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Boston’s new Winthrop Center is now officially the largest Passive House office building in the world

2023-10-06T17:58:00-04:00

The new Winthrop Center in Boston by Handel Architects has just been certified by the Passive House Institute (PHI) as the largest Passive House office design in the world, according to an announcement made Friday by its developer Millennium Partners.

Inaugurated in the spring after a six-year concept and construction phase, the 691-foot mixed-use tower includes 812,000 square feet of Class A office space and another 510,000-square-foot segment with 317 luxury residences within its 52-story design.

The office component of the Center, which earned the PHI designation, incorporates between 30 and 35% more fresh air than a typical commercial design. Millennium Partners shares: "A typical Class A building in Boston’s existing stock uses 150% more energy and existing LEED Platinum buildings in Boston use 60% more energy than Winthrop Center’s office space."

Image courtesy of Millennium Partners.

“With Winthrop Center, we wanted to think beyond the status quo, and we were ready to employ ...

A dearth of BIPOC Boston-area construction workers reveals the industry's ugly 'caste system'

2022-08-03T15:26:00-04:00

The Boston population has grown increasingly diverse over the past few decades, with people of color accounting for more than half of the city's current residents and Black people making up 24% of all residents. But the city's construction workforce has not kept pace, according to Boston city data. The data also shows a kind of caste system in construction. The higher up you go in a building under construction, the less likely you are to find workers of color.

The Hub’s long history with racism is felt in practically every other area of the built environment in the city, including its underserved mass transit system and arcane zoning policy’s harsh afterburn. Workers on various large construction projects such as the new Winthrop Center are seeing the effects even as the industry faces labor shortages.

According to WBGH, Boston’s citywide construction workforce is 63% white, with instances of high-demand skilled roles registering at 88% and 89% white. Perhaps predictably, the data set showed some more dangerous job functions (such as asbestos removal) being staffed by upwards of 75% BIPOC laborers.

This is particularly worrisome as the city has been pushing equity mandates that require 40% BIPOC employment on all sites totaling more than 50,000 square feet. Women aren't fairing much better in the local workforce either: A fall survey of Boston's 150 biggest projects found none that met the same requirement, which calls for only 12% empl...

Winthrop Center is making progress in its quest to become the world's largest Passive House office building

2021-06-09T13:09:00-04:00

Curtain wall construction has begun on what will become the world’s largest passive house office building, marking an important milestone in the drive to give Boston an iconic and environmentally friendly new skyscraper that could help the city meet its carbon-free mandate by midcentury.

Winthrop Center is awaiting certification from the Passive House Institute conferring its office portion with a status that, once completed, will make it the largest of its kind anywhere in the world.

Winthrop Center. Image courtesy of Millennium Partners Boston.

Handel’s vision for the 52-story center is a mixed-use development that includes a bar, restaurants, 321 luxury residences, and a triple-high atrium gathering space dubbed The Connector that seeks to blur lines between indoor and outdoor space in the through-block site along Federal Street to the adjacent Winthrop Square.

Only the 800,000 square foot office portion of Winthrop Center will seek the designation although the building’s overal...

A closer look at Boston's Winthrop Square redevelopment bids

2016-06-27T14:00:00-04:00

Frustrated by a succession of boring glass boxes, Mayor Marty Walsh has called for one more: adventurous architecture. [...] the city tries to sell off a decrepit garage in Winthrop Square. Earlier this month, each of six development teams presented its ideas in an open house at Faneuil Hall. On Monday, the Boston Redevelopment Authority revealed each team’s bid for the garage.

Detailed presentations of the six final RFP responses can be found here.