Facts about 160

• 16,000—Number of cubic yards of soil and rubble removed, which weighed 30,000 tons
• 43 feet—Depth of the excavation below street level
• 8 feet—Groundwater table level
• 68—Number of friction piles poured to support building. These friction piles, together with the mass of the structural steel, metal decks, and concrete placed on the decks, enable the building’s foundation to resist hydrostatic uplift pressures of the deep groundwater.  
• 106—Number of 55-foot-long steel sheets that were vibrated into place around the entire 500-lineal-foot perimeter of the site to support excavation of soil
• 4 feet—Thickness of the steel-reinforced concrete mat slab (i.e., the foundation of the building)
• 2 feet—Thickness of the foundation walls at the sub-basement level
• 1,187 tons—Weight of structural steel
• 8,000 cubic yards—Quantity of concrete (weighing 32,000 tons)
• 342—Number of unitized metal panels on the building’s exterior
• 43,000 square feet—Quantity of glazed glass used
• 5,604—Number of individual panes of glass in the tower’s loft-style windows
• 3,000 linear feet (approximately .57 miles)—Length of corridors
• 1,096—Number of individual steps across all stairways

Sustainability

The project will qualify as a LEED-certified building at the silver level. Sustainable materials, practices, building systems, and equipment used include:

• construction-waste management;
• recycled content (e.g., structural steel) and regional materials in the building;
• low-VOC (volatile organic compound) paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, and floor systems;
• light-colored roof materials to reduce possible heat island effect;
• water-efficient landscaping; and
• high-efficiency gas boilers and high-efficiency electric chillers.

Financial Information

The project’s construction cost was approximately $74 million. This and related costs were largely financed from the proceeds of tax-exempt bonds issued by the Massachusetts Development Finance Agency on the college’s behalf.