0 Tech Startup Progresses Architectural Renderings

Posted on June 16, 2015 by Wil Catlin

iphone app for architects and real estate developers

Credit: BBJ

What will it look like? That’s the question so many property owners and developers face when first envisioning a renovation, and thanks to Terrence Masson of Building Conversation, we will soon be able to get a much clearer idea. The company will allow architects and others to visualized a proposed building within the context of its surroundings.

“It does that through the camera of an iPad or iPhone which acts as a “window,” on top of which architectural design proposals are overlaid. This technology is known as augmented reality, which offers users a live view of a real-world environment combined with elements that are computer-generated,” according to a Bizjournals.com posting.

“In effect, you get to see and walk around a full-scale hologram of the proposed architecture through the iPad,” said Building Conversation’s CEO Terrence Masson, who founded the company with George Thrush, the director of the School of Architecture at Northeastern University…Masson started working on the technology as part of a Capstone project at Northeastern about three years ago.

You can read the full article on BizJournals.

0 Boston Office Designers Discuss their Craft

Posted on June 10, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: BostInno

How does a designer think about crafting that cool, creative new office space that will foster innovative ideas? Well, have a look into the thought process of three of Boston’s best at Bostinno:

• Nina Chase is a landscape architect at Sasaki Associates.

• Haril Pandya is a principal at CBT Architects.

• Michael LeBlanc is a principal at Utile Inc.

0 Is WeWork’s $5 Billion Valuation Justified?

Posted on June 9, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Credit: Bloomberg

Is WeWork onto something here or will this be a passing fad? Time will tell, but if the 90,000 glasses served last month are a litmus test of the future, WeWork is onto something that could transform how “Justin in time” office space is used.

From Bloomberg:

At a basic level, WeWork is a company that sublets office space, taking care of many of the time-consuming hassles involved in self-employment. That’s not the factor, though, that has captured the fancy of venture capital investors, who have pushed the five-year-old company’s valuation to a giddy $5 billion…WeWork has cast itself as a new kind of workplace for the post-recession labor force and a generation that has never known a cubicle. It aspires to make your job a place you never want to quit.

0 MassChallenge Accepts 128 New Startups

Posted on June 2, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Who are the newest inductees into MassChallenge? Have a look.

The BBJ remarked on the program’s intrigue, “part of the four-month long no-equity program, startup teams will be granted free office space at MassChallenge’s headquarters in the Seaport and work with expert mentors in the area. Hardware startups will also have access to the MADE@ MassChallenge hardware lab, where they can prototype and manufacture products.”

Jump over to the BizJournals.com website to see the complete list of all 128 startups accepted to the accelerator program.

0 April Fools: Corporate Edition

Posted on April 27, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Boston mad men office design for april fools

Credit: The Boston Globe

April fools isn’t only for the water sprayer at the kitchen sink. Some of the team at Endeavour Partners in Kendall Square were taken back when they arrived at their office on April 1st.

According to The Boston Globe, an elaborate April Fools’ Day prank was achieved by the office assistants and company chief executive Michael A.M. Davies; “more than a dozen computers and phones were replaced by typewriters, notepads, and rotary phones. Old records and copies of Life magazine were placed around the office, along with a bottle of whiskey for good measure…Neel Desai, an associate consultant, said the gag was indicative of the office culture at the company.”

You can read more about the ruse on The Boston Globe.

0 Boston Tech Companies Present Personality

Posted on March 26, 2015 by Wil Catlin

Does your office look like a maze of cubicles, bench seating or that of today’s tech firms? See how Carbonite has extended their brand onto their walls and doors at their new location?

A Boston Globe article Welcome to the new world of downtown office spaces. As tech firms have migrated into the staid Financial District and nearby environs during the past five years, they’ve done their best to put their unique stamps on work spaces. Goodbye, wood paneling. Hello, Yoda…Their offices have, essentially, become extensions of their brands — physical manifestations of how they view the world, and how they want the world to view them.

You can read the article on the Globe’s website.

0 Boston Tops US in CMBS Loans

Posted on January 28, 2015 by Wil Catlin

745 Boylston Street office building in Boston

Office Building at 745 Boylston Street in Copley Sq.

Boston leads New York, D.C., Chicago and L.A. not only in the bid for the 2024 Olympics, but also for CMBS loans.

The Boston Business Journal is reporting the “percentage of Boston-area commercial mortgage backed security real estate loans with late payments is its lowest in months and is among the best in the country, according to new data from real estate information provider Trepp,,,According to Trepp, 2.84 percent of Boston-area CMBS loans were 30 days delinquent or more as of the end of November. A year ago, the rate was 4.02 percent. The decline has been more or less steady, with slight increases a few months…The Boston-area compares especially well with other major U.S markets.

You can find more information on the BBJ’s website.

0 What Makes for Cool Office Space in Boston?

Posted on December 4, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Credit: The Boston Globe

Some of the creative spaces to work house some interesting amenities that would have been frowned-upon in the recent past. How we work and how we collaborate has evolved, and companies are trying to offer a creative and fun environment that can help their teams excel.

Cool features include:

·         Hammock
·         Beer tabs
·         Standing desks
·         IT vending machine
·         Nap room
·         Kitchens with large flat-screen TV’s
·         Foosball
·         Treadmill desks
·         No assigned desks
·         Wall displays of employees which is designed to make introductions
·         Town hall styled meeting space
·         Glass, glass and more glass for abundant natural light

A recent Boston Globe article on Boston’s “Cool Office Spaces at Top Places to Work“, notes “some of Top Places to Work winners have some excellent digs for their employees. Newer workspaces include beer on tap, flexible workstations, and even a nap room in one case.” The Globe article also includes a slideshow of Boston’s stylish office spaces to peruse.

0 ‘Cool Offices’ are Casual, Communal and Homey

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

The office look and feel is vastly different than 10 years ago. Gone are bland impersonal spaces, now we see cozy kitchens and complete gyms.

Credit: Boston.com

HubSpot recently garnered recognition for its office’s inviting, contemporary aesthetic. Its chief operating officer, JD Sherman, described the company’s motif, “we have standing desks for every employee, informal lounges to make it easy to collaborate, chalk walls for brainstorming, and a kitchen in each of the main areas to foster and encourage people to meet and connect throughout the day.”

You can read more on HubSpot’s cool office chic on Boston.com.

0 Collaborative Office Space Trending in Cambridge

Posted on October 23, 2014 by Wil Catlin

Bring the walls down and let’s see and hear each other. That is the new norm is office space, gone are the vast array of private offices. Today’s office layout is vastly different than just 10 years ago; today’s employees can expect to work in a benching platform, sitting very close to their coworkers. Their work station would have very little is any actual storage space and in some case may not even have land line if the role of that person is non customer related. The big delta is common space, this looks more like a large family room.

Credit: Boston.com

In an interview with Boston.com, Swedish architect, Gert Wingårdh, said “his [newest] design is aimed at improving company communications, a problem many businesses identify with. ‘Usually our surveys tell us that communications is lacking all over the world,’ said Wingårdh. ‘When employees have the same space to share, it enhances their sense of one another.’ With no walls between workstations, Wingårdh says employees will become aware of each other. At EF, even the CEO works in an open workstation.”