News | October 18th 2021

Woburn Library Wins AIA New England Design Award

We are immensely proud to announce that the Woburn Public Library has been recognized with both a 2021 AIA New England Honor Award – the most distinguished of three design award categories – and a regional Best of Boston Society for Architecture Award! The design team was recognized at the AIA New England annual awards celebration at Polar Park in Worcester, MA and hosted by AIA Central MA on October 16. 

This prestigious awards program recognizes outstanding architecture – in New England and by New England architects – and design excellence informed by aesthetic, functional, contextual, sustainable, and social characteristics. These notable achievements follow a 2020 Award for Design Excellence from the Boston Society for Architecture also awarded to the Library in January of this year. 

Congratulations to the entire project team on this exciting accomplishment! 

Originally designed by Henry Hobson Richardson in 1876, the Woburn Library was in need of an expansion in order to accommodate the city’s growing population. CBT’s 30,500-square-foot addition offers a contemporary expansion which integrates with the existing structure to augment – rather than compete with – the remarkable architecture of Richardson’s original design. The design team undertook meticulous efforts to restore and preserve historical features – including individual renewal and refurbishing of more than 100 window sashes, a visit to the quarry in Ohio where the original limestone for the building was sourced, and use of cutting-edge technology that allowed the team to design the new construction with incredible precision. 

Check out the CBT Woburn Library Sketchbook to learn more about the creative process behind the design.