585 Third Street

A super-hybrid building where science and art converge, 585 Third brings nature, performance, music, community, and life sciences together in the heart of Kendall Square. The first three levels feature multiple public functions: a 380-seat theater, winter garden, retail, multi-function space, and lounges. Upper levels house 500,000 sf of lab, creating a new, community-focused design paradigm for next-gen lab buildings.

The project represents the confluence of nature and the built environment, intended to attract a diverse public. The ground level, a one-acre, all-season indoor/outdoor park, will welcome all ― with a building “floating” above it. Outdoor spaces feature large, sweeping groves of trees, cooling the area in summer and shielding it from wind. It will be a comfortable place for gathering, food trucks, and free, small-scale arts-based events. Landscape flows into the building, whose entire eastern end will be a winter garden designed for year-round events and performances ― a place like no other in the region. Curved façades minimize shadow, leverage sunlight, mitigate wind, and provide aesthetic variation. Strategic massing minimizes façade, reduces solar gain, and unlocks open space for public use. 585 Third’s colorful, dynamic exterior is emblematic of its diverse programming, inspired by the pleats in theatre curtains and the colors of the regional landscape. In a neighborhood seeking to close the divide between the life sciences and arts communities, and shaped by more than 200 community conversations, 585 Third is the true culmination of many voices that will give life to a welcoming and accessible environment for all.