Design for One Channel Ctr. Complete

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One Channel Center

Boston – ADD Inc., now with Stantec, completed the design of One Channel Center, the final phase of the seven-acre Channel Center master plan, a 2.1 million sf mixed-use development by Commonwealth Ventures.

The contractor was Suffolk Construction.

The $175 million project is located at 1 Iron Street in the burgeoning area of the Fort Point Channel in Boston’s Innovation District, the largest urban redevelopment near a major downtown area in the country. The 500,000sf, 11-story structure is home to approximately 4,000 employees of State Street Bank and is part of a multibuilding master plan that includes a new two-acre park and a 10-level, 900-car garage.

The design team’s vision for the project was based on a digital vortex, a concept that aligns with the technology-focused culture of State Street Bank, the building’s only tenant.

In order to reduce the apparent scale of the building, the design team divided it into three parts. Two volumes flank a sloping glass curtain wall entry façade at the building’s center. The curtain wall is a design gesture that breaks down the visual scale of the building, delineates its entry, and it transforms to a shimmering light display at night.
The two masonry sides of the building incorporate textured red and brown precast concrete, which resembles brick and terracotta in a nod to neighboring historic warehouses. Colored glass panels punctuate the façade and evoke the whirling activity of the office within.

Designed to thread into the neighborhood context, the two-story lobby is a portal between the historic warehouses on Channel Center Street and the new park on the building’s southern edge and features local art.

One Channel Center features many green elements, such as continuous insulation on façades, efficient mechanical systems (HVAC), recycled and local materials such as structural steel and precast concrete, and low-VOC materials that improve indoor air quality. The building is expected to attain LEED Silver certification.