A massive complex rises in Kendall Square with an ascending orange-to-blue exterior made of pleated terracotta panels that cascade up like a rising theater curtain.
This is the new arts complex that the Cambridge nonprofit Global Arts Live will open in the fall of 2026. It has officially been named “The Platform,” which is also the name of the nonprofit responsible for operating the space. Previously, both the space and nonprofit were known as 585 Arts, Inc.
“We always say, ‘Come for the art, stay for the people,’” Connie C. Chin, CEO of Global Arts Live, said at a walkthrough this week.
The Platform will create a multilevel home base for Global Arts Live to put on its programming of international music and dance. Global Arts has been bringing live performance to venues around Boston and Cambridge since 1990, but it has yet to have its own dedicated performing arts center. This season Global Arts Live is hosting artists spanning from the national dance company of the Republic of Guinea to a Celtic folk band based in Quebec.
The Platform comprises 45,000 square feet, including a main stage, a rehearsal space and a ground floor welcome center with space for gathering. The center also includes a 125-seat cabaret style stage, creating the opportunity for multiple performances to occur in one day. A grand staircase leads visitors from the first floor to the second.
BioMed Realty purchased the land at 585 Third St. in 2018 for lab and office space, but the city had previously designated that the plot would have a theater or cinema space developed on it.
Salvatore Zinno, vice president of development at BioMed Realty, said that when his company acquired the space, it was the “community expectation” for it to incorporate a performing arts center, and BioMed wanted to make sure it fulfilled that. He described the partnership with Global Arts Live as a “match made in heaven.”
BioMed budgeted $45 million to build and equip the performance space, and Global Arts Live committed to raising $15 million in operating funds to launch and sustain it, according to BioMed.
Takeda, a global pharmaceutical company and Massachusetts’ largest life science employer, will occupy the lab and office space upstairs from The Platform. The company has agreed to a $3 million, multi-year sponsorship of the main stage, thus naming it the Takeda Theater at The Platform.
Maure Aronson, founder and director of artistic programs at Global Arts Live, said the space will be “a highly active performance space,” boosting the organization’s programming from about 60 events per year to 140.
In collaboration with developer BioMed Realty, Global Arts Live is creating a space that aims to address the need for midsize theaters, said Chin, with the main stage at The Platform holding 400 people. The rehearsal space will match the dimensions of the main stage, she said, furthering the recovery of rehearsal spaces in Boston after a decline in recent years.
Global Arts Live has been bringing an international arts scene to the Boston and Cambridge areas since 1990 through a mix of dance and music. Aronson said the audience can expect more contemporary dance and jazz performances to perform on this stage, with a grand opening season planned for September 2026.
The dynamic elements of the space will promote a welcoming atmosphere, with big glass windows representing “transparency to the community,” Chin said.
“I think of a theater space like a rocketship,” she said, “so many small parts coming together to work.”
Global Arts Live intends to bring its youth mentorship and community initiatives home to The Platform as well, Aronson said. Two hundred nights will be available for renters to use the performance space.
The unlikely partnership between the pharmaceutical company and performance arts nonprofit was born out of shared “interests for the community,” Chin said.
Chris Arendt, Takeda’s chief scientific officer, said the building at 585 Kendall will centralize the lab and office space for the company in Cambridge.
“As our labs grow and change, this space will be very adaptable,” said Arendt, speaking of the 14th floor, one of the spaces dedicated to lab space.
Chin said she envisions the partnership upholding “cultural integrity” of Kendall Square, while drawing more visitors to the public space of The Platform, enhancing the community surrounding the building.
“We have scientists conducting research to benefit human health,” Arendt said, “right above an artistic space benefitting the human spirit.”
This article was originally published on September 26, 2025.