In the News

Shawmut pitches in with the Department of Micro-Urbanism (DMU) to create a temporary public library in Boston's Chinatown

Shawmut Design and Construction , a leading national construction management firm, assisted the Department of Micro-Urbanism , Harvard University Graduate School of Design, and the Boston Street Lab in the installation of the Chinatown Storefront Library, a temporary pubic library at 640 Washington Street in the Chinatown section of Boston. Chinatown has been without its own branch of the Boston Public Library since it was closed and demolished in 1956. This project is seen as a way to increase the visibility of the distinctive Boston neighborhood and help sustain the vitality of a community which culturally serves not only Boston but the greater New England area.  

Shawmut Design and Construction feels very strongly about giving back to the community. The Shawmut Community Outreach Providers (SCOP) work with local organizations to provide charitable outlets for staff members. For the Chinatown Storefront Library, Shawmut volunteer employees, over the course of two days, helped to disassemble and move the pre-fabricated furniture from Harvard Graduate School of Design in Cambridge where it was created, to the site in Chinatown where the team helped reassemble the temporary structures.  

The Storefront Library accommodates innovative, compact, and flexible program space for children's reading, internet access, and multi‐lingual book and periodical areas targeting Chinatown's large elderly population. The design is modular, portable, and reconfigurable. The Storefront Library will be operated for three months. At the end of the three months, the components will be reused for other purposes within the community.  

Marrikka Trotter, co-founder of the Department of Micro-Urbanism and Project Manager for the Harvard Graduate School of Design team, praises Shawmut's involvement: "Shawmut's generous commitment to this project made it possible. Without the donations from Shawmut subcontractors Angelini Plastering, Bent Electrical Contractors, and Mark Richie Woodworking and the enthusiastic and expert help of Shawmut volunteers in disassembling, moving, and reassembling the pieces in Chinatown, we would never have been able to take the design for the Chinatown Storefront Library installation from an idea into reality. We are so grateful to have had this opportunity to work with such a wonderful company and such dedicated and professional staff."

About Shawmut Design and Construction
Shawmut Design and Construction is a 100% employee-owned company headquartered in Boston with offices in New York, Providence, Las Vegas, and New Haven. Shawmut is a leading ENR top 100-ranked national construction management firm providing client-oriented services in the following markets: Academic, Commercial, Corporate Interiors, Cultural and Historic Preservation, Gaming, Healthcare and Science, Hotels, Restaurants, Retail, and Spas and Health Clubs.