Margulies Perruzzi Completes New Office for GBCC’s Rebranding Efforts

BOSTON—Margulies Perruzzi Architects (MPA) recently completed a new office at 265 Franklin Street in Boston for the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce (GBCC). For more than a century, the GBCC has built a business community of 1,400 organizations of varying size and industry.

“At the Chamber, our membership is more dynamic, innovative, and focused on the strength of the collective greater Boston business community than ever before,” says James E. Rooney, President, and CEO of the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce. Given the changes the Chamber has undergone, lead staff felt it was time to remodel the office in accordance with its revised brand strategy. “We wanted our new office space to be reflective of the Chamber’s work today, and of our vision for the future of our organization. Margulies Perruzzi Architects demonstrated their ability to understand that vision, and made our new office space reflective of who we are and how we want to serve our growing membership,” Rooney adds.

While the GBCC was evaluating new office space, it engaged MPA to assist in weighing options for staying or relocating. MPA provided programming and fit-plans for several locations and ultimately assisted the GBCC in choosing to relocate to a higher floor within the same building. A primary driver for GBCC’s new office space was the ability to host its own events and offer touchdown workspace to business members. The GBCC’s new office also added to the Chamber’s campaign to reshape its image through the rollout of a new brand identity and website.

The new 11,000-sf space fully incorporates this new image. It prominently features the new branding through screen displays and the incorporation of brand colors, as well as wall graphics promoting the organization’s mission, purpose, and logo.

MPA designed the public event area to allow GBCC staff to flexibly reconfigure the space to suit event needs. The furniture can be arranged for classroom-style lectures, theater-style seating, or emptied for networking events. By collapsing a glass wall, a corner conference room can be subdivided from the space. When an event is not in session, staff and GBCC members can utilize the dining area or soft-seating collaboration space, above which the GBCC’s mission statement is displayed. Telephone closets adjacent to the event space allow attendees to discreetly step away and attend to pressing business.

The office area also displays the GBCC’s purpose statement with strategic placement at a height above the cubicle walls. In their new space, staffers can enjoy modernized cubes, informal collaboration space, and sit-to-stand desks.

New Multi-Purpose Space at GBCC

James E. Rooney