KPF created a flexible master plan that, since its completion in 2010, has weathered a major financial crisis and global pandemic to become one of America’s most complete innovation districts, recognized globally for having attracted leading life sciences, technology, and media companies as well as a new generation of knowledge workers. The master plan calibrated the program mix to generate activity, foster social exchange, and create a visually interesting urban environment through various scales of development.
At KPF, our master planning work is informed by our fundamental identity as architects. We believe urbanism cannot be understood through only two dimensions, so we design neighborhoods three-dimensionally—not just where things go, but how they feel, their character, and the experiences they provide. In our role as master planners, we engaged in workshops through the early 2000s, while Seaport was still a series of empty lots, to inform our approach to creating a meaningful place within a previously characterless district. Upon the completion of the master plan, the land was parceled off to various developers that built out projects from our plan.