John Hancock Tower
Boston, USA

HEIGHT: 241m/790 feet
FLOORS: 60 floors
COMPLETION: 1976
ARCHITECT: Pei Cobb Freed & Partners

In another city, the John Hancock tower wouldn't be anything special -- just another reflective glass box in the crowd. But because of the way Boston and the rest of New England has grown up architecturally, this "70's modern" building stands out from the rest. Instead of being colonial, it sheds breaks new ground. Instead of being quaint, it soars and imposes itself on the skyline. And Instead of being white like so many buildings in the region, this one defies the local conventional wisdom and goes for black. For these reasons and more the people of Boston have fallen in love with this 790-foot monster looming as the tallest building in New England. In the mid-1990's, The Boston Globe polled local architects who rated it the city's third best architectural structure. Much like Boston's well-loved baseball team, the building has had a rough past, but still perseveres, coming back stronger to win the hearts of its fans. The trouble began early on. During construction of the foundation the steel gave way, and the sides of the pit collapsed, nearly sucking Trinity Church into the hole. Then in late January, 1973 construction was still underway when a winter storm rolled into town and a 500-pound window leapt from the tower and smashed itself to bits on the ground below. Another followed. Then another. Within a few weeks, more than 65 of the building's 10,344 panes of glass committed suicide, their crystalline essence piling up in a roped-off area surrounding the building. The people of Bean Town have always been willing to kick a brother when he's down, and started calling the tower the Plywood Palace because of the black-painted pieces of wood covering more than an acre of its façade. Some people thought the building was swaying too much in the wind, and causing the windows to pop out. Some thought the foundation had shifted and it was putting stress of the structural geometry. It turns out the culprit was nothing more that little beads of lead solder running along the window frame. They were too stiff to deal with the kind of vibrations that happen every day in thousands of office buildings around the world. So when John Hancock Tower swayed with the wind, or sighed with the temperature, the windows didn't and eventually cracked and plummeted to Earth. It cost $7,000,000.00 to replace all of those panes of glass. The good news is, you can own a genuine piece of the skyscraper. According to the Globe, the undamaged sheets were sold off for use as tabletops. So start combing those garage sales. For any other building, the hardship would end there. But the Hancock building continued to suffer indignities. The last, and most ominous, was revealed by Bruno Thurlimann, a Swiss engineer who determined that the building's natural sway period was dangerously close to the period of its torsion. The result was that instead of swaying back-and-forth like a in the wind like a metronome, it bent in the middle, like a cobra. The solution was putting a pair of 300-ton tuned mass dampeners on the 58-th floor. The same engineer also determined that while the $3,000,000.00 mass dampeners would keep the building from twisting itself apart, the force of the wind could still knock it over. So 1,500 tons of steel braces were used to stiffen the building -- the Hancock building's final architectural indignity was surmounted.

http://www.pcfandp.com/a/p/6710/6710-1.jpg

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/rotpics01/jht01.jpeg

http://www.galinsky.com/buildings/hancockboston/hancock2.jpg

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/photopost/data/503/103hancock2.jpg

http://is.freefoto.com/images_e/1211/11/1211_11_62_web.jpg

http://is.freefoto.com/images_e/1211/11/1211_11_2_web.jpg

8/10

Nice large slab of glass. What year was it built?
Why dont u edit the poll to include more choices..like 7.5 9.5 etc.

The John Hancock was built in 1976 by I.M. Pei. It is 60 stories and 789 feet high.

During construction, the glass kept on popping out of their frames during high winds and smashing to the street below.

John Hancock Tower is a bit plain, but not bad.

7/10

I find the building in the 4th pic interesting.

Jason..yup..I want it to be standardised too..cos this building appears in the Top100!

a lovely glassbox but not more 7.0

No detail but nice glass box.

7.5/10

i love glass boxes

A relatively simple design. Not bad. 7/10

For one I love glass, but for a box this building is pretty cool. 8/10.

woo. Looks like a tv. well kinda. 8/10

i likes it! it looks a good approach from the freeway;)

Plain design. Could of been more creative 6/10.

Nice use of glass, but I do find it a bit bland, its not as good as the chicago centre. 7/10

Pei and pals almost had a big 'oops' with this one. To think this building once could have fallen over on a narrow end (of all ways) until re-fitted. Nice though, always had a like for this one in Beantown! 7.

Never liked it. The early glazing failures are such a disgrace as are all the antennas cluttered on the roof. It comes off looking cheap. The color of the glazing has not aged well.

Sure it gives great reflections but by itself is boring and awkward. Boston deserves better.

4/10

I can't see the pictures so I can't vote.

Now that I can see them I will vote and give it a 6.5, because I don't like buildings that just look like a big box.

7/10 - Nice facade that really dances with the light, but the shape is only so-so, and it shows one reason to dislike flat tops - they can quickly get unsightly antenna acne...We really need skyscraper clearasil, to quote Paul Goldberger...

Interesting plan shape. 8/10

A typical blue glass box...its ok. nuff' said. 6.5/10

I like the last picture though..:)

This building is really ranked #106.

Raffles and I actually made our own top 200 list - we're not using the skyscrapers.com top 200 list, especially considering we made ours first! Theirs is not so accurate though because they are including buildings that are not even complete yet, which we agreed was kind of dumb if people are to be rating them. So by our list, John Hancock is #103.



Anyway, as for this skyscraper, I could go either way. On one hand it's proportions are very nice, I like the sharp angles and especially the reflective glass. It may just be a flat slab, but it's one of the nicest ones out there (probably the nicest). On the other hand, that whole thing with the glass popping out and the building being at risk of collapsing was a huge failing. It almost put I.M. Pei & Partners out of business since no one was willing to hire them after this disaster of a skyscraper.

I think I'll give it 8/10 factoring in the pros and cons.

Originally posted by DMac
Raffles and I actually made our own top 200 list - we're not using the skyscrapers.com top 200 list, especially considering we made ours first! Theirs is not so accurate though because they are including buildings that are not even complete yet, which we agreed was kind of dumb if people are to be rating them. So by our list, John Hancock is #103.

Yeah! Have faith in us!:moods:

Anyway thanks for the enthusiasm:cheers:

Originally posted by RafflesCity


Yeah! Have faith in us!:moods:

Anyway thanks for the enthusiasm:cheers:

I didn't know you all did it in your own way. I just corrected a few because I didn't want the rank to be "wrong." But thanks for clearing it up! :D

nup its not that great, too many comm. stuff ontop 8/10

One of my favouite building in America
9/10

8/10

I liked it the first time I saw it. Very affective, the blue glass is great. I also love how slim the tower is.

a very simple yet effective design...a beautiful slab of glass but the antenna farm on the roof is distracting...still a very nice tower though...8/10

Nice and shiny. its too simple though. I give it a 7.

Nice, but those antennas on the top of the building don't look pretty I think. 7/10

Very cool structure, reminds me a lot of Hollands tallest (the Delftsche Poort in Rotterdam; I see that one every day). I like reflecting glass on skyscrapers. From some points, this building seems to be one huge 2d plane of glass, because of the floorplan. I'm giving it an 8/10.

Like the glass facade and it's position in the boston skyline.
8.0/10

I gave this one a 7/10. While it's "just" a glass box, it has been designed in such a way so that it looks like a shard or something. It uses angles effectively so it's not boring.

9 A beautiful yet simple building... with superb glass... exceptional for the time it was built... the dreadful 70's... great height on this one... Boston's signature skyscraper

8/10

8.5/10

I've grown up looking at this skyscraper... love it, looks better from some angles than others

Nothing can be simpler then this....7/10.

8/10...It soars proudly with it's height, I love glass skyscrapers, though the color on the building isn't too great.

Clean and nice, 8.5/10 :angel1:

8/10

The lines are clean, but the whole building looks a bit simple.

Maybe the pics are not so good.

9/10
Looks especially tall and soaring from the side (in the first picture posted) .
:okay:

8.5 I like this building!. Nice colour of facade!

:cheers:

nice, i dont think it fits in with boston's older buildings though, 8

James raises a good point.

Sorry, I find this building boring, so it gets a mere 6.

3.5/10 :)

Too sleek
5/10

5/10 at best. Sorry but this building is rather boring. And Nick T is right in his description: Place the John Hancock in New York's Midtown Manhattan and people walking past it would almost never know it was there.

6.5!

Cool seventies building !

8/10

8.5/10


I like this one.

It's really not a great building inside (actually, pretty awful - surprisingly that horrible Prudential Tower in Boston is one of the best skyscrapers I've ever worked in!) ...but outside, it's perfect for the city. You have to stand up on the block and look at the grid pattern of windows. I M Pei did some subtle little things with it...it's overwhelming. It's not a tall building at all...but it's infinite when you come in contact with it. Amazing!

8.5/10 I like this type.

Tallest building in Boston:cool:
http://www.wapers.com/placennature/boston/boston1024.jpg

http://101-999

tall box of mirrors. i love that:happy:

8/10

nice shape, boring facade...

it must've been creepy when the original double-pane glasses popped out of this building into the streets in the building's early years...

7.5

What is with all this ratings under a 10? This building have an absolutly amazing shape, and looks different from each angle. I love the message, which is to dream high. Its simple, but that doesn't mean its not interesting! I give this building 100/10!!!

We need better pictures for this one. 7/10

Nice! 8.0

7.5

Reflective and soaring- not bad.

Elegant: 8/10

Plain , not really fitting for the tallest building in a prominant city. Looks dated or suburban. 4/10

great facade. i love boston i give a 9/10

The John Hancock tower is as beautiful and elegant as the Prudential building is ugly and awkward. When I visited Boston I really enjoyed looking at the contrast and the reflection of the red church in the blue glass facade.

There is a tower in Osaka, located in the Osaka Business Park near Kyobashi (about 1 mile East of Umeda) which is almost identical to this one. It is around 600 feet and is called the Crystal Tower. Which is right next to Osaka Castle....plus ca change!

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/dominiccherry1/OsakaJoandOsakaBusinessParkCustom.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/dominiccherry1/CyclingintheAutumnSunCustom.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/dominiccherry1/CrystalTowerinfullCustom.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/dominiccherry1/FrontoftheCrystalTowerCustom.jpg

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v489/dominiccherry1/CrystalTowerlookingupthesideCustom.jpg

That Crystal Tower does indeed look amazing, like a mysterious alien in the 2nd pic

10
I love it. Tall and slender with shimering glass.

8/10

Very sleek.

9/10

........8.0

9.0

That's quite good, 8.5/10

8.5/10

9/10.

Clear and elegant, but a little boring.
7.5/10

Great, but not that great. Boston could have better. I give it an 8.5/10.

It looks absolutely surreal in some of those pics :-)
The cladding seems absolutely first class ^^
And it's better than the average box thanks to some variations in shape.
Much better than its tall neighbours !
7.5

9/10 Great, but not as great as the original John Hancock in Chicago.

7.5. Chicago's is better. ;)

7.5/10

The crystal clear facade is beautiful.The shape is ok.

8.5/10

9/10

Although its shorter, i like it more than the other John Hancock in Chicago. 8.5/10

This is the only building in the top 300 that I've been to the top of.

I must say, that it has always been one of my favorites. Everytime I'm on the bus or train heading South to Boston, I marvel at the size of the Hancock tower from a distance.

9/10 :)

8/10

10/10

It's very simple but very nice - the cladding looks great. 9/10

8/10

I think I M Pei is a genius but this building is a little too bland. It needs something more. 7.5

A timeless beauty! I'll give an 8

8/10

9/10

7/10

8.5/10 ;)

Perfecto! A monolithic piece of glass that soars above all other buildings in the middle of a great city.

10/10

8/10

8.5/10.

I rate it a 7.5 its an elegant box

simple, but very nice 8/10

7.5/10

Its a trapezoid floor plan, not a rectangle. It has so much history and will likely continue as the tallest in New England for a long time. No one in Boston seems to have any intention of besting it. The dark blue reflective glass picks up the sun or the clouds or trinity church perfectly. Best view is from across Charles River in Cambridge where you can see this and Prudential Tower in one shot. Boston's Big 2
8.5/10

The tower has no other attractive side than that little triangle shaped part of the facade. 6/10

7/10

9.

It was a box before it's time --- I mean come on people...I know you are entitled to your opinions but to say "it sucks, worst box ever" is just ignorant....boxes are not ugly because they are plain...people in 1913 hated Met Life Tower, calling it an abomination

8/10

Imposing building, but quite plain.
7.5/10

Quite good simple design 8/10.

5/10

7/10

:okay:

Very Sleek looking

i like it, 8.5/10

9/10 striking design, i love the top

8.

7/10

they should have done something to conceal the antenna at the top.

8/10

9/10

6/10

neat. 9/10

9/10!

Wow! I can't believe it was finished in 1976! I love this one.

ahead of its time
8.5/10

8/10 nice design first of its kind

9.5/10

8.5/10

nice and simple.

7.5/10

Ah nice one! A 8 out of 10.

Boxy, but nice. 8/10

9.5/10

9/10

9.5/10

Nice glass tower 8/10.

7/10

Nice! 8/10

nice 7.5/10

7/10

7.5/10

elegant 8/10

7.5/10

9/10

elegant & beautiful...9/10

7/10

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w294/cojapo/81440014-1.jpg
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w294/cojapo/81440016.jpg

Very nice, 8/10

9/10
nice :)

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w294/cojapo/Picture071.jpg
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w294/cojapo/Picture076.jpg
http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w294/cojapo/Picture101.jpg

look at intraco I in warsaw :D 9

a lovely glassbox

8/10 love the shiny glass, the shape and proportions, just think it looks weird in boston...maybe new york or chicago...

10/10

Glass box with a parallelogram groundprint. Sorry it took 8 years to construct this building. It would have taken 3.5 years to build a skyscraper like that.

7/10

9. sexyy

8/10

cool tower 9/10:)

Its design looks incredible!!!

9/10

It remind me one skyscraper from Rotterdam. I like it, my overal: 8

Its ok.....

6/10

6.5/10

4.

7/10

9/10

Very interesting project. I like so. Plans are as many as 40 years old. Very much I like him. To it smooth and black.:)

9/10

8/10

9/10

9,5/10

8/

7.5/10

Typical example for me that boxes can be elegant. 7.5/10

Glassy...
7.5/10

9/10

8/10

8/10

Stunning

10/10

Very nice and interesting...

7.5/10

Someone commented that some better photos of this building were needed. I agree. Here's some nice ones I found on Flickr.]

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/132/393684240_fcd677d976_b.jpg


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/27/142004983_304b95d255_b.jpg


http://farm1.static.flickr.com/25/103294687_5fbf7a4ebb_b.jpg

9.5/10

Interesting 8.0

8/10

8. Good building. Regards.

8/10

While typically described as a well done glass box, the JHT actually isn't a box at all, but a parallelogram. As such, from certain angles (illustrated in the first 2 pictures below) it actually appears to be 2 dimensional. It is also excellent at reflecting its surroundings and just being the most dominating presence on the skyline of a major city.
Easily a 10 for me.

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Boston%20from%20Parking%20garages%20etc%20Aug%2009/IMG_1875.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Boston%20from%20Parking%20garages%20etc%20Aug%2009/IMG_1876.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Boston%20from%20Parking%20garages%20etc%20Aug%2009/IMG_1868.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Boston%20from%20Parking%20garages%20etc%20Aug%2009/IMG_1898.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Boston%20from%20Parking%20garages%20etc%20Aug%2009/IMG_1901.jpg

It's like having a giant 60 story mirror

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Boston%20from%20Parking%20garages%20etc%20Aug%2009/IMG_1918.jpg

8.5./10 :colgate:

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/LONG%20WALK%20AUGUST%2009/Maybe/IMG_2299.jpg

^^ That picture is just so weird, It looks like a flat panel. :nuts:

8/10

Fine minimalist statement from Harry Cobb. 8

a GIANT MIRROR?:lol:
7/10

I think you have to see it in person. The way it reflects the sky and looks different from every angle is really nice. It's not a boring glass box.

10/10:)

8.0

10 points, like colour of glasses

10 points, like colour of glasses

+1 :)

voted 9/10

slim an simple means good ! 8.5/10

8/10

9/10

I love this building. The building and the surroundings are both great. I just wish I could see it in person.

i like the color!
8/10

Definition of elegance. 10/10

9/10

7.5/10

Fine minimalist statement from Harry Cobb. 8

Not Cobb's work sir, mainly Pei's.

The world's first blue-glass skyscraper, an innovation that can be found in almost any major city today.

10/10 for me. I love walking by it every day. The inside is beautiful too.

One of my shots that I have of the building, taken with my old enV2 camera phone.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-snc3/hs428.snc3/24713_433843289688_611739688_5199754_4093040_n.jpg

not my type, but still nice 7/10

6/10

oh yes all of the problems that went with this one. the collapsing foundation of trinity church si it? call it the us plywood building for some time after, as someone mentioned the window popped out of ththe mullions, and finally the retrofit. eesh! when it was all said and done the product was a unique example of geometry, which pei is fond of, realised. love the two dimensional aspect.....8

10

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Oct%202010/IMG_7003.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Oct%202010/IMG_6952.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Oct%202010/IMG_7009.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Oct%202010/IMG_6999.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Oct%202010/IMG_7045.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Oct%202010/IMG_6958.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Oct%202010/IMG_7004.jpg

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/Oct%202010/IMG_7128.jpg

10-10

10/10

VERY simple but effective :)

8

7/10

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8/10

Seeing that this was the first blue glass skyscraper ever built it shouldnt be compared to the ones built today. I mean it can be compared but it should get a few more points because of that fact. Also not to mention that its simple as hell as a box, but arguably the most unique box ever built, and still hasnt been topped in my opinion compared to other boxes. Its essentially a giant mirror in the back bay of boston.

I love this tower, the pictures speak for themselves, and it was built 34 years ago and looks pretty modern. The subtle vertical black bands and the small details as well. 9/10

8.5/10

8/10

I love it!

10/10

10/10

8/10 glass box :)

7/10

8/10

6/10

Photos by me, taken with my shoddy Motorola Droid 1

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6013/5957129056_19988c6bf4_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65412894@N07/5957129056/)
Glass Monster (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65412894@N07/5957129056/) by Patrick.Y.Luk (http://www.flickr.com/people/65412894@N07/), on Flickr

http://farm7.static.flickr.com/6143/5957129790_a0ab1aa3cf_b.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65412894@N07/5957129790/)
From The Steps Of The Library (http://www.flickr.com/photos/65412894@N07/5957129790/) by Patrick.Y.Luk (http://www.flickr.com/people/65412894@N07/), on Flickr

10/10 !!!!!!

7/10

Best tower of Boston:) 9/10.

7/10

6/10

Boom

http://i424.photobucket.com/albums/pp322/DZH22/1New%20Boston%20Views/IMG_0097.jpg

7/10