Skip to content
NORRVIK
Contact

Fig. 01 / Project 10 of 10 / Point cloud

Local grid / 1 : 400

All projects

Harbor Point LibraryBoston, 2026

Area
4 300 m²
Year
2026
Structure
Timber
Status
Complete

Fig. 02 / Drawing set / Plan, section, elevation, axonometric

Fine lines drawn from the model / point cloud on the last tab

Drawn fromthe same model.

Every drawing below comes from the model the building was built and scanned against, with its grid, levels and the dimensions the site team worked to.

1234567ABCD36 0006 00018 000Atrium / void overReading roomChildrenEntranceN010 mSCALE 1:300

Fig. 03 / Scan vs design / As built against as drawn

Grey under 3 mm / blue over 8 mm

The building,against its drawing.

Drag the handle to compare the design with the latest scan. Each point is coloured by how far the built surface sits from the drawn one.

123456712 0004 20018 000+0.00+4.20+8.40+12.00+13.60+15.20Mezzanine bay C3AtriumLevel 1Level 1010 mSCALE 1:300DESIGNAS BUILT

9 mm / Harbor edge anchor plates, shimmed on site

Fig. 04 / Construction / Survey to handover

All milestones complete

Construction timeline

  1. Survey / Done
  2. Foundations / Done
  3. Structure / Done
  4. Envelope / Done
  5. Handover / Done

Apr 2023 to Mar 2026 / 35 months

Fig. 05 / Credits / Team

Everyone who built it

Credits

Client
Boston Public Library Trust
Structure
Hollis Pike Structural
Services
Bayline Building Services
Contractor
Corrigan and Shaw Builders
Scan imagery
Norrvik

Fig. 06 / Narrative / What the model found

About 200 words

About the project

Client
Boston Public Library Trust
Location
Boston / United States
Sensors
204

Harbor Point Library is a two-storey timber branch library on the edge of Boston Harbor, lifted a full storey above the flood line on a concrete plinth. The reading room faces the water through deep timber fins that shade the south glazing in summer and let low winter sun in.

The plinth was scanned before the timber went up, and the scan showed the anchor plates along the harbor edge set 9 millimetres high. The glulam frame was shimmed to suit on site in a day rather than refabricated. Since opening, 204 sensors have tracked flood water in the undercroft, timber moisture and daylight in the reading room, reporting to the model every fifteen minutes.

Fig. 07 / Energy / 24 months monitored

kWh per m² per month / dashed line is the target

Energy use,month by month.

Last 12 months
52 kWh/m² design
Monthly target
4.8 kWh/m²
Months at or under target
06 / 06
Embodied carbon
176 kgCO2e/m²
Monitored energy use for Harbor Point Library, kWh per square metre per month
PeriodMeasured
Oct 24No data
Nov 24No data
Dec 24No data
Jan 25No data
Feb 25No data
Mar 25No data
Apr 25No data
May 25No data
Jun 25No data
Jul 25No data
Aug 25No data
Sep 25No data
Oct 25No data
Nov 25No data
Dec 25No data
Jan 26No data
Feb 26No data
Mar 26No data
Apr 264.4 kWh/m²
May 263.9 kWh/m²
Jun 264.2 kWh/m²
Jul 264.7 kWh/m²
Aug 264.6 kWh/m²
Sep 264.1 kWh/m²
Monthly energy use per square metre of floor area, Apr 26 to Sep 26. The dashed blue line is the design target.

Fig. 08 / Materials / Structural mass

Share by weight, as built

Share of structural mass by material, Harbor Point Library
MaterialShare
Timber56%
Concrete28%
Glass9%
Steel4%
Other3%

Fig. 09 / Lessons learned / Carried into the next model

03 entries

  1. L01Lesson learnedScan the plinth before the frame arrives, while a shim still solves the problem.
  2. L02Lesson learnedLifting the building a storey cost less than one flood insurance claim.
  3. L03Lesson learnedTimber fins did the work of a cooling plant in the first summer.
Edit with Modulify