Master Plan
Estimated construction cost: $40,000,000
Completed: 1974

Working with the Lowell Historic Canal District Commission, Bruner/Cott outlined a means of preserving, interpreting, developing, and using Lowell’s historic cultural and architectural resources to be submitted to Congress as a basis for legislation. Bruner/Cott participated in a number of public forums to discuss the reclamation of underutilized land along Lowell’s waterways. Lowell’s resources needed to be evaluated with a detailed program and urban design plan, plus recommendations for appropriate federal action. The plan needed to identify an implementation and management strategy that would incorporate existing public and private projects within a larger coherent framework.

The project team proposed that Congress establish the Lowell National Cultural Park, a highly urban area including the downtown, a system of canals, rivers, major mill complexes, workers’ housing, and key historic neighborhoods. The historic section was divided into two zones: the intensive-use zone, to be developed by the National Park Service and the state’s Department of Environmental Management, and a preservation zone designed as a buffer for the park. An area was restored to illustrate Lowell’s 19th-Century character, including a barge and trolley transport system, a series of exhibits, and the two key mill complexes turned into major activity centers. The preservation zone is managed by a local, state, and federal commission that established development criteria, administers incentive programs for preservation through private action, and aids in the private adaptive re-use of certain structures.

Bruner/Cott’s Planning Study won an urban design and planning citation from Progressive Architecture’s 25th annual PA design awards.