Boston’s Seaport District is the fastest growing area in the city. However, the physical environment of iconic, large-scale buildings has few iconic public spaces that connect them. The elevated World Trade Center Avenue connects destinations between the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center (BCEC) and the Boston Harbor. Multiple developments are underway and the speed of the district’s transformation is impressive, but a superlative public realm on par with the architecture is lacking.
Improvements to the 60-foot street right-of-way removes barriers, calms traffic and facilitates pedestrian movement. Landscape treatments form a unified public realm and transforms World Trade Center Avenue into a shared street that invites people to stroll and enjoy views of downtown and waterfront. A unique wayfinding system brands the elevated corridor as an attractive destination.
Individual developments translated design objectives on a parcel-by-parcel basis rather than advancing a singular urban design aesthetic. Interim site activation is helping to change the reputation of the street from a mundane access road into a public room.
- Klopfer Martin Design Group (KMDG)
- Omloop
MASSPORT Port Authority of Massachusetts
Urban Street
Consistent paving, plantings, street furniture, arcade and canopy provide protection and bring vastly different architectural scales and building styles into greater coherence.