Boston, MA – November 20, 2007 – Shawmut Design and Construction, an $800 million general contracting and construction management firm, in collaboration with James McNeely Architects, recently completed the design and construction of Fiddlehead on Newbury Street. This is Boston’s first retail outfit specializing in environmentally friendly products, which successfully merges green building elements and eco-friendly design. Fiddlehead turned to Shawmut as their choice construction manager for the project because of their extensive retail portfolio as well as their experience and leadership in green construction. The project took just three weeks to complete and seamlessly integrated Fiddlehead and Shawmut’s concern for the environment by utilizing green building elements and renewable resources.
Fiddlehead is a retail boutique selling planet-conscious merchandise, such as home accents and paper goods, who needed a home to match their wares. The store features cork floors, a sustainably harvested wood that will last for decades, as well as the millwork made from reclaimed agricultural fiber. The checkout area and shelf units are made of sorghum stalks, while tables and bookcases are of recycled wood. The countertops are made of PaperStone, a composite of recycled paper and proprietary, petroleum-free phenolic resins which looks like stone and is the most sustainable architectural surface on the market today. Shawmut also reused glass knobs for the cabinetry and reused a fireplace mantle from the building, refinishing it and integrating it into the store’s design. The lighting fixtures are made of recycled argentine seltzer bottles, and are fitted with energy efficient bulbs.
Because working with green products requires innovation – not all green products function the same way in which traditional products do – Shawmut was able to find solutions in order to accommodate Fiddlehead’s preferred green materials. When installing the sorghum shelving, the team redesigned the installation with brackets in order to support the green wood, which was too soft to be installed in the traditional manner.
Shawmut’s other green projects include the renovation and addition at the Boston Children’s Museum, Yale University’s Sculpture Building, and various projects at Harvard University, Mt. Holyoke College, Weekapaug Inn, and Phillip’s Exeter Academy.
