Harbor Towers

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Residential in Boston, Massachusetts

42°21′28.64″N 71°02′59.89″W / 42.3579556°N 71.0499694°W / 42.3579556; -71.0499694Completed1971HeightRoof400.0 ft (121.9 m) / 396 ft (121 m)Technical detailsStructural systemReinforced concreteFloor count40Design and constructionArchitect(s)I.M. Pei & Partners

The Harbor Towers are two 40-story residential towers located on the waterfront of Boston, Massachusetts, in between the New England Aquarium and the Rowes Wharf mixed-use development. Harbor Towers I, the taller of the two towers, stands at 400 ft (121.9 m), while Harbor Towers II rises 396 ft (120.7 m). Harbor Towers I is tied for the 37th-tallest building in Boston. They were designed by Henry N. Cobb of I. M. Pei & Partners.

Initially built as affordable rental housing, the Harbor Towers opened in 1971. At the time, the area surrounding the project was a warehouse district with many surface parking lots.

History

Development and construction

The Harbor Towers (far right) are very prominent in the Boston skyline when viewed from Boston Harbor

The Harbor Towers apartment complex was completed in 1971 by the Berenson Corporation as an affordable housing option near Boston's financial district. The towers were designed by Henry N. Cobb, who also designed Boston's John Hancock Tower and collaborated with I.M Pei on Boston's City Hall Plaza. In 2006, they were the city's tallest residential towers.^[1] The towers were sponsored by the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA)^[2] to revitalize Boston's waterfront.

Originally planned as three 40-story towers, only two were built alongside a parking garage. The design garnered many critics in Boston for its brutalist architecture, a style inconsistent with historic Boston.^[3]

Condominium conversion

As the growth of the city moved toward the waterfront, the development's location drew attention during the condominium conversion craze of the early 1980s. In 1981, both apartment towers started a two-year process of conversion to over 600 condominiums, with incentives for existing renters to purchase at discounted prices. Many early apartment renters now own several units, often combined to create wrap-around units with as much as 5,000 square feet (460 m²) of living space. Newcomers to the building buy units for $650,000 to as much as $2.9 million.^{[citation needed]}^[4]

Over the decades, the towers have undergone major renovations, including the replacement of all the windows with high-end double-pane windows and replacement of the electrical and HVAC systems.^{[citation needed]} Severe corrosion of the heating and cooling water pipes led to them being replaced by copper pipes in 2009.^{[citation needed]}

Architectural details

The apartments are organized in a pinwheel fashion around a central core and are made of cast in place reinforced concrete. The concrete exterior balconies have a giant zipper-like appearance against the flat façade.^[5]

The stainless steel sculpture at the base of the buildings is Untitled Landscape by David von Schlegell, created in 1964.^[1] The artwork is often mistaken for solar panels.^{[citation needed]}

Zoning

School district

Any school-age children living in the towers are eligible for Boston Public Schools.

References

^ ^a ^b "The Boston Harborwalk: Places To Go...: Downtown/North End: India Wharf / Harbor Towers". Archived from the original on 2006-11-15. Retrieved 2006-11-19.
^ Keohane, Joe (28 January 2008). "The Harbor Towers' Towering Contradictions". Boston Magazine.
^ Contreras, Kalan Michael (May 2013). "Revisiting brutalism : the past and future of an architectural movement". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
^ "Luxury Boston – Boston Towers". Luxury Real Estate.
^ AIA Guide to Boston, Susan and Michael Southworth, page 66-67