Christian Science Center

Boston

This sprawling urban complex is part of a three-phase master plan to provide the world headquarters of the Christian Science Church with a more open and welcoming environment while simultaneously regenerating the surrounding community.

  • Cultural
  • Tall Buildings
  • Urban Districts & Public Spaces

To match the limestone of the existing Mother Church, each component of the expansion program—including the 28-story administration building, three-story Sunday school, and five-story colonnade building—was cast in precision-formed architectural concrete. All visible elements such as walls, columns, and beams are structurally and mechanically integrated within a cohesive but flexible whole. A 670-foot-long reflecting pool along the eastern axis of the site binds these componenets together, creating a place of tranquility and contemplation.

The Mother Church was enhanced with a new stone portico in 1979, improving access and creating a more sympathetic relationship with historic Horticultural Hall and Symphony Hall.

Stats

  • Site

    18.4 acres organized along Huntington Avenue in Boston’s historic Back Bay district

  • Components

    694,000 ft2 / 64,000 m2 gross area; Sunday school with auditorium; Church Administration Building; Church Colonnade Building with offices, public reading room, exhibition space, employee cafeteria and lounges, television and radio studio; below-grade parking; landscaped open spaces with reflecting pool and fountain; semi-circular Church portico

  • Client

    First Church of Christ Scientist, Boston

  • PCF Services

    Master planning, architecture, exterior envelope, interior design of public spaces

Christian Science Center is a work of repose that attempts to resolve structure, form, and space through the unifying element of architecture.

Site plan

Awards

  • Harleston Parker Award
    Boston Society of Architects, 1975
  • Annual Tucker Award (New Portico)
    Building Stone Institute, 1980
  • Design Award
    Concrete Reinforcing Steel Institute, 1975
  • Prestressed Concrete Institute Award
    Prestressed Concrete Institute, 1973

Project Credits

  • Structural

    Weiskopf & Pickworth, New York

  • Mechanical / Electrical

    Syska & Hennessy, New York

  • Planning

    Vincent Ponte, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

  • Landscape

    Sasaki, Dawson, DeMay Associates, Watertown, MA

  • Traffic

    Travers Associates, Clifton, NJ

  • Images

    Yukio Futagawa, PCF Architects, Publishing Society Christian Science, Gorchev & Gorchev, Norman McGrath

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