water Filtration

Node: Community Center

Sports & Leisure CenterSt. Cloud, FranceKOZ Architectes

Food Trucks + Open-Air Market

Hotel Lobby

Moss Grafitti

Public Atrium

Nykredit HeadquartersCopenhagen, DenmarkSchmidt, Hammer, Lassen

Residential Passageway

Gallery

Classroom

Running Track

Fitness

Dance

Gym

Game

Office

Node: Community Center

Phase I: Infrastructure + Node Phase II: Hotel + Office Phase III: Retail + Office + Residential

Concept Model Final Model

Final Model inserted into Site Model