Cambridge, MA
450 Water Street
Scope/Solutions
Formerly a railyard adjacent to Kendall Square, Cambridge Crossing is a forty‑three-acre mixed-use development. The new eleven-story building on Parcel H at 450 Water Street houses nine levels of life science office space above four levels of parking. SGH consulted on the building enclosure design for 450 Water Street and the building on Parcel G at 350 Water Street that serve together as a flagship campus location for Sanofi.
SGH collaborated with the project team on the building enclosure design, bidding and design-assist process, and construction. Highlights of our work include:
- Consulting on below-grade and podium waterproofing, roofing, and facade systems, including custom unitized and stick-built curtain walls, metal panel cladding, and louvers
- Developing details for complex conditions, such as waterproofing interfaces with the adjacent building, the building foundation, and site structures; expansion joints at existing pedestrian and vehicular structures; and roofing and curtain walls intersections
- Assisting with the design for the custom curtain wall assembly with integrated metal panel elements that vary throughout the facade to maximize daylighting
- Visiting the curtain wall fabricator to observe their construction quality control processes
- Consulting on a curtain wall performance mockup and witnessing laboratory testing
- Developing the basis of design for the lobby enclosure, comprising a custom long-span, steel-tee curtain wall system, and performing thermal modeling finite element analysis to evaluate the condensation potential
- Reviewing tenant-specific work affecting the building enclosure
- Providing construction phase services, including reviewing contractor submittals, visiting the site to observe ongoing construction, and helping address field conditions
- Helping detail and perform quality reviews of below-grade waterproofing installation
- Performing air/water infiltration testing of the curtain walls and infrared thermal surveys of the completed enclosure to qualitatively evaluate potential air leakage and identify wet materials in the installed roofing assemblies
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Project Summary
2022
Completion Date
131M
Construction Value
AWARD
Winner
LEED
Certification
Solutions
New Construction
Services
Building Enclosures | Applied Science & Research
Markets
Health Care & Life Sciences | Mixed-Use
Client(s)
NBBJ LP
Specialized Capabilities
Facades & Glazing | Roofing & Waterproofing | Environmental Simulations
Key team members
Additional Projects
Northeast
Boston Children’s Hospital, Hale Building
Boston Children’s Hospital wanted a new clinical building that would incorporate the latest healthcare programming and technology. SGH consulted on the building enclosure design and provided building enclosure commissioning services.
Northeast
Maine Medical Center Coulombe Family Tower Expansion
The recent expansion of the Coulombe Family Tower includes a two-story, vertical addition to the five-story hospital building that SGH designed in the mid-2000s. Anticipating continued growth, Maine Medical Center (MMC) asked SGH to design the original base structure to accommodate additional stories. When MMC was ready to expand, they considered another impending need and asked the project team if the new addition could support a rooftop heliport. SGH provided building enclosure and structural engineering services for the project, which was completed while the Coulombe Family Tower remained occupied.