Framingham, MA, 1984 by August Associates
Despite its name, Centros House is a six story, 166,500 square foot office building located on Old Connecticut Path in Framingham. The name comes from the British developer of the site, Centros Properties, continuing the English tradition of naming important office buildings ‘House’.
The black steel and glass upper floors stand in stark contrast to the decorative stripes of red and orange brick on the base. At the front entrance, the brick pulls back leaving the dark monolith held up by a classical white colonnade. The dichotomy embodies the inherent conflict between tradition and technology according to the architect, Michael Epp, at the building’s grand opening in 1984.
Construction of the complex required significant earthwork and a massive retaining wall was built along the Massachusetts Turnpike. As such, the rear of the building drops down a level to a lower parking lot. This required a second grand entrance for visitors resulting in a four story atrium cut into the building.
Sources:
“$1.5m facelift starts at Keystone” Boston Globe, 13 May 1984.
Kelly Broomer, Kathleen, “Centros House Executive Centre” MACRIS, June 2015.
Yudis, Anthony, “Office Building with an English Accent” Boston Globe, 15 May 1983.
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