Seaport Neighborhood - Infill and Discussion

statler

statler

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For any information/discussion regarding South Boston Seaport developments.
 
three architectural hired for 3 Fan Pier buildings

The Fallon Co. announced Wednesday it has hired three architectural firms to design 1.8 million square feet of office, hotel and residential buildings on Fan Pier.

Architects selected to design the parcel of waterfront land known as Fan Pier are Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston, Hill Glazier Architects of California and Brennan Beer Gorman LLP of New York.

Fan Pier is a 20.5-acre site approved for nine buildings and nearly 3 million square feet of commercial office and residential towers connected by sculpted sidewalks, landscaped public parks and a host of cultural, civic and public amenities.

Boston developer Joseph Fallon and Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co. signed an agreement to buy the parcel Fan Pier for $115 million. The prime waterfront land had sat vacant for nearly three decades under the control of the Pritzker family of Chicago.

Hill Glazier Architects of California will design a five-star hotel with top-floor residences and a luxury condominium tower. Brennan Beer Gorman will design a 500,000-square-foot office building. Elkus Manfredi is designing a 500,000-square-foot office building with 300,000-square feet of retail space.


bizjournal:
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2006/06/05/daily42.html?jst=b_ln_hl


Brennan Beer Gorman
http://www.bbg-bbgm.com/


Hill Glazier Architects
http://www.hillglazier.com/
 
Waterfront developer chooses Fan Pier architects
By Scott Van Voorhis
Thursday, June 8, 2006

Long-delayed plans for the largest waterfront project in Boston?s history took a major step forward yesterday, with Fan Pier developer Joseph Fallon naming the $1 billion-plus project?s design team.

Fallon, a veteran waterfront and city developer, is turning to a pair of out-of-state firms and a local mainstay to craft the architecture of what has long been touted as a new, harborside neighborhood.

The architects will design four new buildings worth $1 billion - two office high-rises, a luxury hotel with condos and a separate condo residence.

?Fan Pier is on its way to becoming a thriving and economy-boosting neighborhood for Boston,? said Mayor Thomas M. Menino.

Winning the coveted Fan Pier design contracts are the following firms:
# Hill Glazier Architects will design Fan Pier?s luxury hotel residence with top-floor condos, as well as a condo tower. The California firm?s portfolio includes the famed ?celebrity favorite? Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara.

# BBG (Brennan Beer Gorman Architects LLP) is a New York firm that has designed skyscrapers and hotel towers across the globe, from Malaysia and Dubai to Washington, D.C.

# Boston-based Elkus Manfredi Architects has built a powerhouse reputation both locally and nationally, designing the Intercontinental hotel and condo tower complex in Boston and the 43-story Paramount residential tower in San Francisco, to name just two.

?We?ve selected some of the most respected architects in the country to work with us,? Fallon said.
 
Wow.

Talk about unexciting....I'm pretty disappointed with these selections. Very safe (bland) work.
 
From the BRA:
THREE RENOWNED ARCHITECTS NAMED FOR FAN PIER PROJECT

Two office buildings, luxury hotel/residences and condo tower planned -- $1 Billion in construction under design marks key milestone on Waterfront

BOSTON ? The Fallon Company has selected three renowned architectural firms to design nearly $1 Billion worth of mixed-use development on Fan Pier -- two Class A office buildings, a five-star hotel with residences, and luxury condominiums.

Joseph F. Fallon, president of The Fallon Company ? marking another major milestone for Fan Pier ? announced that four buildings, totaling 1.8 million square feet of prime space along Northern Avenue is now under design. Selected to join the Fan Pier development team are these nationally and internationally acclaimed firms:

Hill Glazier Architects http://www.hillglazier.com/ from California is designing a five-star hotel with top floor residences, and a luxury condominium tower. Both will be adjacent to the new Institute of Contemporary Art (ICA), set to open this fall.

Hill Glazier specializes in the design of luxurious hotels and resorts and has handled hundreds of projects in more than 25 countries, working with hospitality industry icons like the Four Seasons and the Ritz-Carlton.

Their portfolio includes the famed ?celebrity favorite? Bacara Resort & Spa in Santa Barbara, Calif. and Montage Resorts and Spas Residences worldwide. Fallon is working now to select a flagship hotel for Fan Pier.

BBG (Brennan Beer Gorman Architects LLP) http://www.bbg-bbgm.com/ of New York is designing an office building at Fan Pier with approximately 500,000 square feet of premier space. BBG has extensive experience in mixed-use master planning, commercial design and upscale hospitality and urban residential projects around the United States and the world.

BBG designed buildings that shape skylines from Dubai and Kuala Lumpur to Bangkok and Saudi Arabia. Among its signature buildings in the firm?s portfolio are Dubai Metals & Commodities Center Tower, One Marina Place in the Middle East, the Lion Center in Malaysia, Peninsula Hotels in New York and Bangkok, the Mandarin Oriental Hotels in New York and Washington, and the restoration of the fabled St. Regis Hotel in New York.

In Boston, BBG is providing design services to the new 793-room Westin Boston Waterfront Hotel, also being developed by The Fallon Company. The Westin Boston Waterfront is set to open June 21.

Elkus Manfredi Architects http://www.elkus-manfredi.com/ of Boston is designing a second office building with nearly 500,000 square feet of office space, along with roughly 300,000 feet of retail space on Fan Pier. The Elkus Manfredi portfolio includes a high-profile retail and hotel project in Chicago; The Shops at Columbus Circle at the Time Warner Center in New York; Pacific Place in Seattle; The Grove in Los Angeles adjacent to CBS Studios; the 43-story Paramount residential tower in San Francisco, and the streetscapes and city plazas at City Place in West Palm Beach.

Locally, Elkus Manfredi designed Boston?s acclaimed 31-story 33 Arch Street and 28 State Street as well as the Millennium Pharmaceuticals Building at University Park and 88 Sidney Street in Cambridge.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino says, ?Many companies in Boston are looking for more office space. Office towers are filling up again, and people are moving back into and living in the city. Fallon?s plans for Fan Pier are a reality that will appeal to companies who want to move their office headquarters to the waterfront, and to local residents who want to call this premier destination home. Fan Pier is on its way to becoming a thriving and economy-boosting neighborhood for Boston.?

?We?ve selected some of the most respected architects in the country to work with us to make Fan Pier a world-class project for Boston,? said Fallon. ?This represents about $1 Billion worth of development now under design. Things are really starting to happen on Fan Pier. The fact that there?s been so much interest from these architectural firms is a testament to the strength of the commercial and residential real estate markets in Boston.?

Fan Pier spans approximately 21 acres along Northern Avenue (nine city blocks and three million square feet) and is considered one of the most desired waterfront development sites on the East Coast. Along with the office buildings, five-star hotel, condominiums and lifestyle high-end retail, Fan Pier will offer new public parks, the Institute of Contemporary Art, a Harbor Walk and a protected marina. It is designed to be a vibrant, pedestrian-friendly area and boasts breathtaking views of the water and downtown skyline with easy access to the Financial District, Logan International Airport, the Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate 93.

Press Contact: Steven Pellegrino, Kortenhaus Communications, email: spellegrino@kortenhaus.com, office: 617-778-5770.



Release Date: June 7, 2006
Click to expand...
 
Glassy, modern design for Fan Pier?

Short background of note that might be interesting first:

I had an interview with CBT a while back, didnt end up working there, but it was to work as an urban designer. Its basically just two people running the UD operations over there right now, they are trying to expand, but still interesting that these two are basically largely responsible for such large projects as Northpoint, Fan Pier etc.

At the time, they were said to be designing the public realm for the Fan Pier development. As the article above claims three other architectural firms have been selected, at least for the first phase, I dont know how relevant the below link is, but I thought it was interesting just because its the first new renderings concerning Fan Pier in a while.

Anyways, go to the CBT website, click on projects and then urban design, and then the first and last photos under the Fan Pier project are new, rather glassy and futuristic. What do you all think? Trying to reflect the ICA? Bring a new modern aesthetic into the brick, wooden, steel warehouse district of nearby Fort Point?

Alas, it will be interesting to see the preliminary designs for Fallon's Fan Pier buildings when they come out in a few months...
 
I can only hope that the buildings on Fan Pier will look half as good as the ones shown in the drawings. I didn't realize that the smaller, low rise was the ICA at first. The renderings compliment the ICA very well which I think was the intention. Thanks for the website info.
 
Re: Glassy, modern design for Fan Pier?

JS38 said:
Short background of note that might be interesting first:

I had an interview with CBT a while back, didnt end up working there, but it was to work as an urban designer. Its basically just two people running the UD operations over there right now, they are trying to expand, but still interesting that these two are basically largely responsible for such large projects as Northpoint, Fan Pier etc.

At the time, they were said to be designing the public realm for the Fan Pier development. As the article above claims three other architectural firms have been selected, at least for the first phase, I dont know how relevant the below link is, but I thought it was interesting just because its the first new renderings concerning Fan Pier in a while.

Anyways, go to the CBT website, click on projects and then urban design, and then the first and last photos under the Fan Pier project are new, rather glassy and futuristic. What do you all think? Trying to reflect the ICA? Bring a new modern aesthetic into the brick, wooden, steel warehouse district of nearby Fort Point?
Click to expand...

I don't see a link.

Ahhhh, that was you. I accused somebody else some months ago of interviewing with CBT and wanted to know the ouctome and if he was withholding info. :)
 
There are also several older, out-of-date images, but here are the two from CBT's site that appear to be current:

cbt2.jpg


cbt1.jpg
 
as old as they are, i don't think they are that bad at all. Dare i say i like them!
 
Generic glass and steel, but still beats generic prefab PoMo. If anything, it shows that the ICA is influencing the architects working in the vicinity, which is just as we want it.

justin
 
waterfront development

Good article from the Boston Business Journal about waterfront development in Boston:
http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2006/01/23/focus1.html?jst=s_cn_hl
Nothing really new here, but an encouraging article showing how development along the waterfront in general, including some long-stalled projects, now all seem to be coming to fruition, should be impressive in a few years or so if all goes as planned...
 
I like those renderings! If balconies are incorporated into the design scheme and not just treated as utilitarian, they can enhance the project. That is somewhere I would like to live.
 
I'm a bit confused. Maybe it's just the rendering but the buildings right behind the ICA look quite close. I thought the ICA owned the rights to that land for future expansion?
 
cbt1.jpg



Mmmm. I like how crisp and clean the harbor water looks. Makes me wanna jump in and splash around. :p
 
ICA expansion?

I was always disappointed at the amount of exhibit space at the new ICA and I thought there was no room to expand. Do you know if they have plans to expand someday?
 
I was under the impression that they now have 65,000 sq. ft. That's a lot.
 
Re: ICA expansion?

PaulC said:
I was always disappointed at the amount of exhibit space at the new ICA and I thought there was no room to expand. Do you know if they have plans to expand someday?
Click to expand...
I can't remeber how I got that idea. I seem to remember reading it somewhere and even seeing a picture with an outline of the lot where they would expand. Maybe I'm just confusing it with the convention center.
 
The convention center definitely has a space allocated for future expansion. Haven't heard that about the ICA.
 
I think those renderings look really good....how old are they?
 
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