Morris Adjmi Architects

For the Summer Street towers, MA wanted to create contemporary, high-performance buildings that connect the context of the adjacent Fort Point Channel Landmark District to the revitalized Seaport, which does not have a consistent style but instead features a vast range of glassy, modern styles. Remnants of the site’s industrial waterfront setting were also referenced, including disbanded railway tracks, bridges, and other historic structures found throughout the harbor.

Three sides of each building were directly inspired by the ubiquitous 19th-century brick warehouses found throughout Fort Point to achieve this concept. Interestingly, most of Fort Point’s historic buildings were designed for a single company, the Boston Wharf Co., by two staff architects. As a result, many similarities between these buildings are apparent; most are masonry lofts with a recurring ratio of an articulated top, upper portion with small bays, and lower portion with large bays. A similar progression of bays was mirrored on 350 and 400 Summer’s three brick-clad façades. 350 Summer features textured black brick with arched-topped openings, while 400 Summer features light gray brick with rectangular openings. On each, the factory-style windows are surrounded by pre-finished extruded aluminum frames.

To create a dialogue with the Seaport’s newer buildings, 350 and 400 Summer’s facing façades are glazed curtain walls that cut into each building’s volume. These façades open the two buildings up to abundant natural light, as well as the Summer Steps—a series of tiered public plazas that run along the entire length of the two new structures. The glass façades allow the buildings to connect to the steps both visually and through multiple openings, which tie into elongated interior lobbies that also connect Summer Street to Congress Street—two disparate and important thoroughfares separated by a 25-foot grade change.