Hub on Causeway Office Tower vs Winthrop Center Building

Comparing the Hub on Causeway Office Tower and the Winthrop Center Building is interesting because they both stand in Boston, MA, and were completed just one year apart, but they were designed by different architects.

This offers a unique glimpse at how rival designers approached projects in the same city during the same era.

The Winthrop Center Building is clearly the larger tower of the two, both in terms of height and number of floors. It rises to 689ft (210m) with 48 floors above ground, while the Hub on Causeway Office Tower reaches 525ft (160m) with 31 floors above ground.

Of course, each project may have faced different briefs or regulatory constraints, which we don't really know about and could also explain the outcome.

Both the Hub on Causeway Office Tower and the Winthrop Center Building were designed in line with the aesthetic conventions of the Contemporary style.

At the time, this style was at the height of its popularity. So both Gensler and Handel Architects followed what was in many ways expected of them, producing designs that fit comfortably within contemporary architectural norms, rather than breaking with convention.

The Winthrop Center Building follows a mixed-use model, combining commercial and residential. In contrast, the Hub on Causeway Office Tower has remained primarily commercial.

The Winthrop Center Building offers 317 residential units.

The Hub on Causeway Office Tower also provides 800 parking spaces.

Both the Hub on Causeway Office Tower and the Winthrop Center Building rely on a Frame structural system.

A frame structure uses a grid of columns and beams to carry the building's loads. This frees the walls from structural duties, allowing for flexible floor plans and larger windows.

They also employ the same type of facade, a Curtain Wall facade.

A curtain wall is a non-load-bearing facade hung from the structural frame. It is anchored to floor slabs and transfers only its own weight and wind loads, allowing for sleek, glassy exteriors.