A Harvard-sparked initiative to further activate and energize Western Ave with creative programs, events, retail experiments, and public art.
LOCATION: ALLSTON-BRIGHTON, MA
YEAR: 2015 – PRESENT
TYPE: CAMPUS, PUBLIC LIFE INTEGRATION, ADAPTIVE REUSE
PROJECT OVERVIEW
THE CHALLENGE: The Harvard Allston campus was seeking connectivity to the surrounding neighborhood and to the Harvard Cambridge campus at large. When we started this work in 2015, Western Ave was primarily industrial and surface parking lots, with very few ground floor amenities, public art, or places to gather. We aimed to create a robust programmatic, public art, and messaging strategy that created supportive space for the community to meet, create, and connect.
THE OUTCOME: This work eventually became known as Zone 3, a placemaking initiative with digital touchpoints. We design Zone 3’s programs to foster growth within the creative economy ecosystem, offering a range of opportunities for artists of all career levels and mediums. Whether it’s designing a newsprint poster for Art in Print, selling art in a vacant storefront or painting an 80 ft tall mural, these programs create new revenue streams for creatives and are often a launch pad to the next, bigger opportunity.
Zone 3 is further set apart by its “digital placemaking,” including a designed visual identity, website, social media strategy, and marketing strategy highlighting the existing and evolving creative community in Allston and Brighton. Zone 3 has thrived in a way that meaningfully connects with Allston’s passion towards art and creative opportunities in the neighborhood.
ARTS-FOCUSED PROGRAMMING
We design Zone 3’s programs to foster growth within the creative economy ecosystem, offering a range of opportunities for artists of all career levels and mediums. Whether it’s designing a newsprint poster for Art in Print, selling art in a vacant storefront or painting an 80 ft tall mural, these programs create new revenue streams for creatives and are often a launch pad to the next, bigger opportunity.
ACTIVATION STRATEGY
Zone 3’s activation strategy is ever evolving and changing, responding to new community needs and assets. We strive for the work we do in Allston to be unique and fresh, adding new amenities to the neighborhood. Whether it’s Boston’s first beer garden, a series of food pop-ups to inform district-wide F+B leasing, or local partner events, every activation is strategically designed to inform future programming decisions.
DESIGN + MARKETING
Over the years, a main focus of Zone 3 has been to create a recognizable brand identity that carries throughout all programs, event, public art installations and digital promotions in between. These design and marketing efforts share united look and feel to bring all Zone 3 work under one roof, even when taking place beyond the the four walls of 267 Western Ave. The Zone 3 brand identity has also made it easy to share valuable and cohesive communication tools with neighborhood partners, artists and community organizations, setting a high standard for the way programs are messaged and presented along the way.
