Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority

Traction Power Substation Building

Boston, Massachusetts

Size
120,000 gsf

Services
Architecture

Awards
Boston Society of Architects: Honor Award for Design Excellence

The Traction Power Substation provides DC electrical power to MBTA Blue Line subway trains and houses a ventilation shaft for emergency smoke evacuation from the Blue Line tunnel. Ellenzweig was awarded the commission as a separate contract after beginning design of the MBTA’s Blue Line Aquarium Station project.

The design of the building honors its location on Boston’s historic State Street near Quincy Market. The demand for sensitivity to the existing fabric was considerable, given this unlikely use for a prime downtown location. The goal was to house electrical machinery, heavy switchgear, and a ventilation shaft in a building that would form a dignified, contemporary, yet unobtrusive addition to the streetscape.

The exterior design employs the predominant materials and vocabulary of neighboring turn-of-the-20th-century buildings without resorting to imitative architectural language; limestone, granite (building base), and aluminum (grid), along with prominent cornices and deeply indented windows, contribute to a design that allows this building—housing a completely utilitarian program—to reside harmoniously within its commercial context. Modulated both horizontally and vertically to adapt to the patterns established by neighboring buildings, the aluminum grid contains the various louvers and “blind” windows required by heavy equipment. All of the openings relate directly in size and proportion to openings in the existing buildings, maintaining continuity with the context.

As an urban design, the Traction Power Substation acknowledges two important views: one along State Street, the other from Quincy Market. The 400-square-foot ground-floor retail space, with its glazed shop-front, animates the corner of State Street and Chatham Row.