Date of Award
9-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Arts in Interior Architecture, MAIA
School
CAS
Department
Art & Design Department
Faculty Advisor
Elizabeth Ghiseline
Second Advisor
Michael Fior
Third Advisor
William Spaulding
Abstract
This research begins with the premise that buildings hold meaning. The built environment embodies a spirit, or genius loci, that creates a unique sense of place, defines cultural identity, reflects social values, and links community across time. The adaptive reuse of old buildings allows designers to be particularly sensitive to the ways in which architecture – either big or small, formal or informal – acts as a stationary but not static cultivator of and container for significance. The design process, then, becomes an adaptive reuse palimpsest, drawing upon and contributing to layers of history infused with significance, value, and meaning. Through the development of a culinary incubator space, interactive food lab, and cocktail lounge, this project utilizes the specific history, site, and context of the abandoned Hotel Alexandra in Boston’s South End Landmark District with the goal of empowering new connections, providing economic opportunity, and creating new stories of community and culture.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 License
Recommended Citation
Tate, Jennifer, "Interior Design as Palimpsest: Meaning and Adaptive Reuse in Boston’s South End Landmark District" (2025). Interior Architecture and Design Graduate Theses. 33.
https://dc.suffolk.edu/gradwork_iad/33
Comments
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