Architects for the proposed GTECH headquarters in Capital Center have changed
their original design, eliminating a floor and one level of parking, moving
the main entry closer to the street and dropping the height of the building
by 28 feet.
“The building needed heavy editing,” said Al Spagnolo, principal architect for Boston-based Spagnolo Gisness & Associates, the architects for the project.
The former design was too complicated and incorporated too many architectural elements, he said. The decision to reduce the scale of the project, according to Spagnolo, was a “market decision.”
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Since they met last month with the committee, Spagnolo and his team have made major changes to the project. In addition to eliminating a floor and reducing parking to 250 spaces (formerly 330 spaces), the profile of the penthouse enclosure, which holds elevator mechanisms and heating and air conditioning, is smaller and set back from the edge of the roof. Next to the main entry, at the corner and part of a tower feature, is a clear three-story pavilion that is expected to feature a different glass than the rest of the front.
“There is an emphasis on the crystalline nature of the façade,” Spagnolo said. “It evolves into a beacon.”
GTECH will still occupy the first four floors of the office portion of the building, with office space for other tenants on the top two floors. Architects have also made the planned balcony on GTECH’s top floor, facing Waterplace Park, larger – 60 feet across. A terrace along the park has remained, along with a pedestrian bridge on Francis Street that would lead people onto the terrace.
“GTECH feels it has finally arrived at a design that is not only timeless but is a 21st-century representation” of the company, Spagnolo said. “It’s a perfect relationship of glass reflecting its surroundings.”
The headquarters will be located on parcel nine in the downtown district, at the corner of Francis Street and Memorial Boulevard, across from the Providence Place mall. The first level is planned for restaurants and cafes along the water, with additional retail and possibly a bank along Francis Street.
“The editing has enormously improved the building and it’s developing its own characteristics and has established a sense of architectural presence,” said Derek Bradford, a member of the Capital Center Commission’s Design and Review Committee, which viewed the latest plans on Aug. 31. “Materials will be critical to this project.”
Two “large players” in the restaurant industry have expressed great interest in the park-side retail space, Spagnolo said, and because of the demand, the retail space along Francis Street could also be restaurants.
Architect William Warner, who designed Waterplace Park, also presented updated plans for the landscaping around the building, which is designed to soften the office building’s boxy edges. Warner proposed lighting on the building along Francis Street to emphasize the beacon image, and Spagnolo said the retail level and tower feature at the front of the building would be softly lit at night.
Committee members expressed concern with the heaviness of the parking garage structure, which is sandwiched between the office component and the waterfront retail. They also suggested Spagnolo and his team re-examine possibilities for the top of the tower feature at the front corner of the building.
“The Memorial (Boulevard) elevation comes off extremely well,” said committee member Glen Kumekawa. Committee Chair Leslie Gardner said the building was beginning to take on a jeweled appearance, with the promise of a glass façade and strategic lighting, and stressed the importance of coordinating materials.
Committee member Merline A. DeConti Jr. suggested Spagnolo consider using metal plates on the parking garage screening instead of concrete to make the building more fluid.
“The committee had thrown down a challenge and you seem to have met that challenge,” said member Wilfred L. Gates Jr. “The building has really come into its own.”
The group plans to meet again next Tuesday (Sept. 14) at which time Spagnolo
said he would present any changes to address the committee’s concerns and will
also present materials for the building and options on the top of the tower.
