boston skyscrapers: projects by pei cobb freed, KPF, + handel architects

unlike new york or chicago, boston isn’t known for embracing the skyscraper. the city — one of the oldest in the united states — has historically been resistant to change, but recently a new crop of developments has started to transform its skyline. major projects by pei cobb freed & partners, along with local firm CambridgeSeven, kohn pedersen fox, and handel architects are currently at varying stages of completion. read more about each of the developments below.

‘one dalton’ is located in boston’s back bay
image courtesy of one dalton

in boston’s back bay, the tallest residential building in new england recently topped out at 61 stories, or 742 feet (226 meters). named ‘one dalton’, the tower has been designed by harry cobb of pei cobb freed & partners who, in 1976, completed the nearby ‘john hancock tower’. cobb’s latest design contains a 215-room four seasons hotel on its lower 20 floors and 174 residential condominiums on the 40 floors above.

the skyscraper will contain a combination of hotel rooms and residential condominiums
image courtesy of one dalton

shaped as a ‘soft triangle’ in plan and sheathed in low-reflectance high-performance insulating glass, the tower rises from a granite-and-glass podium containing the condominium lobby and the public rooms of the hotel. interior designer thierry despont is responsible for the residential lobby as well as the residential lounge on the 50th floor. other amenities include a curved 64-foot (20 meter) swimming pool and a spa with five treatment rooms.

EchelonSeaport is currently under construction
image courtesy of KPF

another example of the changes taking place in boston is EchelonSeaport, a development currently under construction. backed by cottonwood group and designed by KPF alongside CBT architects, the three tower project surrounds a 19,000 square-foot plaza that connects to a web of pedestrian and vehicular streets. this porosity encourages greater foot traffic and flexible year-round programming such as farmers’ markets in the spring, volleyball in the summer, and ice skating in the winter.

an outdoor pool area forms part of the plan
image courtesy of KPF

in total, EchelonSeaport will contain 717 units (447 condominiums). in addition to residences, the development will offer 125,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space. jeffrey beers international is designing the lobbies and amenity spaces. the first part of the project, named ‘133 seaport, a regent collection’, is slated to wrap up in late 2019 with the remainder completing in 2020.

jeffrey beers international is designing the amenity spaces
image courtesy of KPF

standing at a total height of 685 feet (209 meters), the recently completed millennium tower is located in downtown boston. designed by blake middleton of handel architects, the 60-story tower comprises 442 luxury residences meant to evoke the same scale of grandeur of the estates of back bay built in the early 20th century. the building features an art deco-inspired junior olympic lap pool surrounded by columns covered in black marble with white marble mosaic stripes.

‘millennium tower’ stands at a total height of 685 feet (209 meters)
image courtesy of handel architects