Ora Seaport/Hyatt Place

Since 2010, rapid development of the Boston Seaport District has shaped a vibrant neighborhood of accessible, year-round activity between Fort Point Channel, South Boston, and the Marine Industrial Park. On the Seaport’s eastern edge, Ora Seaport & Hyatt Place established a gateway that set a new standard for community- and transit-oriented urban design highly tuned to the resiliency challenges of waterfront construction. Together, architecture and landscape come together to provide the area with an interwoven sequence of uses. The project is one of the first Seaport developments to incorporate passive flood proofing into the building design and the first to meet Massport’s Floodproofing Guidelines.

Landscaping elements such as planters, sloped walkways, and seat walls define raised entry areas and seamlessly increase the ground floor elevation for additional flood protection. These passive systems eliminate need for deployable flood barriers and fences that require assembly around the building. These landscape elements frame a variety of public spaces for recreation, gathering, and socializing, while protecting from floods.

The ground floor exterior walls, doors, glass, and storefront systems were engineered to withstand floodwater pressures up to four feet above grade level. These targets required in-situ testing. A large chamber was built on-site around a portion of the facade and filled with water to simulate flood conditions and hydrostatic pressures. The installed system performed well and exceeded the required testing criteria. The design team also simulated potential storm surges and sea-level rise through augmented and virtual reality. These tools were critical to achieving stakeholder agreement on systems and costs required to protect the complex.