Historic New England Celebrates 100th Anniversary

Historic New England (HNE) is one of the largest regional historic preservation organizations in the country.  HNE helps to preserve the culture of the region through preserved historic properties, educational programs, collections, preservation services and the archiving of historic documents.  We encourage you to visit some of their historic homes, become a member and visit their website to learn more about this important organization.

 

In honor of Historic New England’s centennial anniversary we plan to profile some of our favorite historic homes over the course of the year.  Stay tuned for the Lyman Estate next week.

TMS Receives Excellence in Architecture Award

We were very pleased to receive an award for Excellence in Architecture at the American Institute of Architects’ 26^th Annual Awards Banquet. TMS Architects received a Special Mention for three new faculty residences built for Phillips Exeter Academy.  These homes were added to the O’Neil Court Neighborhood, complementing the four faculty homes previously designed by TMS in 2004.  The three new homes needed to comply with Phillips Exeter Academy’s Environmental Mission Statement that “PEA must be committed to stewardship of the environment…and value, protect, preserve and replenish natural resources.

 

These new residences achieved Gold LEED certification by reducing energy consumption by 50% , eliminating the use of fossil fuels for heating by using geo-thermal energy, incorporating local building materials and native plants, recycling the majority of construction waste and installing a rain garden to capture runoff from roofs and driveways.

 

The jury commented that “this was a clever use of modern materials in contextual form.  Strong sense of community.”  AIANH instituted the Excellence in Architecture Awards Program in 1983 to provide public and professional recognition for design excellence.  Each entry was judged on the following criteria: overall design excellence including aesthetics, clarity, creativity, appropriate functionality, sustainability, building performance and appropriateness with regard to fulfilling the client’s program.

RiverBank Lawrence Grand Opening

We have already shown you a sneak peak of pictures from our January 11^th grand opening of RiverBank’s new Lawrence, MA branch.  This is the third in a series of branches we have designed for RiverBank.  RiverBank has created a bold new image with contemporary interiors utilizing bold splashes of color in the artwork and crisp interior detailing.  The design, which is consistent from branch to branch, focuses on superior customer comfort and service.

 The January 11^th grand opening celebration was attended by the mayor of Lawrence, bank personnel, the contractor, architects and bank customers.  After a ribbon cutting ceremony at the main entrance, guests enjoyed seeing the new contemporary teller line with a coin recycling machine, a lounge area with a coffee machine, comfortable seating, magazines and a flat screen TV.  Customers will also enjoy internet access at a customer internet station.  There is even a scent machine blowing out the banks selected scent of chocolate chip cookies.   

 The branch is located at 10 South Broadway in Lawrence.  Stay tuned for the opening of our fourth RiverBank branch in Methuen, MA.

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