The Newbury of Brookline — Robert A. M. Stern Architects (RAMSA)

The Newbury of Brookline serves as a prototype for how small college campuses can be re-adapted for senior living and how sustainable features can be seamlessly incorporated into traditional architecture.

Designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects (RAMSA), the community, which functions as a village, is on the site of the defunct Newbury College campus in Brookline, Massachusetts.

Its facades, massing and green spaces take their cues from the architectural character of the surrounding Fisher Hill neighborhood, which is on the National Register of Historic Places. Laid out by Frederick Law Olmstead in 1884, it is characterized by single-family 19th- and early 20th-century homes in traditional styles.

Comprising a new six-story building and the restored Georgian Revival Mitton House, The Newbury of Brookline totals 208,000 square feet and has 159 residential units–81 for independent living, 38 for assisted living and 40 for memory care–plus 100 parking spaces.

“One of the challenges was to create a place that’s memorable for seniors,” says RAMSA Partner Sargent C. Gardiner, AIA. “We envisioned a seaside shingle-style hotel from the 19th century that makes you feel as though you are on vacation.”

The RAMSA team’s new building adheres to the footprint of the modernist academic buildings that were torn down and reconnects the 3.87-acre hilltop site to the suburb and historic Reservoir Park.

One of the project’s key successes is that by doing this, there was less excavation on the site, and we maintained the mature trees that integrate The Newbury into the neighborhood,” says Gardiner, adding that the project had to overcome initial community opposition to the introduction of a multi-unit building and had to undergo rigorous scrutiny because of the neighborhood’s historic status. 

The new building is composed of a series of smaller pavilions that step down with the natural topography to match the scale of the Mitton House.

Its massing was conceived as a series of “fingers” whose design optimizes the amount of sun each unit receives and orients the southern courtyards for southern light.

The Newbury of Brookline reflects the style of the surrounding neighborhood as well as New England’s architectural history.

Bay windows and dormers add variety to Queen Anne-style clapboard facades, while multistory gambrel and hipped roofs reduce the building’s apparent height; columned porches and loggias step down to the human scale as the building meets the ground. Six-over-one windows, wood railings, brick chimneys and a widow’s walk lend further residential character.

The smaller spaces provide the opportunity for socialization, a crucial consideration for seniors. 

“One of our key objectives was to sprinkle amenities on the main floor and on the roof deck so people can gather in small groups or run into each other,” Gardiner says.

Wings on either side of the building were intentionally misaligned to create additional spatial complexity.

Together, the two buildings create two courtyards that are surrounded by street trees that were deeded to the town through an easement. At the center of the northern courtyard, Mitton House, which has independent-living units, provides access onto the residential piazza, The Newbury of Brookline’s central hub.

“The piazza has an axial relationship to the front door of Mitton House,” Gardiner says. “It’s designed so that people can come and go or sit there in the sun.”

This landscaped space is designed as an inviting arrival area with seating, access to both buildings and weather-protected parking. The edges of the site transition into the bordering streets through native plantings, stormwater retention areas and walking paths.

Because The Newbury of Brookline is meant for seniors to age in place, the development was designed with accessibility in mind. Common areas are on lower levels, ramps are integrated into the landscape, a covered ground-floor breezeway connects it to the Mitton House and another links the dining and fitness wings, and walkout terraces on every level of the building are wheelchair accessible.

Although The Newbury of Brookline is classical in character, it is extremely high tech. In addition to being LEED Gold certified, it has a high-performance envelope that includes WELL Building Standard and Passive House features.

The campus is entirely electric, down to the cooking ranges, and heating and cooling are handled by high-efficiency heat-recovery air-source heat pumps. 

Paved areas were kept to a minimum, 45 percent of the site was retained as open space and stormwater is managed by bioswales and underground infiltration systems.

When Gardiner attended the grand opening at the completion of the three-year project, he was told over and over again by seniors that they were happy to be given a living option that allows them to stay in the neighborhood.

“They couldn’t believe it was so beautifully designed,” he says.  TB