General Electric HQ Building in Boston, Massachusetts Headquarters, Architect, Project, Image

General Electric HQ Building in Boston

GE Offices, Necco Court, Massachusetts, USA – design by Gensler, architects

Aug 12, 2016

General Electric Headquarters Building, Boston

Design: Gensler architects

General Electric HQ in Boston

This 12-story glass building has a sail-like solar panel ‘veil’ on top plus an illuminated GE logo. It is connected to two renovated brick warehouses.

General Electric HQ Building in Boston
images courtesy General Electric / Gensler

The new headquarters complex overlooks Boston’s Fort Point Channel and has a maritime theme.

Gensler has submitted plans for a headquarters in Boston, Massachusetts, on a 2.4-acre site, reports BD today.

The project for US engineering multinational General Electric includes green roofs and giant solar panels that will curve over the south side of the building, designed to evoke a massive sail as a tribute to Boston’s maritime heritage.

General Electric HQ Building in Boston

It will see two existing brick buildings remodelled and a new 12-storey office block built.

General Electric required the world’s largest architectural practice to marry history with the future, reports the Boston Globe.

GE wanted a contemporary architectural design that worked with the old historic brick buildings, not another big black box.

General Electric HQ Building in Boston

Gensler’s project director, Todd Dundon, said the solar veil was designed to improve energy efficiency as the buildings get older, with individual panels designed to be removed and replaced with new ones as technology improves.

He said: “The solar veil will harness the sun’s energy, shade the building’s southern facade, and reduce glare and solar heat gain.

“Its photovoltaic panels are ‘plug and play’ – as panel technology improves, individual panels can be switched out, and so this evolving building will become more energy efficient as it becomes older.”

General Electric HQ Building in Boston

GE said the rooftop solar panels and vegetated roof areas would “mitigate heat island effect, help manage storm-water runoff, provide new habitat for wildlife and extend the life of the roof materials”.

The development is expected to house 800 GE employees but will have only 30 car parking spaces as part of an underground garage, in an attempt to encourage staff to walk, cycle or make use of public transport.

General Electric HQ Building in Boston

The buildings will be resilient to any rise in sea levels – despite being located next to the Fort Point Channel – due to the ground floor and critical systems being raised.

Construction work on the brick buildings is expected to start towards the end of 2016, while work on the new building will start in the first quarter of 2017. The whole project is set to complete in 2018.

General Electric HQ Building in Boston

A key goal behind the nearly 390,000-sqft project, as described in documents filed with the Boston Redevelopment Authority, is to exemplify the massive shift within GE as it becomes what it calls a “digital industrial” company, one that focuses on how to make machines smarter and more connected.

General Electric HQ Building in Boston

Only 16% of the complex’s space will be devoted to corporate headquarters offices. The rst of the building space is for startups, conference rooms, and workspace for digital programmers. The ground floors of all three buildings will primarily be open to the public.

General Electric HQ Building in Boston

GE will first renovate the two vacant warehouses at 5 and 6 Necco Court, and plans to start moving employees into those buildings in early 2018, with 800 workers eventually expected to be based there.

General Electric HQ Building in Boston

The brick Necco buildings will lose a floor, and gain a rooftop garden. These vacant, dilapidated buildings will be restored for offices. Floors will reduce from six stories to five in order to elevate the ground levels by 4.5 feet; this is to ensure they are protected from flooding.

Gensler, architects

Source: http://www.bostonglobe.com/business/2016/08/01/unveils-striking-new-headquarters-for-fort-point/gxhA3cewK6V1dLUuzMxtWL/picture.html?p1=Article_Gallery

Location: Necco Court, Boston, MA, United States

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Website: General Electric HQ in Boston