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Architects: Hacin
- Area: 141000 ft²
- Year: 2008
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Photographs:Bruce T. Martin Photography
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Manufacturers: Alucobond, Hankins & Johann, Revere, Taylor Clay Products, Universal Window and Door
Text description provided by the architects. Located on Congress Street in the Fort Point Historic District of Boston’s emerging waterfront, this 140,000 SF project encompasses the adaptive reuse of two historic structures, the construction of a new building on an adjacent lot, and a three-story rooftop addition above all three structures.
The design explores the relationship between the existing historical patterns of the area’s architecture and a new understanding of how these buildings are to be re-imagined to serve contemporary needs. While the two renovated warehouse buildings were built in the early 1900s to store wool, sugar and molasses, the neighborhood is now characterized by an active artist’s community and a mix of industrial, commercial, and residential uses. The principal design goal is to celebrate the modern transformation of these buildings while respecting the district’s historical integrity.
The new façade at 346 Congress takes cues from the restored façades at 348 and 354. Together, the three buildings relate to one another with a progressive series of window groupings, architectural details, colors, materials and proportional rhythms. The edges of the 3-story rooftop addition are set back from the historic street wall along Congress Street. The addition of modern housing units is characterized by stepped terraces and inflected walls of glass and metal panel that are ‘folded’ into and over the historic block—they are expressed in a contemporary architectural language influenced by the materiality of the historic context.
Sustainable design principles were employed throughout. The two original buildings were substantially preserved; the new infill building was built on an open lot adjacent to a historic fire station/museum and houses the main, accessible building lobby, designed using reclaimed lumber from the adjacent structure. The three-story rooftop addition is supported on a new steel superstructure with new foundations that is woven through the original heavy timber structure. As a result, less new material was required to construct the project, much less construction waste was generated and the original buildings are preserved as purposeful pieces of the existing urban fabric. In addition, the new internal structure supports modern high-speed elevators, new high-rise stair towers and provides up to date seismic stabilization for the entire complex.
