Millennium Tower Boston Interiors
The Millennium Tower Boston interiors experience is rooted in the style of the late 1960's cool of The Thomas Crown Affair.
Millennium Tower is a new 60-story tower in the heart of Boston. The interiors experience was meant to evoke that of the great homes of Boston's Back Bay and Beacon Hill neighborhoods. In years past, these homes would employ many staff – butlers, housekeepers, chefs, etc. – who would collectively run the house. That lifestyle has been re-imagined for the modern era, offering everything those great homes offered in terms of services and amenities, including perfectly trained staff, relaxing spaces and formal salons, games rooms, theaters, dining rooms, waiter-service dining, a bar, a grand staircase, a library, and fireplaces.
When thinking of style, we looked at a quintessential icon of wealthy Boston lifestyle in the fictional character of Thomas Crown. In the 1968 film, Steve McQueen and Faye Dunaway show a Boston which is glamorous, exciting, and new, but steeped in tradition. The mood of the film's interiors was a launching point for the design aesthetic and tonality of the interiors.
Residents enter through either the grand lobby or the city lobby, both of which feature elegant living rooms set aside from dedicated concierge desks.
The grand lobby features dramatic ceilings, natural light and columns adorned in polished plaster. Walls are treated in a silk pleated fabric and are complemented by delicate lighting arranged like a constellation of stars. Perforated bronze panels handsomely line the walls and lead the way to an elegant bank of high-speed elevators. Hand-finished in bronze and dark fumed eucalyptus, the walls provide a striking contrast to the light slabs of travertine floor panels.
The club experience begins at the grand stair which links the health and wellness area with the social programs.
The stair is clad in walnut, travertine and punctuated with bright bronze hardware. The upper landing overlooks a dramatic pool and the city skyline beyond. A necklace of spaces lead to the lounge from the grand stair: a screening room, a game room and library are all linked by a gallery of rosewood paneling and Breccia marble floor.
The club materials are a composition of stone and wood, the floors are lined with travertine, emperador, and breccia marble countered by scraped wide-plank walnut floors.
The walls are given richness and depth by a composition of ebony and rosewood, offset with light bronze highlights. These were materials used in the grand homes of the past, but they also have resonance with the late 1960's cool of The Thomas Crown Affair.
The library is a small intimate space with a fireplace and rosewood panels.
Highbacks and reading lamps give a sense of heritage to the space.
The lounge is organized about a central fireplace clad in slabs of Silver Wave marble.
Seating groups in mohair and leather are primarily clustered in groups of blues and reds. The focus of the lounge is hospitality and the long bar of Palissandro Bluette marble serves residents with a place to gather and socialize. Food and beverage service by Michael Mina means the lounge is alive with the sound of residents enjoying a meal or a drink every evening, and the space is designed to serve that atmosphere with deep tones and low, mood-driven lighting. Bright bronze accents pinstripe the columns; the ceilings are hand finished in bright bronze tones to create a flattering evening glow for those seated below. Behind the bar, an eight foot wide, secret rosewood door opens to a private function room for meetings, dining or events.
The health and wellness program combines spa, salon, treatment and pool with a state of the art fitness center.
The pool's twenty foot high ceiling is hand finished in a blue metallic and reflects the ripple motion of the water below. Columns in black stone with white marble mosaic stripes are a nod to the 1920s: Deco, ocean liners, and the Lidos of the Jazz Age. The pool is surrounded on three sides by glass and views of the city. In counterpoint to this transparent edge is a wall of travertine, long associated with pools and spas. This is also seen in the private spa area, which echoes a Roman Bath, and is clad with a variety of filled and unfilled travertines and mosaics.
Unit interiors offer cabinetry by Poggenpohl and Christopher Peacock.
Millennium Tower creates a dynamic marker on the Boston skyline.