John Hancock Tower, Modern skyscraper in Back Bay, Boston, United States
John Hancock Tower is an office building in Back Bay, Boston that rises 241 meters (791 feet) across 60 floors. The glass exterior forms a parallelogram with smooth, continuous facades that shift depending on time of day and weather conditions.
Construction ran between 1968 and 1976 and involved many technical difficulties, including breaking windows and stability problems caused by wind. Engineers had to replace all the windows and install additional stabilization systems to make the structure safe for use.
The glass tower reflects nearby Trinity Church and Copley Square Plaza, creating a merging of old and new architecture. These surfaces capture the changing light of the sky above Boston and transform the building into a large reflective canvas.
Viewing from street level works best on clear days when the reflective facades show surrounding buildings and clouds most clearly. The area around Copley Square offers several angles from which the full height and shape of the tower become visible.
The original 5,000 windows all had to be replaced due to breakage risk, giving the tower the temporary nickname Plywood Palace. On the 58th floor, two heavy dampers stabilize the building during strong winds and are meant to prevent a quiet creaking sound.
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