Boston’s Tallest Residential Building Receives Global Best Tall Building Award

One Dalton, the tallest residential building in Boston and home to Four Seasons Hotel and Four Seasons Private Residences, announced that the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH) honored the tower as a best tall building worldwide in its height category. One Dalton is the first and only building in Boston to be named a global winner by CTBUH, an organization that developed the international standards for measuring and defining tall buildings. CTBUH explores how increased urban density and vertical growth can support more sustainable and healthy cities.

At 742 feet, One Dalton is Boston’s tallest residential building, a defining peak of the “High Spine” that runs through the city’s distinguished Back Bay neighborhood. Designed by the late, legendary Henry N. Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and Gary Johnson of CambridgeSeven, One Dalton is one of the most architecturally significant skyscrapers ever built in Boston, setting a new benchmark for innovative design for the city. It’s the first Boston building to exceed a height of 700 feet in nearly 50 years since the John Hancock Tower (200 Clarendon Street). It’s also the last Henry Cobb – designed building completed during his lifetime, a notable moment in his distinguished career.

“When we won the competition to build One Dalton, I knew it would be an incredible opportunity to add something spectacular to Boston’s skyline. I set out to assemble the dream team, led by Harry Cobb of Pei Cobb Freed & Partners and Gary Johnson of CambridgeSeven. It was a challenging site, and their combined creativity led to a unique triangular facade that seamlessly blends into the context of its historic surroundings. This magnificent award is a much-appreciated confirmation by their peers of the singular beauty of One Dalton’s design,” said Richard Friedman, CEO and President of Carpenter & Company, the developer of One Dalton.

The 61-story tower, which contains an award-winning, AAA Diamond designated Four Seasons hotel on its lower floors and luxury residential condominiums on the floors above, is shaped as a soft triangle, with three curved sides and smaller-radius curves at the corners. While the gently curved tower form rises with its High Spine neighbors, the podium respects its lower neighbors by rising only to the height of nearby townhouses. The tower’s residences offer views in two directions from every room and feature operable windows—a rarity in tall buildings.

Henry Cobb, the 2013 recipient of CTBUH’s Lynn S. Beedle Lifetime Achievement Award, envisioned One Dalton as “a building that allows you to understand its place in the city, allows you to understand the distinctions of use that happen within it, and above all allows you to feel that it’s a good neighbor to the residential area in which it’s embedded.”

“This award is, indeed, a celebration of the original design premise to create a landmark building that would not only complement the Boston skyline, but also provide a welcoming pedestrian experience at street level.  On behalf of the entire design team, we’re honored that One Dalton has been recognized for its contribution to the urban environment,” said Gary Johnson, President & CEO of CambridgeSeven.