ArmourFX modular wall panels have been specified within the striking refurbishment of an original Art Deco tower in Boston’s financial district by Elkus Manfredi Architects of Boston.
For decades, the tower at 185 Franklin Street was the headquarters of one company, New England Telephone and Telegraph Co. or its successor, Verizon Communications Inc. With their departure in 2010, new owners, Commonwealth Ventures, undertook a dramatic renovation that added a large glass lobby on one side, and on the other, outdoor seating and space for restaurants and stores overlooking the park in Post Office Square.
The building has now been renamed 50 Post Office Square and occupied by Brown Brothers Harriman & Co., the oldest privately-held financial institution in the US.
The most significant changes occur on the ground floor, where many of the building’s original features include its high ceilings and the Maine granite that lines many hallways. The ground-floor lobby, designed by Elkus Manfredi, features a new exterior glass lobby, the interior of which has been clad in large-scale ArmourFX modular wall panels from Armourcoat Surface Finishes Inc. In total, 170 panels were created, most with unique dimensions to completely line the walls and create an impressive decorative effect.
Armourcoat’s high gloss Venetian plaster finish, Spatulata, was hand-applied to the ¾” MDF panels (all class 1 flame retardant) and then simply hung on site using ‘Z’ clips.
