Millennium Tower (Filene's) | 426 Washington Street | Downtown

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chrisbrat said:
This may be a childhood memory gone awry, but on the old JHT didn't they used to light the top? I don't mean the weather beacon, I mean the stepped pyramid/ziggurat thing leading up to it. Maybe even the setbacks from the base?
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With the new LED efficient lights, I don't understand why the old John Hancock tower isn't illuminated like it once was. When the body of the tower was lit, it was the most beautifully illuminated building in Boston.
 
atlantaden said:
With the new LED efficient lights, I don't understand why the old John Hancock tower isn't illuminated like it once was. When the body of the tower was lit, it was the most beautifully illuminated building in Boston.
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LED's also take a lot of the maintenance hassle out of lighting a building. Bulb replacement is a huge headache with older style building lighting. The LEDs last much longer.
 
JeffDowntown said:
LED's also take a lot of the maintenance hassle out of lighting a building. Bulb replacement is a huge headache with older style building lighting. The LEDs last much longer.
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JeffDowntown -- and if you give a call to Philips Lighting in Burlington [formerly Color Kinetics] they can set you up with lights that can change with the seasons, holidays, sports teams, etc.

Since locals invented the technology -- it should be showcased hereabouts
 
617 said:
Is this thing really not going to be lit up at night?
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FWIW...I was driving back into the city from Quincy Saturday night and the open area of the roof where the mechanical hoist is located was lit up. It was just a simple white light, very subtle.

I'm not sure if the lighting was a function of remaining construction or part of the design, but there was some sort of lighting up there on Saturday.

(I was driving so I couldn't snap a pic)
 
In addition to the tall buildings and possible glorification with lighting, I would love to see the Tobin Bridge outlined with lights as so many other bridges in other large cities. I often wonder why this has not been done. From the land, sea, and sky it would be quite a sight!
 
whighlander said:
JeffDowntown -- and if you give a call to Philips Lighting in Burlington [formerly Color Kinetics] they can set you up with lights that can change with the seasons, holidays, sports teams, etc.

Since locals invented the technology -- it should be showcased hereabouts
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It may not cost a premium either. They're eager to get their product high-profile exposure. A couple of years ago, I worked on a Braga Bridge lighting proposal in Fall River. Philips threw their hat in the ring almost immediately. It's currently being studied, but Philips essentially said they'd more or less donate the lighting as long as certain naming/marketing opportunities were given to them.

If we're willing to call it the "200 Clarendon (Formerly the John Hancock Tower) 'Revolution!' Light Show brought to you by Philips Lighting of Burlington (formerly Color Kinetics)" it may work. I'm clearly not a marketing/branding expert, but it's still better than the "Leonard Paul Zakim Bunker Hill Memorial Bridge."
 
Again, anyone know why Tobin Bridge remains void of lights? I live on the Chelsea waterfront with a panoramic view of the city and bridge and lighting on the bridge as well as additional lighting on the buildings of downtown would be quite dramatic......
 
Will the sinking MT in SF with the inevitable lawsuits impact the MT in Boston or perhaps the Winthrop sq. project if MP gets the job ?
 
617 said:
Will the sinking MT in SF with the inevitable lawsuits impact the MT in Boston or perhaps the Winthrop sq. project if MP gets the job ?
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Probably not. I would say each building is structured like a private investment.
Basically each building site represents its own individual issues.
Investors/MT/Insurance company will take a hit.

I would think MT structures every project as an individual investment with it's own risks & returns/insurance premiums.

But I'm not in the industry: This is only my theory.
 
617 said:
Will the sinking MT in SF with the inevitable lawsuits impact the MT in Boston or perhaps the Winthrop sq. project if MP gets the job ?
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Same architect, Handel; same structural engineer, DeSimone; same use of concrete rather than steel; different general contractor.

San Francisco not anchored to bedrock, is Boston? Is there other structural reinforcement in San Francisco because of seismicity, that Boston doesn't have?

Big earthquakes on the Hayward Fault occur nearly every 140 years. It has been 148 years since the last one. Not sure that insurance underwriters would look on a sinking, tilting building apparently built on sand, and refuse to insure.
 
Good question - anyone know if MT Boston is anchored into bedrock? It's well known that four seasons tower is.
 
617 said:
Good question - anyone know if MT Boston is anchored into bedrock? It's well known that four seasons tower is.
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My recollection is that it is sitting on a massive concrete pad; wasn't there a claim that the base was the largest single concrete pour for a Boston building.
 
617 said:
Good question - anyone know if MT Boston is anchored into bedrock? It's well known that four seasons tower is.
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It appears a portion is (at least on paper), but someone in the industry will have to confirm.

As quoted from the NPC:

"The use of low impact, drilled-in foundation elements are planned to minimize the potential for vibration and ground disturbance during construction. Current planning provides for supporting the proposed development on high capacity drilled shafts supported in the glacial till and bedrock. Drilled shaft foundations have been successfully utilized for support of numerous buildings in Boston."

The NPC also states that bedrock is only 35-45 feet down, as opposed to four seasons where it is much deeper.
 
stellarfun said:
My recollection is that it is sitting on a massive concrete pad; wasn't there a claim that the base was the largest single concrete pour for a Boston building.
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We documented this around page 222 of this thread
 
Millennium Tower Boston has a 6'-6" thick mat slab foundation with 24.3 million pounds & 6,000+ cubic yards of concrete. It was the largest continuous concrete pour in the history of Boston.
 
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