Shepley Bulfinch > People > Angela E. Watson
I was born and raised in Germany, and modern architecture has always been an important part of my personal and professional life. Unfortunately, modern buildings are torn down too often to make way for "new and improved" architecture. My husband and I were faced with this issue when we were looking to build or renovate a house. We were presented with a "tear down": the Chamberlain Cottage, a 600 square foot weekend house designed by Marcel Breuer and Walter Gropius in 1939. We embarked on a three-year addition/restoration effort that more than tripled the size of the existing cottage, making it into a comfortable residence for our family while reestablishing the integrity of the original building. The project allowed us to bring new life to a modernist icon while preserving the strength of the original idea.
My passion for creative problem-solving extends to my work designing for higher education and healthcare, two challenging project types. In healthcare, it is vital that buildings serve the goals of healing and wellness and address changing delivery models and technology demands. Complexity is also part of higher education, creating inspiring spaces that accommodate evolving learning models and social networks. In both cases, the design must create a healthy environment for users - whether for students and faculty or for patients, visitors, clinicians, and caregivers - and address the facility's environmental impact on the larger community.
Projects
Holocaust and Human Rights CenterUniversity of Maine
Mass General/North Shore Outpatient Ctr
Partners HealthCare
Expansion and Renovation
Concord Hospital
Smilow Cancer Hospital
Yale-New Haven Hospital
University Center
Hamline University