One Federal Street Building

One Federal Street Building
  1. About the One Federal Street Building in Boston
  2. Architect and team
  3. Architectural style
  4. Spaces and uses
  5. Structure and materials

The One Federal Street Building is skyscraper designed by The Architects Collaborative, and built in 1976 in Boston, MA.

One Federal Street Building is not the only name you might know this building by though. It is common for companies to want to attach their names to iconic buildings when they move in, or for the general public to come up with nicknames, and this one is no exception. The One Federal Street Building is also known, or has been known as, Shawmut Bank Building, or Fleet Boston Financial.

Its precise street address is 1 Federal Street, Boston, MA. You can also find it on the map here.

The building underwent a major restoration between 1992 and 2011.

Building's timeline

Construction completed
1976
49
Restoration
2011
14
years ago
2025

Architect and team

The Architects Collaborative was the architecture firm in charge of the architectural design.

That being said, architecture is a complex discipline involving many professionals from different fields, without whom this building would have not been possible. We will surely be leaving out a lot of names here, but here is a list of the people we do know also played their part in making the One Federal Street Building a reality:

  • LeMessurier Consultants in charge of Structural Engineering
  • Tishman Speyer Properties as the Main Developer

Architectural Style

The One Federal Street Building can be categorized as building.

Spaces & Uses

The One Federal Street Building reaches an architectural height of 518ft (158m). It has a total of 40 floors, 38 above ground and 2 basements, served by 6 elevators, which combined offer a total of 1,118,358 sqf (103,899m2) of usable space.

In regards to parking space, the building has a total of 240 spots available, which roughly equals 6 spots per floor (above ground), or one parking spot per every 4,661 sqf (433m2) of usable space.

Ever since opening its doors to the public in 1976, the One Federal Street Building has mainly been used as Commercial space.

518ft (158m)
2 basements

Materials & Structure

The One Federal Street Building uses a frame structure made of steel columns and concrete and steel slabs.

A frame structure uses a combination of beams and columns to sustain the building's weight. The walls in this case are non-load bearing, which allows for more flexibility when distributing the interior spaces.

The facade uses a non-load bearing curtain wall system. This means the curtain wall modules are anchored to the building's structural frame, typically by being attached to the edge of the floor slabs. The curtain wall system connects to the slabs using brackets, anchors, and mullions, which transfer the loads imposed by wind and temperature changes, to the building's primary structural elements.

This setup allows the curtain wall to accommodate differential movement between the facade and the structural frame, such as thermal expansion, floor deflection, or sway from wind forces. This system's integration with the slab edges also allows for continuous insulation and weatherproofing layers.

Non-structural Curtain Wall Facade
Non-structural Curtain Wall Facade

From an aesthetic point of view, the facade features composite stone panels from various types of stones, covering spandrels and the slender columns that organize the facades in several bays, framing the dark-tinted glass windows.

The building is crowned by a series of larger windows followed by a solid band made of the same stone.

The tower grows from a 7-story-high podium clad in the same stone composite and dark glass.

Sources

  • www.tishmanspeyer.com
  • marketplace.vts.com
  • www.loopnet.com
  • www.bostonofficespaces.com
  • en.wikipedia.org
  • skyscraperpage.com