CBT Receives “Best in Show” for One Post Office Square at IIDA New England’s Design Awards

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Boston, Mass., July 20, 2010 – CBT took home multiple honors in the New England Chapter of the International Interior Design Association’s (IIDA) fourth annual Interior Design Awards, including the Best in Show award for its renovation and repositioning of the lobby at One Post Office Square in Boston. The 41-story Class A office tower also received first place in the Office Under 30,000 SF category.

Located on Post Office Square, the building is a signature 830,000 SF office tower updated with an elegant new lobby, entrance, and enhanced façade at street level. CBT worked with the building owner, Equity Office Properties, to reposition the building and to transform the address into a prominent Class A property. The strategy was aimed at decreasing vacancy, improving the building’s perception and transforming the existing building into a higher value position for the market. The new lobby brings a fresh, light and aesthetically clean direction to the building.

 

The IIDA New England Interior Design Awards showcase not only the design of the projects, but it also recognizes the collaborative efforts of the entire project team. “A high degree of coordination and attention to detail by the design team, construction team, stone fabricator and stone layer was required to properly execute the Apennines Mountains design concept of the lobby feature wall,” said Robert A. Brown, AIA, IIDA, LEED AP principal of CBT. “Using a computer, digital photos of each marble slab were arranged and placement was agreed upon by the designers as they attempted to recreate the unique experience in the quarry. Instructions were given for size and placement of each piece and the entire wall was laid out flat on the ground for review prior to shipment and installation. The result is the satisfying vision of valleys and ridges climbing through the clouds across the wall.”

 

The transformation of the lobby begins with a three-story Pilkington structural glass wall, framing the perimeter of the building. The original lobby, set back from the façade with a dark arcade, was increased by 30% in size by extending a glass enclosure beyond the building’s exterior. The lobby is composed of a quiet white-on-white palette which forms the background for the seasonal color of Post Office Square to vibrantly enliven the space. The elevator lobbies were redesigned with a rich, dark fumed oak with white glass and stainless accent details. Floor plates, which serve a bank of 17 elevators, are 12,000 to 25,000 square feet and offer sweeping views of the Charles River, Boston Harbor and Boston skyline. The building, which connects to the Langham Hotel, is home to Putnam Investments, Sullivan & Worcester LLP, Acadian Asset Management, Jones Lang LaSalle and Lahive & Cockfield. The leasing agent is Jones Lang LaSalle.

 

About CBT

CBT Architects provides services in architecture, urban design, and interior design from offices in Boston and Abu Dhabi.

Founded in 1967, the firm’s practice ranges from multi-family residential structures and developments, to major office towers and urban district renewals, to a host of academic campus facilities. This variety of experience informs the unique approach we take to understanding all user needs. Over 175 awards recognize excellence and creativity in our design of new buildings and the renovation of existing structures. www.cbtarchitects.com