Boston, MA
Retail

Like many of its customers, Lord & Taylor on Boylston Street in the Back Bay was looking for a makeover. The decidedly dated exterior of the store, a windowless white brick box, reflected 35-year-old retail and urban design thinking that ignored pedestrian traffic and focused all activity off the street. CBT’s renovation boldly opens up the façade by inserting eye-catching display windows defined by clean metal awnings at street level, translucent glass at the entry, and a three-story glazed atrium that wraps the corner of the building. A sleek new cornice gives fresh emphasis to the modernist simplicity of the building while a softer contemporary palette complements the urban context.

Previously, the department store was a stand-alone retail destination; a covered walkway now connects the building to the adjacent Prudential Center shopping arcade and to the highly anticipated Mandarin Oriental Boston, which is also designed by CBT. On Boylston, the engaging storefront has transformed the streetscape and strengthened the street’s retail presence. At night, the store becomes an elegant lightbox that brightens the newly activated edge of the Prudential Center.