Coburn Hall wins BSA Accessible Design Award!

One month. Three awards. Two practice areas. We are thrilled to announce that UMASS Lowell Coburn Hall has been awarded both a BSA Design Award Citation for Accessible Design and the William D. Smith Memorial Award for Historic Preservation! The honor follows the recognition of CBT’s Suffolk Downs Master Plan with an AIA Regional & Urban Design Award this February. 

UMASS Lowell’s Beaux-Arts Coburn Hall – opened in 1897 as Lowell Normal School – was entirely inaccessible for the mobility challenged until its comprehensive renewal in 2020. Today Coburn’s long-term inaccessibility, outdated School of Education spaces, and dimmed historic architecture are righted through a smartly planned 14,600-sf addition, graceful universal paths, and glowing restoration.

Learn more about Coburn Hall here.  

“This project celebrates historic preservation in its quality of detail,” says the BSA Design Awards jury, “and is driven by the well-being of its users, maintaining the original character and artifacts while addressing much-needed accessibility concerns.” 

Congratulations to the entire project team on an outstanding achievement!