It’s that time for “Best of 2025” lists! Instead of favorite restaurants or top travel destinations, our “best of list” focuses on the moments that made us smile and brought us joy. We’ve welcomed new members to our CambridgeSeven family, both babies and staff, settled in to our Harvard Square studio, and continue to work on exciting projects. We choose to pay attention to the things that provide hope and inspiration so here’s a recap of some of those joyful 2025 moments:

Grand Opening!

Friends and colleagues gathered on a warm spring evening to help us officially celebrate our new Harvard Square home. After 45 years at 1050 Mass. Ave. (which hosted its fair share of joyous memories) we officially christened our new location at 20 University Road – a CambridgeSeven legacy project! Welcoming our friends and colleagues was a natural fit for the new space.

 

Local Harvest

You’ve heard of farm to table – well we’ve got farm to workstation! Our beautiful terraces were in full bloom this year and by fall the vegetable garden, lovingly tended by our multi-hyphenate, Millie D’Olio, produced all sorts of vegetables and herbs – ripe for the taking!

 

Dietrich Gallery Makes its Mark

Fresh off the Gallery’s 25^th anniversary and housed in our new office, our Paul Dietrich Gallery is reaching new audiences at our central Harvard Square location. The artists are always the draw (no pun intended), but now that we can showcase them in an accessible venue, the gallery has reached new acclaim and is literally on the map with Boston Art Review’s Radar Map.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Playground Rules

Architects obsessively tackle design challenges. So, it was no surprise that Associate Nicole Kleman took the initiative to add a little elemental fun to the static play lot at her children’s school’s temporary location. By engaging the playground’s users, Nicole and her volunteer team of teachers and parents guided the design process to amazing results! Now Brookline’s Pierce School (temporary location) has a graphically stunning new playlot, designed and painted by the kids who know play best.

 

 

Shell Fish Attack!

Construction is well under way at the Roux Institute at Northeastern University’s new Portland campus. The gorgeous waterfront location has been abuzz of construction activity for months now (and topping off soon!). Our CA team, David Wiborg, Sarah Caltabiano and Milad Zabeti have discovered that PPE provides protection from elements well outside the prescribed norm; those sweeping seafront views are great… but can come with unexpected hazards from on high – it’s raining shellfish! Specifically, the resident gulls have the clever but potentially hurtful method of cracking open their mollusk meal by dropping them on the site’s hard surfaces. They’ll be shucking elsewhere soon enough – the Roux’s planned landscaping won’t provide quite the same impact.

Unforeseen working condition? Yes. Hilarious regardless? Also yes.

 

The Joy of Our Work and the Joy Our Work Brings

CambridgeSeven exhibits projects are serious fun and we work extremely hard to balance vision and budget to bring whimsy and learning across all attraction sectors. So it’s always a treat to visit these projects after completion to see it through the guest’s eyes. Visiting the Children’s Museum at Port Wonder on opening weekend, Project Manager, Paul Herbert felt deep joy seeing the project’s vision come to life. Everywhere he looked, people were smiling and he couldn’t stop smiling himself! While architects would usually focus on design details and content, the kids (including his own!) simply experienced the space with curiosity and delight.

 

T-riffic

Travel on the T isn’t something that automatically conjures joy, but a visit from two MBTA superfans certainly made us smile. Pari Kim (aka Princess Pari) and her friend Rob swung by our office earlier this year to take a look through our deep archives of MBTA nostalgia (from the original T logo and subway map wayfinding graphics to the more recent stories about Ashmont Station design). Their contagious enthusiasm and extraordinary knowledge of all things subway gave us new appreciation for the transit system that keeps Boston moving.

 

Travel Serendipity

When we travel, whether for work or pleasure, beautiful design has a way of stopping us in our tracks, sparking inspiration and delight. When moments like these arrive unexpectedly, their joy feels even greater. After a full day of meetings, the Seneca Park Zoo team followed their instinct for discovery, taking a snowy dusk detour before dinner to visit Louis Kahn’s First Unitarian Church of Rochester. With no expectations and unsure what kind of access they might find, they were warmly welcomed by Senior Minister Shari Halliday-Quan and given the gift of thirty quiet minutes to wander, admire, and photograph this iconic building. Immersed in its subtle geometry and serene detail, they felt the sublime pleasure of encountering design that moves both heart and mind.

Amy Hastings found the same serendipity on her travels this summer – when a sunset or a ceiling can inspire equal awe.

 

Paws’ing for Joy

Last but not least, we love that our office is regularly visited by four-legged colleagues. Their presence provides peace and joy, year round.