ManuLife Designs Green Headquarters

Toronto-based ManuLife Financial Corp. will build a new 470,000-sf "green" headquarters in South Boston. The 14-story building will be one of the first buildings in the nation utilizing a double-skin exterior curtainwall facade. Enabling airflow, the 8-inch cavity between inner and outer glass walls will improve sound and energy performance, reduce energy costs in successive years, and diminish initial mechanical equipment costs. Slated for completion in fall of 2003, the headquarters will consolidate ManuLife's 700 Boston area employees currently housed in three separate facilities. Designed by Skidmore, Owings & Merrill of Chicago, the new tower will be able to accommodate up to 1500 workers. A lobby and 7,000 sf of retail will occupy the ground floor, with a fitness center and a 1,500-person cafeteria on the second floor. A striking six-story atrium will begin on floor four.  A stepped presentation room will contain 100 desk seats with power and data hookups. The building steps back at floor twelve, creating an exposed roof surface that will be planted with sea grass, providing building cooling and bird-watching opportunities. A rooftop terrace will facilitate gatherings, parties, and informal meetings. Water will be conserved via low-flow bathroom fixtures, shower flow restrictors, and electronically controlled plumbing fixtures. Regionally sourced and recycled materials will comprise 25% of the tower's core and shell. Watertown-based Sasaki Associates designed the building's interior, which will feature abundant natural lighting.