Solution

Van Ness at 1325 Boylston Street

Boston, MA

Service: Building Enclosure Design
Market: Mixed-Use
Keywords: Adhesion Testing, Air Barrier, Air Infiltration, Below-Ground Waterproofing, Construction Administration, Curtain Wall, Field Testing, Masonry-Terra Cotta, Plaza, Preengineered/Prefabricated/Modular, Residential, Walls, Waterproofing

Completion

2015
Van Ness at 1325 Boylston Street
Van Ness at 1325 Boylston Street
Van Ness at 1325 Boylston Street

The 550,000 sq ft Van Ness offers offices, apartments, retail space, and below-grade parking in Boston’s Fenway neighborhood.  The mixed-use development comprises two towers bridged by a landscaped plaza over ground-level retail spaces.  SGH consulted on the building enclosure, including property line below-grade waterproofing, curtain wall, cladding, unitized wall panels, roofing, and the landscaped plaza.

 

Scope | Solutions

 

Working with Elkus Manfredi Architects, SGH assisted with the building enclosure design.  We reviewed design concepts and provided recommendations to improve system performance.  Highlights of our work include the following:

  • Recommending below-grade waterproofing system that would provide the necessary reliability for a blindside application and included safeguards during the sheet pile disassembly

  • Assisting with the selection of a buried plaza waterproofing system, detailing transitions into the rising towers, and accounting for drainage under plantings and hardscapes

  • Consulting on metal and glass curtain walls, punched windows, terra-cotta, and metal wall panels, and prefabricated unitized wall panels

  • Designing transition details across all enclosure systems, including special detailing for chemical compatibility of transitions

 

SGH provided construction administration services, including the following:

  • Reviewing product submittals and shop drawings for all enclosure systems

  • Coordinating preconstruction meetings with the contractor and various building enclosure related subcontractors

  • Conducting field adhesion testing of the air barrier systems and pressure-differential water and air infiltration testing on the curtain walls and punched windows to compare with performance requirements

  • Designing and observing electric field vector mapping of the plaza

  • Visiting the site to observe in-progress construction to compare with the design intent and approved shop drawings

Project Contact(s)

Michael Louis

Michael Louis