Boston Magazine |
Air Apparent
A stunning design (and defeat of gravity) takes a Boston institution into the new century—and beyond.
By James McCown
- Cars whiz by the new WGBH. Photo by Mary Kocol.
Imagine Amtrak’s high-speed Acela train crossed with the glassy sheen of the Back Bay’s John Hancock Tower. The result would look a lot like WGBH’s new Brighton building, set to open next year. Much more engaging than the station’s drab old Allston base, the new 450-foot-long glass prism, designed by New York–based Polshek Partnership, joins a series of renovated buildings to compose the most exciting company headquarters since the aforementioned skyscraper. Rather than rise 790 feet into the clouds, however, this architectural marvel extends horizontally to collide, ever so deftly, with an adjacent building before cantilevering toward the eastbound Massachusetts Turnpike. Supported by seven reinforced concrete columns, the glass connector will accommodate the WGBH studio and production teams. Downstairs, a street-level pavilion includes a 200-seat screening room open to the public. At one end, the new tower will hold several LED screens to lend animation to the Boston skyline and give Pike motorists some eye candy on the way to work.
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