BOSTON CITY HALL PLAZA

Redesign of Boston City Hall Plaza:

The Plaza has been a stark and inhumane space for decades. It is heat baked in the summer and wind-swept and ice-cold in the winter. There are no places for people to sit and congregate or nature to soften the atmosphere. It lacks an edge and feels like a space to traverse fast rather than a pleasant space that can be a destination to linger and interact with others. This new sustainable design transforms the plaza into a welcoming user-friendly space that is flexible and can accommodate both small and large events.

• A new edge building to this vast plaza gives it definition and human scale and a dialogue between plaza and city hall.
• The new building snakes along Cambridge Street. It provides space for a subway station, a market building and a cafe in its concave forms. Its walkable green roof adds "Highline" like green spaces.
• Water from this roof drops down at the end of the building to a brook in which recycled water from stormwater collected under the vast plaza is cleaned by plants before it is stored in a reflecting pool.
• The later will cool the plaza and can be used for iceskating during winters.
• Moveable planters and benches on the plaza bring nature and scale to this vast space. They can be pushed aside during large events giving the plaza the flexibility needed for diverse needs.
• The subway stop, the cafe and its outdoor seating and the market building activate the plaza and provide comfortable spaces to "hang out" for the community.
• Added trees all along the edges of the site, the green roof and the moveable planters add nature and soften the plaza.
• This proposal is the result of many conversations and merging many visions.
• This was a commission for the 'Foundation for a Green Future'.