Winthrop Center
Boston, MA
A new addition to Boston’s skyline containing the world’s largest Passive House office space at 700,000 SF
Project Overview
This iconic project in the heart of downtown Boston incorporated an ambitious green building strategy that included pursuing LEED© Platinum certification for the entire building, plus certification through the Passive House Institute and WELL Building Standard™ for the 20-story office space.
Because of the unique nature of this project, the Passive House Institute agreed to use it as a PH Pilot Project intended to better understand and define the implications of building a high-rise office space to Passive House standards in a cold climate.
SWA worked collaboratively with the Passive House Institute and the development team to move the project forward toward certification.
Designing to Passive House standards drastically reduces the project’s greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, making the building well-positioned to help the City of Boston meet its stringent GHG emissions reductions targets.
Building Details
- Mixed-use: Retail, office, and residential
- Size: 1.5M SF (whole project), office space is 700,000+ SF
Project Team
- Developer & Owner: MP Boston
- Architect: Handel Architects
Services Provided
- Certification Support & Verification
- Passive House Consulting (PHPP modeling with variant analysis, 3D thermal bridge modeling)
Certifications
LEED
Passive House Institute (PHI)
WELL
High-Performance Features
Advanced lighting controls
Unitized curtain wall façade to achieve superior thermal efficiency and air tightness
Optimized four-pipe fan coil heating and cooling system
Demand control ventilation with energy recovery