COMPLETION
2007

AREA
156,000 GSF Renovation
153,000 GSF New

COST
85 Million

OWNER/DEVELOPER
WGBH Public Broadcasting Station

DESIGN TEAM
Polshek Partnership
Janson Design Group
The Systems Group
Le Messier Consultants
R.G Vanderweil Engineers
Hargreaves Associates
Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc.
DVS Associates

CONSTRUCTION MANAGER
Macomber Builders
TCCO

PROGRAM
Performance Hall
210 Seat Theater
6 On-Air Radio Studios
2 TV Studios
Central Archive
Boardroom, Cafe
Administrative and Office Space
Event Lobby

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

This new facility for a public broadcasting station reconnects the creative content makers to the administrative/management teams and technical operations. An existing 7-story office building is bridged to technical recording, and production facilities with a 500 foot long spanning structure.  The two story building to the south houses public amenity spaces with screening rooms, performance hall and theater, as well as the technical spaces required for TV production and broadcast radio. 

One of the defining elements of the building is the steel frame structure that spans a public roadway.  A Warren truss was assembled in 5 2-story sections and is supported on the south end with 6 super columns and the existing building to the north. The structure’s orientation places it slightly off axis but within view of the I-90 turnpike feeding the greater Boston area. Clad with a structurally glazed and unitized curtain wall it also supports a series of LED modules that allow the façade to become a digital mural creating an iconic presence for the institution. Interior circulation through the truss is pushed to the perimeter and activates the facade where it is visible to vehicular and pedestrian traffic below. 

The buildings public and office interiors were developed separately from the technical spaces. Reception Lobby and Event spaces are finished with a similar coil coated formed aluminum wall panel that is used on the exterior of the building. Interior detailing uses stainless steel trim, framing and protective finishing elements. The sculptural forms of the theater and recording spaces are perceived to be continuous from outside to interior. Glass railings form the sides of an interior bridge that echoes the formal organization of the building massing. Perforated metal and wood ceiling panels are acoustic and provide sound absorption for the otherwise reflective terrazzo flooring and metal wall panels. 

Google Street View

INVOLVEMENT

DD, CD, CA
Staff Architect (7 months)

Interiors Detailing

• Detailing of Event and Reception Lobbies.
• Coordination of RCP, MEP, Security and life safety requirements at public amenity spaces.
• Door type detailing, scheduling, hardware set integration for glass hollow metal and wood.
• Material specification research, product documentation; ornamental metals, wood paneling, glass and glazing, flooring, ceiling systems, light fixture, a/v and security.

Exterior Wall

• Entrance canopy detailing, metal panel, AESS steel, curtain wall and structural steel coordination.
• Lighting, stormwater, revolving door and security integration.