Akamai
Cambridge, MA
Akamai chose Cambridge, MA for the site of their new corporate headquarters. We were proud to work with a company with a great story. Akamai was founded by MIT graduate student Danny Lewin and his advisor Professor F. Thomson Leighton, who met a challenge from web pioneer Tim Berners-Lee to come up with an algorithm for optimising internet traffic. In the facility, we built the dedication wall to Lewin. Lewin, a former officer in the Israeli Defence Force, was flying on American Airlines Flight 11 from Boston to Los Angeles when he confronted hijackers and lost his life. He was the first person to be killed in the 9/11 attacks.
This project was a complete head-to-toe project including interior signage, branding, large scale graphics, architectural pieces and exterior signage. To bring this project to fruition, it took a powerhouse team including Boston Properties, Northstar Project Management, Akamai, Sasaki, Turner Construction and Poblocki Sign Company. The project was so successful we have been asked to do additional projects at their corporate headquarters.
View day and night views of the high-rise signage in Boston.
The Challenge
The project was sizable, had many team players with whom to coordinate, and the timeframe was limited. We utilized various resources from all of our business units to accommodate the timeframe.
Solution
The exterior portion consisted of two large illuminated exterior logo signs installed at the top Skyline and parapet, one non-illuminated street level sign and large exterior banner spanning one complete block. The installation was tricky and involved coordination with the GC – Turner Construction, the curtain wall vendor and the swing stage team. The interior package involved ADA signage, wayfinding, architectural string art and LEGO wall, privacy vinyl, large scale graphics, branding and specialty Casper Cloaking vinyl to provide privacy in conference rooms. This vinyl blocks the view from outside of the room using polarization technology.
Results
We were able to execute the installation flawlessly, and the outcome was a highly visible landmark that can be seen from most of Boston.
3,100
# of Interior Signs
42'
Length of High-Rise Sign
5,280'
Aka-Mile Walk Showing Feature Walls
3
# of Exterior Signs
