A building — whether commercial, residential, civic or institutional — should really never be just that. It should always be considered in context, said architect Clay Benjamin Smook.
“It’s more than just creating sculptural sitting objects,” said Smook, who runs his 10-year-old business, Smook Architecture & Urban Design Inc., out of Westborough. “The new buildings or renovations really need to knit themselves back into the surroundings.”
In February, Smook relocated his five-employee company from Boston to Westborough, in part because of a boom of activity in the area.
“There’s a lot of development out here,” he said. “It was a great opportunity, and one that I thought long and hard about. I never intended to move from Boston.”
His firm works on projects ranging from $5,000 to $32 million, he said, and comprise custom homes and multifamily housing, assisted living and healthcare facilities, office space, hotels, retail centers, educational and industrial complexes, as well as master planning and urban design.
Recent examples include the 55,000-square-foot, 83-bed Christopher Heights Assisted Living Facility in Marlborough; the 30,000-square-foot Worcester Crossing retail center; and private residences across the state and as far away as the mountains of North Carolina.
Smook received his master of architecture in urban design degree from Harvard University. Most of Smook’s designers are LEED accredited, and the firm as a whole focuses on green design, which Smook noted has transformed from a “buzzword” to the architectural norm of the 21st century.
Projects are often years in the making, comprising of “fits and starts” due to issues with the economy, physical or financial constraints, and the often drawn-out permitting process.
“Things are constantly falling on and off the plate,” he explained.
Still, he has great hope for the future, in both MetroWest and beyond.
“Our intention is to grow substantially over the next decade,” he said.
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MetroWest 10 To Watch 2014 – Clay Smook, Smook Architecture & Urban Design Inc.
