Macallen Building Condominiums
Photo by John Horner
Solution

Macallen Building Condominiums

Boston, MA

Service: Structural Design
Market: Residential - Condominium
Keywords: Award Winning, Condominium, New Construction, Flooring, Green / Sustainable Design, Green Roofs, Residential, Signature Project, Truss, Wood

Completion

2007

Awards

2010 Institute Honor Award, American Institute of Architects
2010 Honor Award for Design Excellence, AIA New England Design Awards
2009 Merit Award, Boston Society of Landscape Architects (BSLA)
2009 Honor Award, American Society of Landscape Architects
2009 Award of Excellence, Intensive Residential, Green Roofs for Healthy Cities
2009 Award for Design Excellence, Boston Society of Architects
2008 Top Ten Project, AIA Committee of the Environment
2008 Silver Engineering Excellence Award, ACEC Massachusetts
2008 Project of the Year, Construction Management Association of America, New England Chapter
2008 Multifamily Grand Award, Residential Architect Magazine
2008 Housing Award, Multifamily Housing, American Institute of Architects
2008 Green Project of the Year, Multifamily Executive Magazine
2007 Best Practices: Sustainability, International Facility Management Association Boston
Macallen Building Condominiums

Photo by John Horner

Macallen Building Condominiums

Photo by John Horner

Macallen Building Condominiums

Photo by John Horner

The Macallen Building is the second phase of a 270-unit residential development at the tip of the Fort Point Channel in South Boston. The building contains three parking levels, a 20,000 sq ft elevated green space, and 140 units spread over an additional eleven levels. The building is the first multi-unit housing in Boston to achieve LEED® Gold certification. SGH was the structural engineer of record for the project.

Scope | Solutions

SGH designed the structure for the condominium building. The residential portion of the building is a 218,000 sq ft, steel-framed structure between six and eleven levels tall. The three-level, 100,000 sq ft parking garage is a cast-in-place reinforced concrete structure below the residential portion of the building. SGH’s work for this project includes the following:

  • Compared varying framing layouts affording ceiling heights between 9 ft and 10.5 ft within an 11 ft floor-to-floor height and provided the owner, architect, and construction manager with a floor plan matrix comparing structural depths, ceiling heights, steel tonnage, and beam/girder spacing for cost/benefit analyses

  • Participated in a value engineering process resulting in a steel system lighter than anticipated

  • Designed a staggered steel truss system for the residential levels providing interior, column-free modules of 72 ft x 64 ft and reducing the need for column transfers at the parking level drive lanes

SGH also investigated cupping and delamination of bamboo flooring. We performed material testing, developed repair options, oversaw construction of mockups exposed to accelerated moisture gain/loss, and developed a repair specification to maintain LEED certification and resulting in a whole-system warranty.

Project Contact(s)

Matt Johnson

Matthew Johnson

james parker

James Parker