UNIVERSITY CLUB
The University Club of Boston is a private social and athletic club. In 2019, the Club asked us to redesign the first-floor hospitality spaces consisting of a formal dining room, a casual bar and dining room called the Tap Room, and an event space that doubles as overflow for dining. The rooms hadn’t been updated for thirty years. At the same time, the club had sold their air rights to Raffles—the tower being built next door—and negotiated the acquisition of a large space in the neighbor’s building for a new gym for the UC. This acquisition, in turn, triggered the renovation of the whole club. After some initial design of the ground floor, the club decided to put that part of the project on hold and asked us to work with ARC, the architects who were working on the rest of the building. We worked with them on the interior design and environmental rebranding of the whole building. The existing interiors no longer reflected the members’ sense of an appropriate style for the club. The new gym with floor to ceiling glass and plenty of space for an up-to-date gym facility gave the club the opportunity to change the look and feel to something that would appeal to a younger urban audience.
Shedding the dark “clubby” vibe of the existing space, we employed a light palette of materials including white walls, white oak and white solid surface cabinet work, linear lighting, and blue carpets to create bright sunny spaces for all of the athletic facilities, locker and shower rooms, the rooftop bar, and the elegant new “living room” on the fourth floor where the gym used to be.
Three years later, with the success of the spaces upstairs, we returned to designing the more formal social spaces. To differentiate these spaces from the upper floors, we took a slightly more formal approach, using a rich palette of materials including walnut floors and cabinet work, lacquered walls, and bronze lighting. The bar front is handmade tile with a rich green marble bar top. The dining tables are walnut, and the banquettes are covered in mohair. The new walnut and leather reception desk now welcomes members back to a new, improved University Club.