Brookline, MA
36,000 SF
Senior center

CBT’s competition-winning design for the Brookline Senior Center supports a progressive program for seniors in a non-institutional setting that captures the essence of Brookline’s residential environment. The 36,000-square-foot facility contains a large multi-purpose room, a "drop-in lounge," a catering kitchen, spaces for art programs and exhibits, a computer classroom, administrative offices for the Council on Aging, a woodshop, as well as an adult care center.

The three-story building is compatible with the scale of the Victorian neighborhood and fuses familiar elements that give it a domestic, yet distinctly urban presence along the street. Resembling a large house, the building incorporates elements and materials that recall the scale, massing and coloring of its Coolidge Corner setting. By providing a comfortable setting for comprehensive senior programs, the center has attracted diverse populations who did not previously take advantage of these public services.