Van Ness
Boston, MA
The Van Ness is a mixed-use development in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood. The project comprises two towers, one commercial and one residential, connected by ground-floor retail, occupying an entire city block. Our design of the streetscape and 30,000 square feet of roof terraces is LEED gold certified, incorporating green infrastructure technologies that include permeable paving on the street level and locally sourced materials throughout. A mini park enlivens the street frontage with its wood and steel benches, plantings, specialty paving, and bike racks.
Conceptually, the owners wanted to bring the landscape into the lobby of the residential building in order to blur the lines between the built and natural environments. We designed two green walls that incorporate more than 4,000 plants to envelop residents and guests in a living mosaic at the entrance to the residential lobby. This dramatic effect is accentuated by the lighting, which creates the impression of natural daylight filtering through a skylight in the dropped ceiling. The plants and lighting wrap around the corners, and light bounces off strategically placed mirrors to create a seamless relationship between the architecture and the landscape.
A three-level, 20,000-square foot roof terrace connects the two mid-rise buildings. On the fourth floor, the lower level of the roof terrace provides outdoor gathering areas for workers in the office tower, and a fifth-floor terrace serves as an amenity for the residential tower. A granite-clad, serpentine wall and planter mediate the 20-foot elevation difference between the two levels. The design also incorporates linear walks and seat walls that emphasize the sight lines through these spaces to the neighborhood beyond.
On top of the residential tower, 180 feet above the street, a penthouse roof terrace provides panoramic views. Overlapping shade sails, illuminated at night, provide spatial definition and a comfortable human scale. Beneath the sails, we laid out places for sitting and grilling on a terrace floor composed of contrasting bands of pavers and wood tiles.
Client: Samuels & Associate
Collaborators: Elkus Manfredi Architects
Images: Jane Messinger, LJLA, Anthony Crisafulli
Boston, MA
The Van Ness is a mixed-use development in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood. The project comprises two towers, one commercial and one residential, connected by ground-floor retail, occupying an entire city block. Our design of the streetscape and 30,000 square feet of roof terraces is LEED gold certified, incorporating green infrastructure technologies that include permeable paving on the street level and locally sourced materials throughout. A mini park enlivens the street frontage with its wood and steel benches, plantings, specialty paving, and bike racks.
Conceptually, the owners wanted to bring the landscape into the lobby of the residential building in order to blur the lines between the built and natural environments. We designed two green walls that incorporate more than 4,000 plants to envelop residents and guests in a living mosaic at the entrance to the residential lobby. This dramatic effect is accentuated by the lighting, which creates the impression of natural daylight filtering through a skylight in the dropped ceiling. The plants and lighting wrap around the corners, and light bounces off strategically placed mirrors to create a seamless relationship between the architecture and the landscape.
A three-level, 20,000-square foot roof terrace connects the two mid-rise buildings. On the fourth floor, the lower level of the roof terrace provides outdoor gathering areas for workers in the office tower, and a fifth-floor terrace serves as an amenity for the residential tower. A granite-clad, serpentine wall and planter mediate the 20-foot elevation difference between the two levels. The design also incorporates linear walks and seat walls that emphasize the sight lines through these spaces to the neighborhood beyond.
On top of the residential tower, 180 feet above the street, a penthouse roof terrace provides panoramic views. Overlapping shade sails, illuminated at night, provide spatial definition and a comfortable human scale. Beneath the sails, we laid out places for sitting and grilling on a terrace floor composed of contrasting bands of pavers and wood tiles.
Client: Samuels & Associate
Collaborators: Elkus Manfredi Architects
Images: Jane Messinger, LJLA, Anthony Crisafulli
Boston, MA
The Van Ness is a mixed-use development in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood. The project comprises two towers, one commercial and one residential, connected by ground-floor retail, occupying an entire city block. Our design of the streetscape and 30,000 square feet of roof terraces is LEED gold certified, incorporating green infrastructure technologies that include permeable paving on the street level and locally sourced materials throughout. A mini park enlivens the street frontage with its wood and steel benches, plantings, specialty paving, and bike racks.
Conceptually, the owners wanted to bring the landscape into the lobby of the residential building in order to blur the lines between the built and natural environments. We designed two green walls that incorporate more than 4,000 plants to envelop residents and guests in a living mosaic at the entrance to the residential lobby. This dramatic effect is accentuated by the lighting, which creates the impression of natural daylight filtering through a skylight in the dropped ceiling. The plants and lighting wrap around the corners, and light bounces off strategically placed mirrors to create a seamless relationship between the architecture and the landscape.
A three-level, 20,000-square foot roof terrace connects the two mid-rise buildings. On the fourth floor, the lower level of the roof terrace provides outdoor gathering areas for workers in the office tower, and a fifth-floor terrace serves as an amenity for the residential tower. A granite-clad, serpentine wall and planter mediate the 20-foot elevation difference between the two levels. The design also incorporates linear walks and seat walls that emphasize the sight lines through these spaces to the neighborhood beyond.
On top of the residential tower, 180 feet above the street, a penthouse roof terrace provides panoramic views. Overlapping shade sails, illuminated at night, provide spatial definition and a comfortable human scale. Beneath the sails, we laid out places for sitting and grilling on a terrace floor composed of contrasting bands of pavers and wood tiles.
Client: Samuels & Associate
Collaborators: Elkus Manfredi Architects
Images: Jane Messinger, LJLA, Anthony Crisafulli