The Alvah Kittredge House is circa 1836 construction Greek Revival mansion, located in the Fort Hill neighborhood of Roxbury. The building was vacant and deteriorated when it was selected for restoration and redevelopment as five new 2-bedroom apartments. The building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. The completed project received a 2015 Preservation Achievement Award from the Boston Preservation Alliance.
BSC worked with key team members (including Amory Architects PC and Historic Boston, Inc.) to assess the condition of the existing building, and make recommendations for building enclosure/shell strategies that would improve energy performance without compromising historic character or building durability.
Tasks requiring BSC’s input included attic space/conditioned space boundaries (unvented vs. vented attic designs), wall insulation and rain control upgrades, air barrier strategies, window replacement vs. retrofit, and the varying conditions throughout the building. Another challenge was remediating the walkout basement level as occupied apartment space, given water penetration through the foundation. Finally, given the retrofit multifamily construction, unit compartmentalization was emphasized in BSC’s reporting.
