Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Are the slurry rigs used because the soil underneath is the muck that the big dig had to deal with or am I mistaken? Isn't it really far to bedrock? I remember in school being told that a lot of downtown sits on cedar posts or something.
 
I think the cedar posts are in the Back Bay, due to everything being land fill. I don't know the soil composition at Winthrop Square, but that area is original shawmut peninsula.
 
There is something like over 5,000 wood pilings in the Back Bay. Many are under the church in Copley Square. It took over 40 years to fill in the Back Bay. Fill was from the three hills that were once present in early Boston and Needham.
 
Czervik.Construction said:
Are the slurry rigs used because the soil underneath is the muck that the big dig had to deal with or am I mistaken? Isn't it really far to bedrock? I remember in school being told that a lot of downtown sits on cedar posts or something.
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I believe Winthrop Square is original Shawmut Peninsula, but I could be slightly off.
 
Its going to bedrock regardless, Millennium makes damn sure to make that clear these days, you know cuz uhh... wouldnt want it to tilt or anything.
 
HenryAlan said:
I think the cedar posts are in the Back Bay, due to everything being land fill. I don't know the soil composition at Winthrop Square, but that area is original shawmut peninsula.
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Cedar posts are under about 60% of Boston Proper (anyplace there is landfill). Back Bay, South End, Bay Village, South Cove (Chinatown), Dock Square, Bulfinch Triangle, Beacon Hill Flats, Symphony, Parts of the Fenway....

They are also under the Bosworth buildings at MIT (original part of the Cambridge campus).

This is why the groundwater table is critical to the stability of most of 19 and early 20th century buildings in Boston. Those posts must stay submerged or they rot, and you get foundation collapse.
 
Ok, so that submerged cedar post thing is true. Isn't that a bit of a risk for the long term? I guess if anything, sea levels are probably going to rise so not having enough water down there is probably not an issue.

So do the cedar posts go down to bedrock and then they pour the foundation on top of the posts? Sounds like an engineering nightmare.
 
The posts in the Back Bay float. When the buildings were designed, the total weight was calculated. Then they sunk a post and added weights until the post sat at the correct level. The calculated weight of the building was then divided by the weight each post could carry, to get the number of required posts.
This is per the architect who did the rehab of what is now the Courtyard Marriott, Back Bay.
They wanted to add floors onto that building. In order to do so w/ out sinking the building, they had to remove a ton of brick on the inside of the building to compensate for the added weight of the new floors. The inside of the brick walls were then sprayed w/ a Kevlar type material to keep their shape absent the removed brick. Apparently the 1st time this approach was used. Pretty fascinating.
 
nico said:
The posts in the Back Bay float. When the buildings were designed, the total weight was calculated. Then they sunk a post and added weights until the post sat at the correct level. The calculated weight of the building was then divided by the weight each post could carry, to get the number of required posts.
This is per the architect who did the rehab of what is now the Courtyard Marriott, Back Bay.
They wanted to add floors onto that building. In order to do so w/ out sinking the building, they had to remove a ton of brick on the inside of the building to compensate for the added weight of the new floors. The inside of the brick walls were then sprayed w/ a Kevlar type material to keep their shape absent the removed brick. Apparently the 1st time this approach was used. Pretty fascinating.
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Also, most buildings slowly sink (about 1 foot, IIRC) as the Boston Blue Clay the pilings are sunk into dewaters under pressure. Eventually this stops (comes to equilibrium).

At MIT, newer buildings around the Bosworth complex were purposely built with floor alignments about 1 foot higher than the Bosworth buildings, with a floating junction between the buildings. The newer buildings have slowly sunk to come to alignment with the floors in the Bosworth buildings.
 
Thanks, guys for answering my rookie-level question. Always nice to learn something new. Sorry for the WC thread derailment. :)
 
I wish these guys had a website like one dalton that gave you construction updates and timetables
 
Hey all, I wanted to share a site that a friend is working on to document this project, and I thought you guys would appreciate.

The site is https://ironcladphoto.com/winthrop-square-gallery/.

He is working with the developer/contractors/unions to document this project so it gives him access to take more close-up pictures of the site, as well as the people that are doing the work. Occasionally, there will also be a short photo essay to highlight individual workers.

There was a similar project for the Millennium Tower which is also on that site which is definitely worth checking out.

I'm only posting the link because they're not my photos to share. I think during the Millennium Tower project he would update the site every month or so, so I'd imagine it would be the same for this project.
 
This is really going to be something when this starts rising. 1 dalton and mt were great, but this is the main event of this development cycle.
 
stick n move said:
This is really going to be something when this starts rising. 1 dalton and mt were great, but this is the main event of this development cycle.
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Yes 1000% although I’m really looking forward to Bulfinch Crossing too.
 
stick n move said:
This is really going to be something when this starts rising. 1 dalton and mt were great, but this is the main event of this development cycle.
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weird. i mean, i'm excited about this, sure, but of the three you mentioned i feel like this design is by far the most uninspired. it has (time will tell...) a lit crown and that makes it neat and unique for boston, but it looks like it came straight out of 1971 cincinnati.
 
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