In 2016 and 2017 our design team worked with WS Development on planning and program analysis for approximately 12.5 acres and 2.8 million square feet of entitlement parcels in Boston’s Seaport District. NADAAA’s essential challenge was to develop an architecture appropriate for the district, responsive to profound resiliency challenges, and workable as a financial model.

A central element of the Masterplan was Harbor Way, a great pedestrian “walk to the sea,” strengthening Seaport’s connection to the water extending from Summer Street all the way to the Boston Harborwalk.

A series of urban “rooms,” defined by building heights and setbacks, punctuate Harbor Way from the Summer Street Stairs to Seaport Square.

Among current city-wide initiatives is the Harborwalk (dark blue line), a pedestrian path that already enjoys success in various parts of Boston that will eventually stretch over 40 miles, connecting Dorchester to East Boston. The east-west grain of streets (orange lines) were already strong. Harbor Way (central cyan line) was planned to strengthen the north-south grain to connect with Fan Pier and Pier 4.

Inspired by Boston Harbor’s Dry Docks, the buildings along the Harbor Way spine step back. The upper stories give form and perspective to the chain of spaces extending from Summer Street to the Harbor while the active edges of the ground floor shrink and grow with varied activities.

It is at the scale of the District that one understands the monumental Urban Room of Harbor Way. The upper stories of the buildings here are shaped to mitigate prevailing winds and welcome daylight to the square. As the buildings step back, there are opportunities for terraces and green space, providing other levels of urban landscape.

Exposure to sunlight is critical to the quality of public spaces. Harbor Way, with its north-south orientation rotated 20 degrees toward the west required sensitivity. The carved back massings along Harbor Way allow the sun to penetrate at the critical time of day between 10am and 3pm.

The Seaport Masterplan approached sustainability through two complementary lenses. The first was through looking at multiple scales, from the District level to the Public Realm level, and to the individual Building level. The second was through looking across three themes: 1) We integrated Human Comfort & Wellness strategies to create healthy, comfortable environments for the district inhabitants. 2) We included Sea Level Rise & Resiliency approaches for a changing climate, including strategies for coping with increased flooding, weather events, and power outages. 3) We supported Performance strategies to optimize buildings, landscapes, and the district as a whole towards lower resource consumption.

The pedestrian connection from Summer Street to Congress Street drops twenty-five feet and is critical to the experience of Harbor Way. The elevated position at Summer street provides a vista of the water and an understanding of Harbor Way as the experiential path to the harbor.

NADAAA in collaboration with James Corner Field Operations and Sasaki

NADAAA
Principal in Charge: Nader Tehrani
Project Manager: Arthur Chang, AIA
Project Team: Katie Faulkner, AIA; Amin Tadj, AIA, Lisa LaCharité

James Corner Field Operations
Principal in Charge: Keith P. O’Connor
Project Manager: Joshua Seyfried
Project Team: Jayyun Jung

Sasaki
Principal in Charge: Christine Dunn
Project Manager: Alexandra Toteva
Project Team: Martin Zogran

Client: WS Development