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the building
For decades, the land that is now 585 Kendall was inaccessible—a former gas transfer station requiring extensive remediation before it could serve the community. The previous owner envisioned the site as a future arts center. BioMed Realty made good on that promise when they committed to something unprecedented: a life‑science building fully integrated with a performing arts center—the first of its kind in Cambridge. The guiding vision was clear: create a space that is open and welcoming to all, where art, science, nature, and community flow together without barriers.
For decades, the land that is now 585 Kendall was inaccessible—a former gas transfer station requiring extensive remediation before it could serve the community. The previous owner envisioned the site as a future arts center. BioMed Realty made good on that promise when they committed to something unprecedented: a life‑science building fully integrated with a performing arts center—the first of its kind in Cambridge. The guiding vision was clear: create a space that is open and welcoming to all, where art, science, nature, and community flow together without barriers.
To bring that vision to life, BioMed selected CBT Architects to lead the design and Suffolk to oversee construction. The building includes 11,000-sq-ft of outdoor landscaping, 15,000-sq-ft of indoor public space, and 30,000-sq ft dedicated to performance—home to the Takeda Theater at The Platform and the Tempo Stage.
Takeda serves as the building’s sole commercial tenant, occupying the top 13 floors. Its approximately 600,000-sq-ft of lab and office space will house Takeda’s Global Research & Development Center, advancing the company’s long‑term plan to build a unified Cambridge campus focused on life‑changing therapies.
Inspired by the building’s multiple uses and the maritime history of Kendall Square’s Canal District, CBT designed a façade that is dynamic and expressive—evoking the movement of performance art and shifting with light, weather, and season. The colorful, textured exterior, inspired by theater‑curtain pleats and regional landscapes, transitions from the arts‑focused lower floors to the lab and office spaces above. Coordinated colors, plantings, and materials blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, creating a unified, all‑season public commons.
Environmental sustainability was central to the project. 585 Kendall is designed to achieve LEED and WELL certifications and will be water‑ and energy‑efficient, powered by 100% renewable electricity, equipped with enhanced ventilation, and built with biophilic design principles that support the well‑being of all who work in or visit the building.
The Platform name (formerly known as 585 Arts) and accompanying brand identity were developed in partnership with Proverb Agency,
a Boston-based creative marketing firm.