Prudential Plaza: A Living Wind Map in the Heart of Boston

888 Boylston Street Plaza by Mikyoung Kim: A Sustainable, Interactive Urban Experience

The Prudential Plaza, located in the historic Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, is a testament to the innovative and sustainable design approach of Mikyoung Kim. The plaza is connected to the 888 Boylston tower, one of the most sustainable office buildings in New England, featuring solar panels, green roofs, rain gardens, and wind turbines. The design of the plaza was inspired by intensive wind studies that revealed intense wind patterns at the edges of the property. This led to the creation of sculpted planters and color-changing wind vanes, programmed to a weather sensor, providing an interactive experience for visitors.

What sets the Prudential Plaza apart is its unique approach to highlighting wind patterns. The plaza features forty-four color-changing steel light columns, each capped with a sculptural wind vane that moves with the wind. These 'light vanes' transform the plaza into a living wind map, offering a whimsical and vibrant experience for visitors. The plaza, designed in conjunction with the new 888 Boylston Street tower, has become a hub for retail, dining, and civic events in downtown Boston.

The realization of this design involved the use of the latest 5-axis CNC technology for the fluid granite seating elements. The light columns, standing nearly 5 meters tall, were custom fabricated using a single metal strand that wraps around structural rods to create a delicate spiral translucent screen. Each light column is capped with a custom moving wind vane with a mirrored base to reflect the light back to the ground, adding to the interactive experience.

The plaza project began with an intensive wind study which showed that the most intense forces occur at the edges of the property. The design team integrated planters around natural eddies, movement corridors, and thresholds on the site, based on these fluid movement studies. The redesigned plaza had to withstand high pedestrian traffic flow and structural constraints of the existing garage below the plaza. The design team worked closely with the stone fabricators to carve the stone to meet these weight restrictions.

The Prudential Plaza has been recognized for its innovative design, winning the Golden A' Landscape Planning and Garden Design Award in 2018. This award is granted to marvelous, outstanding, and trendsetting creations that reflect the designer's prodigy and wisdom, embodying extraordinary excellence and significantly impacting the world with their desirable characteristics. The plaza continues to be a testament to the innovative and sustainable design approach of Mikyoung Kim, offering a unique, interactive urban experience to its visitors.