Boston, MA

Benjamin Seaport Residences & The Via Luxury Rentals

TO UNDERSTAND THE TRUE BREADTH OF KANE INNOVATIONS’ ENGINEERING EXPERTISE, LOOK NO FURTHER THAN ONE SEAPORT SQUARE’S SISTER PROPERTIES, THE BENJAMIN AND THE VIA.

Synchronization was key for Kane’s engineering and project management teams on One Seaport Square Blocks B & C, now known separately as The Benjamin Seaport Residences and The VIA Luxury Rentals. Property owner design requests and atypical mounting conditions made for a challenging – yet ultimately successful – execution from start to finish on the neighboring Boston-based properties.

Berkshire Group and Boston Global Investors, developer-owner partners of The Benjamin Seaport Residences, communicated a specific installation request for Kane Innovations’ Sterling Dula Chesterfield glass railing system – and the Kane team was happy to oblige. Railing posts were ordered to be placed as close to the concrete balcony slab as possible to maximize the usable space, while still maintaining the original plans for an embedded attachment. Following several meetings between the project’s Engineer of Record (EOR), architect, building owner groups, pre-cast concrete contractor, general contractor and individuals from Kane’s own engineering and project management departments, a workable solution materialized, resulting in a securely-attached railing with an unobtrusive finish.
The team settled on embedded steel sleeves, which were positioned and fastened into the concrete slab by the pre-cast concrete contractor. The railing posts would slide into these sleeves, then be set with grout to secure the entire mount. Despite the lack of room for any error, the installation went smoothly, thanks to the meticulous coordination of Kane Innovations’ teams, along with the several outside parties who were involved in the project.

Apart from the inclusion of steel sleeves within the balcony slab, another adjustment was made on both The Benjamin and The VIA, along each building’s parapet walls. Kane Innovations discovered that the parapet ended roughly 10″ inside where the mount was intended to be placed. In order to make the process easier for multiple trades on the job site, Kane created a custom stand-off workaround that allowed the railing to still be secured to the side of the parapet, without sacrificing the aesthetic or the safety of the railing itself.

The Benjamin and The Via mixed-use towers are located in the heart of Boston’s Seaport District and feature luxurious, first-class condo amenities such as fitness areas, yoga rooms, a dog spa, spaces for lounging, grilling or cooking, plus high-tech temperature control systems and gorgeous, sweeping views. The Seaport Square Development is the largest, mixed-use project that the city of Boston has seen in more than three decades.

The 22-story Benjamin, and The VIA, a 20-floor property, will be completed in full by March 2017.