Boston, MA | 2007
[Architecture Boston Feature]

Boston City Hall occupies one of the best pieces of land in Boston. At the intersection of 3 major subway lines and at the geographical heart of downtown, this is an ideal location for a dynamic civic center; however the current City Hall is accused of failing to interface effectively with the public. We propose taking advantage of a latent urban potential: The site is the missing link between the historic Fenway Park and the new Rose Kennedy Greenway.  By allowing the plaza to connect these important open spaces, City Hall will sit pavilion-like in a park, much like a New England meeting house at the center of urban life. Opening the City Hall to its surroundings and reprogramming it with public functions such as a meeting hall, a community/ cultural center, and a civic history museum will also make it an integral part of Boston’s historical ‘Freedom Trail.’



Aerial view of city hall:  At the infrastructural scale, the plaza surface is opened so that light and air can connect of the 3 buried subway lines to the activities of the plaza.  At the urban scale the greening of the plaza allows it to join the Fenway and the Rose Kennedy Greenway.



The plaza has the latent potential to provide the much needed connection between Fenway Park and the Rose Kennedy Greenway (left).  New public programs at City Hall can allow it to become a new addition to the ‘Freedom Trail.’ (right).

Revealing the red, green, and blue subway lines brings new public activity to the surface of the plaza.



Section through the plaza: Natural light and ventilation brought to the subway levels can also allow for new programs to be added underneath the plaza.

PROJECT CREDITS:

architect
Jinhee Park AIA + John Hong AIA/LEED (principals in charge), Frederick Peter Ortner, Catarina Marques, Jiseok Park



RELATED PROJECTS:

acc	czech library	boston harbor	prov plaza

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