17 Orient Avenue

   Arlington, MA. 02474

   Tel and Fax   781.641.4103

   e-Mail DionDesign@cs.com

Here is "The Group" outside the new office.  Seen here is John, your Contractor, Lilly, from the Cambridge office along with  Joan and Juwanda who will be working in the new space.

This is the building to which your new office is attached.

This is the building across the street and part of the view from the new offices.

This is the view from your new building towards 7th Avenue.

The following is a virtual tour of the new facilities as they looked on Friday, July 28, 2000.

This is the view of the front door from inside.  I suggest an iron bar storm/screen door be installed by the contractor to help with climate control. Because the building has historical restrictions, you may need to get permission for the additional door.

This is where the receptionist station will be placed. It is just to the left of the front door and has good visual access to people coming into the building. The coat closet will stay and the open niche will serve as a back work counter for incoming/outgoing mail. You may want to bring the walls up to the ceiling level.
 

This is the view of the left wall including the entry to the shower and lavatory. 
Just to the right of the first open door is the shower. The contractor should check for proper ventilation in this area. The existing slatted wood swinging doors to the shower should be replaced with a single  frosted glass unit. There is a small sink across from the shower that I suggest be removed and replaced by lockers or cubbies and a garment pole so it can be used as a changing area. A  full length mirror can be installed on the back of the outer door. 
It has been suggested that the interior door leading to the lavatory itself (seen here in the background) be removed to allow more room inside the area.  As you can see from the photograph on your right, the lavatory door opens inwards, making it somewhat difficult to maneuver in this small room. A small lock should be installed on the inside of the first door. 

Across from this lavatory is a very small sink which should be replaced by either a new unit with a small cabinet or by the slightly larger sink currently in the basement, that will be removed to make way for the kitchenette.
 

This is the area just outside the shower/lavatory area where the copier and fax machine will be placed.

This is the back wall across from the front door.  On the right side and you view the photograph and behind the sheetrock is the staircase leading to the basement. 

This is the wall on the right side of the space with a view of the two existing offices.  Since the walls do not meet the ceiling, there is no speech privacy and the office on the left has no window, making it a miserable little space.  Although both Joan and Juanda would each like a private office with a window, they realize to accomplish this, the space would become too cut up and therefore inefficient. Some type of divider or panel,  54" or less,  will meet their needs for privacy and keep an open feeling to the area.

This is a view of the right side of the front wall .  The existing pink mini-blinds should be replaced by new white or beige mini-blinds.
The window in the foreground is 46" off the finished floor and is 46" high.  The smaller window is 68" off the finished floor and is 35" high. If there is no central air conditioning, a small window unit could be placed here.  There are bars on the outside so the unit would project into the space.  Also seen here is one of three wall registers.  I believe the heat is forced hot water.

This is a view of the front wall and entry door. Some fresh paint will do wonders.

This is a view of the existing ceiling and lighting fixtures.  To state the obvious, the lighting needs to be replaced with something more efficient and attractive.

This is what met us when we ventured into the basement; standing water and rotted wood.  No one seems sure what caused the water damage but the benefit of this is a new floor and the prospects of gaining a few inches to the current 6'6" headroom by nailing the new sub floor directly into the concrete. The cause of the water problem needs to be resolved.

This is a view towards the right side of the basement showing water damage to the 2 X 4 studs of the staircase wall beneath the mirror.

This is a view of the back wall of the basement that boarders the staircase.  You can see the damage to the sheetrock and wood 2 X 4's on the lower right and a close-up in the next photo. The door in this picture opens to a storage area under the stairs.

These rotted pieces need to be replaced and the integrity of the staircase examined. The wiring here should also be checked.

This is a view of the front wall of the basement. The wall  is painted brick and there is baseboard heat.  This area will be used for large conference space, supplies, and additional work area.  The floor and lighting need to be replaced and a dehumidifier installed if the basement is found to have chronic dampness. 

This is simply following the basement front wall around to the left side of the building (right side as you view the space from within).

This shows three small rooms which probably were used as changing areas by the spa. There is what appears to be a hot water circulator on the wall in the center room and a copper hot water pipe feeding the baseboard unit running through the rooms just above the floor. This area could be left "as is" for storage since the circulator and pipes need to be accessible.  The walls could also be easily removed to create a more open space.  Once the floor plan is completed, we'll have a better feel for which option is best. 

The door on the far right (with the exhaust fan on the bottom), leads to the bulkhead at ground level outside, (see photograph on the right).  This entry can be used for delivery of furniture since the staircase from the upper office floor is too narrow to accommodate  pieces of any width over 30". 

The bulkhead is the black metal plate at ground level under the left window.

It has been suggested that some kind of iron grill-work with a screen be fashioned to put over or under the bulkhead doors so they  may be opened to allow fresh air from the outside into the basement space. Since the bulkhead doors open outward and they are almost directly under the office window, a better solution may be to add a security screen door with bars at the basement level. 

This is a view towards the left wall of the basement where the kitchenette will be installed.  This is the sink that could be reinstalled in the lavatory to replace the smaller existing unit. The kitchenette area will  have a vinyl tile floor for easy maintenance and the remainder of the space carpeted. 

What tour would be complete without a visit to the mechanical room?  You enter this space through the door to the left of the sink in the previous photograph. On the left you have your basic sewer waste pipe. The white coating on the pipe may indicate a leak of some kind.  Next to this appears to be a small gas-fired heating unit followed by a hot water tank. The fitness of the equipment in this room is beyond my expertise and should be checked by someone to confirm there is no problem with any of the items seen here.

This is a shot of the staircase looking up from the basement level.  You can see there's not much space here to get large furniture downstairs.

The front door could be painted the same green as the awning, which just happens to be "Candlewick Green." 

The area between the iron fence and the building is an inviting little space that could be transformed with the addition of some window boxes with ivy to diminish the jail-house effect caused by the iron bars.  Chairs (kept inside when not in use), could be brought outside and the space used as an extension of the office.