Identity Refresh

100 Cambridge Street
Boston, Massachusetts

SMMA leveraged its fully integrated design model and graphic design services to help transform Intercontinental Real Estate Corporation’s 100 Cambridge Street property with a marketing focus, supporting the client’s mission to re-brand themselves and appeal to potential occupants. Due to Boston’s status as one of the top real estate markets in the country, owners and developers are challenged to evoke their property’s location and culture to attract the highest quality tenants.

Today, 100 Cambridge Street is an impressive, 22-story, Class A high-rise, situated among the city's lively Government Center district. Its convenient location grants both employees and visitors easy access to Cambridge’s Kendall Square, one of the most highly sought-after office clusters in the world. Additionally, it remains a short walk from several public transit options, including the Bowdoin, Government Center, and Charles/MGH MBTA stations.

 

Birth of a Brand

Opened in 1965, 100 Cambridge Street was initially named the Leverett Saltonstall Building in honor of the former U.S. Senator and 55th Governor of the Commonwealth. It primarily served state and governmental tenants, prompting Intercontinental to usher in a new era in the building's over 50-year-old history through a modern persona.

Thus, SMMA's integrated team of marketing, interiors, and graphic design professionals approached the building as a holistic brand. The team created a series of identity concepts that best encapsulated the personality that the building sought to convey, eventually basing their final solutions around three words: impact, nexus, and culture. This birthed a new brand, transitioning 100 Cambridge Street’s conservative likeness into a contemporary workplace referred to as ‘100C.’

Lobby & Courtyard Connections

In addition to developing the brand and marketing collateral to attract tenants, the project involved renovating the building's lobby space and exterior courtyard. Intercontinental wanted the lobby to be easily navigable for tenants and visitors alike — accented by the newly created 100C logo and hallmarked by clear, logical wayfinding. They also requested the integration of an outdoor park and plaza area, adapted seamlessly into its surrounding neighborhood and providing moments of greenery throughout the heavily urban location. The design team worked in concert to ensure consistency between the interior and exterior spaces, establishing a cohesive user experience that strengthened the overall brand.

A Marketing Showcase

On an upper floor of the building, SMMA created a marketing suite to visually display the endless possibilities of work life at 100C. The suite capitalizes on the building’s expansive views of Boston and Cambridge: it features location pin decals of famous landmarks on the windows, as well as short stories that provide interesting facts and anecdotes. Ultimately, the space epitomizes the word "impactful," inviting visitors to consider the potential that 100C holds for their business needs and placing them at the nexus of history, culture, and convenience.

100C is a shining example of the ways in which a multidisciplinary practice model can benefit owners and projects of all types, integrating various in-house areas of expertise in the delivery of a comprehensive solution.