Page 10 - FINAL COPY__JAN_22-TPIE_Intl Awards Program-updated JAN 19_FINAL- pdf 1 linked with videos

Platinum

Winner

Atrium/Garden plantings, Interior

Located in the dynamic Seaport District of
Boston, this new commercial tower overlooks
the harbor, and with both its interior and
exterior biophilic design features it seeks to
enhance the occupant’s connection to nature.
Upon crossing the threshold, you enter the
tree filled atrium.

The overall concept for this lobby space is to
invigorate the feeling of walking in a forest.
This was a particular request and important
aspect of the design tailored for the client,
connecting them to their company roots and
place of origin.

This concept informed almost every decision
in the design, from the exposed floors to the
custom selection of planter beds, plants, and
the natural untreated wood finishes. Even
with the use of tropical indoor plants, all the
greenery is meant to look like a native New
England woodland habitat. The most notable
are the striking black olive trees, which
presented the largest obstacle to obtain and
install.

Due to shortages of large interior landscape
nurseries, the 12 trees had to be secured a year Above: This view shows the repetition of the rectangular
and a half prior to installation. Like typical new planted beds, the tabletop, and the metal framed ceiling
construction, the job was delayed, but the shapes that create a dynamic sense of harmony. The
trees were still scheduled to land. Because of height of the black olive trees had to be precise to situate
the delays, the installation of the trees had to each tree perfectly beneath the varying heights of the
happen during one of the busiest times of the overlapping ceiling clouds. The suspended wood lattices
construction process, presenting numerous are constructed from reclaimed lumber from dismantled
challenges. The trees also needed to fit exactly buildings in the region that the architects call “old friends.”
beneath the slatted ceiling pieces and had to With the treetops nestled between the slats, they weave
be measured and placed with varying heights together to create a forest canopy, with a poetic nod to the
between 12-24 ft. and root balls spanning 28- intertwined relationships of the trees in this forest.
32 inches.

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