Torrey Architecture 
Transforms 19th Century Skyscraper Entrance

Torrey Architecture's new glass and aluminum entry arch recalls the past while illuminating the present. At the intersection of State and Congress Streets in Boston's Financial District, Brookline Bank's spacious new retail banking center occupies the ground floor of the historic Worthington Building.
About the Project

In 1895, the ten-story skyscraper at 31-33 State Street was innovative for its steel-framed design and handsome terra-cotta, limestone and granite façade, as acknowledged today by its nomination for Historic Landmark status by the Boston Landmarks Commission. Its deeply-carved band courses at street level originally formed a keystone arch, but after a century of redesigns by successive tenants, only a painted plywood entrance surround remained when this flatiron tower became the home of Brookline Bank's downtown branch.  



Torrey Architecture's design for the 2100 SF first floor of the Worthington Building introduces clean modern design and materials to create a lofty day-lit office environment.

This aesthetic continues out through the open entry porch to wrap the façade's entrance surround in brushed aluminum with frosted glass panels. These floating glass slabs extend flanking masonry joint lines into the arch, reinterpreting the original limestone design in reflective glass and symbolically restoring the long-lost entrance arch and keystone.



At night, concealed LED lights illuminate the translucent glass "stones", effectively dematerializing the heavy steel and masonry structure hidden beneath the surface of this 122-year-old Boston landmark, announcing on the exterior the presence of th is newly renovated  state-of-the art banking facility .



Archival Research/Boston Landmarks Commission Design Review 

Torrey Architecture often uses archival documentation in designing alterations to historic structures. This can be useful in understanding the original architect's design intent, to determine when subsequent changes occurred and to inspire contemporary interpretations when appropriate. In researching the historical chronology of changes to the Worthington Building over time in preparation for approval hearings before the Boston Landmarks Commission, whose approval was required for any changes to the building exterior, Torrey Architecture received assistance from a number of sources in Boston, including the Boston Public Library, the Boston Landmarks Commission, the Boston Athenaeum, the Massachusetts Historical Commission, the Bostonian Society and Historic New England.

Team:
Architectural Team:
Torrey Architecture
D.M.Berg Consultants
BLW Engineering


General Contractor:
Caldwell & Walsh Building Construction

Photography:
Peter Lewitt Architectural Photography

Client:

Brookline Bank, a full-service financial institution, provides individuals and businesses with deposit and lending services, residential mortgages and home equity lending, commercial and CRE banking, cash management, merchant services, and access to investment services. 
 
Torrey Architecture has designed nineteen out of Brookline Bank's twenty-five Boston area branches.    

Torrey Architecture, Inc.

Torrey Architecture provides our clients with complete architectural services, from concept sketches through building occupancy. We assist property owners, commercial tenants and stewards of community facilities in the realization of architectural projects for buildings and sites. We assemble and lead a team of professionals to address the specific technical requirements of the project and guide our clients through the entire design process, from goal clarification through schematic designs, engineering, cost control, construction documents, contractor selection, permitting, construction and building maintenance.

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