Madison Melnea Cass Apartments is a two-building project consisting of 75 family apartments located in Roxbury. The challenge for this project was to transform eight blocks of utilitarian housing into a vibrant, social, community-friendly complex with limited funds. Through an extensive design process, the project has successfully installed highly enhanced conservation packages and photovoltaic solar systems on many buildings to increase sustainability and exceed LEED Silver.
The apartments were renovated with large open areas. All the common areas were humanized with interior quadrants with play spaces for children, courts for people to read and socialize, and interior niches in hallways at unit entries. In addition, expansive glass was used to optimize passive solar energy.
