NorthEndWaterfront.com

Banker & Tradesman interviews Kevin Schopfer, founding partner of architectural firm, Ahearn | Schopfer and Assoc., about his recent pitch for a floating city in Boston Harbor, called "Boa."

"Schopfer founded a company to market condos on Mars. He designs $100 million-plus yachts. His design for the new International UFO Museum is crowned with a cosmic wormhole. And he recently pitched multi-billion-dollar floating city designs for Boston and New Orleans. Boston’s would dock alongside Long Wharf, and contain housing and office space for 15,000 people."

With the Chiofaro Company at a near standstill for nearby Harbor Garage, Schopfer defends the timing of his proposal, "With everybody talking about the renewal and revitalization of Boston, it’s a good time to project this to Boston. A floating city is very feasible. What we need to do is approach them as demonstration cities."

Read the Banker & Tradesman interview.

E. Kevin Schopfer is way ahead of other Boston urban designers and developers. As seen on Yanko Design (via UniversalHub.com and ArchBoston.org), he thinks Boston really needs a "Boa" which stands for Boston Arcology Urban Housing. It's a floating city that sits in Boston Harbor, shown below at the edge of Long Wharf.

Some of the "features:"
"It will be capable of housing 15,000 people distributed in hotels, offices, retail, museums, condominiums, and a new city hall."

Look Ma, no shadows! "Because of its scale, Boa is positioned perpendicular to the waterfront, preserving view corridors and general development massing."

Forget the Greenway, "the “sky gardens” will create a sense of neighborhood presence and support a range of sustainable initiatives. A massive park system platform (pedestrian only) will be more than double the current green space allocation for the waterfront of Boston."

"The foundation of Boa is a series of poured concrete cells, which are combined to form a buoyant platform. The grid of these cells serves as the foundation for the rigid steel."

"Boa is designed to expand the horizon of sustainability and will seek LEED certification."

"Boa’s design alignments have a unique relationship with the Boston common. What appear to be random projections of massing are actually fashioned as a vertical construct of the “common.”

Boa at NightI hear the Boston Redevelopment Authority is putting together an Impact Advisory Group now. Sign up here.