Serving as the new global headquarters for Akamai Technology, 145 Broadway unites employees from six different locations into a cohesive vertical park. The design focuses on fostering connectivity within the building and the surrounding community.
This large-scale urban project, spanning approximately 45,000 square meters in Kendall Square, was custom-designed through close collaboration with the city of Cambridge. This participatory design process resulted in a confident, sharp building that complements the city’s scale, inspires employee commitment, and nurtures innovation.
A distinctive architectural feature is the composition of five interlocking rectangular volumes, woven together like fingers. These form a series of cantilevers that extend toward central Cambridge and the Charles River. Each cantilever is topped with a green roof, creating a visible network of vegetation ranging from a pocket park at the lobby entrance to the rooftop garden.
The building’s interior is framed by the Akamile system, designed by interior designer Sasaki. Akamile is a winding, one-mile-long path that connects collaborative workspaces, a library, a game room, and a buffet restaurant on the 19th floor. This continuous, multi-level loop—from garden to sky—creates a vertical community that encourages interaction among the 2,000 employees working under this new roof. The facade reveals Akamile’s vibrant color spectrum, reflecting Akamai’s culture of collaboration to passersby.
Certified LEED Platinum, the tower’s high-performance facade combines aluminum paint with Low-E insulated glass to maximize natural light and visibility while optimizing energy efficiency. This ensures the building’s long-term sustainability and resilience. The integrated system includes active cooling beams, an efficient chiller unit, an energy recovery system for cooling beams, and a rainwater collection tank used for irrigation and cooling tower replenishment.
The headquarters is also the largest WELL-certified building in the Northeast and ranks fourth largest in the United States. It supports Cambridge’s bicycle culture and promotes alternative transportation through 150 bicycle parking spaces and a dedicated bike lane along Broadway.
The tower was constructed using an innovative top-down method. The steel structure was assembled in a series while simultaneously constructing the underground levels. This unique approach significantly shortened the construction timeline, improved project cost efficiency, and reduced the disruption to the surrounding community.
Project Drawings
△ General Layout Plan
△ First Floor Plan
△ Elevation Drawing
△ Axonometric Diagram
△ Section Diagram
Project Information
Architectural Design: Pickard Chilton
Area: 482,000 ft²
Project Year: 2020
Photographer: Anton Grassl
Manufacturers: CS Construction Specialties, Home NBK Architectural Terracotta, Interpane, Mosa USA, Sieling & Jones
Lead Architects: William D. Chilton FAIA, Jon Pickard FAIA, Anthony Markese FAIA
Project Manager: David Brown AIA
Project Team: Brian Skrovig AIA, Woo Hyun Lee, Owen Howlett AIA, Andrew Ostrowitz, William Traill
Client: Akamai
Developer: Boston Properties
Registered Architect: Stantec
Location: Cambridge, United States
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