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OMA unveils sliced design for Boston Seaport

Slicely Does It

OMA unveils sliced design for Boston Seaport

OMA’s New York office has unveiled renderings for a 490,000-square-foot mixed-use retail and office project in Boston—OMA’s first in the city.

The project will be located in the Boston Seaport and is being backed by Massachusetts-based WS Development.

The developer has coalesced around a number of esteemed firms, notably Sasaki, NADAAA, and James Corner Field Operations as the firm looks to invest in the area, plotting a wider 1.3 million-square-foot scheme. Officially known by its address at 88 Seaport, the project is set to offer a series of cascading terraces that form part of a dramatic, angled slice through the structure about a third of the way up. This cut-through transcends down from a mid-level balcony through the building towards the street corner, with its angularity encouraging views up and into the cantilevered structure.

88 Seaport is also orientated toward Boston’s Fan Pier Green and the water’s edge, and while its windows are recessed, the render depicts floor-to-ceiling fenestration which will maximize views out. The building will rise to 18 floors and provide almost 425,000 square feet of office space. Meanwhile, 60,000 square feet will be designated for retail on the first two levels. Finally, 5,000 square feet will be allocated for civic and cultural use.

Shohei Shigematsu, a partner at OMA who spearheads the firm’s New York office, said in a press release that “[it’s] exciting to engage with the innovation migration to the Seaport District, and work with WS Development on a building positioned to be the nexus between historic Fort Point and the emerging waterfront developments. Our design for 88 Seaport slices the building into two volumes, creating distinct responses for each urban scale of old and new, while also accommodating diverse office typologies for diverse industries with demands for traditional and alternative floorplates. The slice also generates an opportunity to draw in the district’s public domains, linking the waterfront and Fan Pier Green with a continuous landscape.”

The project is expected to break ground next year with completion planned for 2020.

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