Timber Towers | Boston, MA
Urban Market, Residence, and Community SpaceProfessor: David Yocum
Portman Prize Competition: First Place
Architecture Masterprize: Student Winner
Extending upward to bridge the gap between South Boston and the towering structures of Downtown and Backbay, this unique timber form offers a new solution to the city’s pursuit of sustainability. Extending outward, in response to the adjacent network of interstates and railroads, the building further bolsters lateral connections for pedestrians and cyclists traversing about the city.
Three programmatic elements drive a form which anchors the building to the urban fabric at every scale. Micro-housing units, collaborative spaces, such as a bicycle shop, in addition to a public fresh food market, orchestrate opportunity for community to flourish. Fourth and Foundry becomes a prototype for the future of sustainable timber cities.
The Cross Laminated Timber (CLT) that would be used to make this project would come out to 18,193,650 lbs of timber or 8,252 Metric Tons. If the average construction Co2 Emissions of timber is 0.37/mT of timber, and the average Co2 sequestration is 2.1/mT of Timber, then the net result of the building would be 14,276 mT Carbon Sequestered, equivalent to annual emissions of 3,100 cars.
