Boston Convention and Exhibition Center / Boston, Massachusetts

#1_ Gillian Rose_ TSoC_ BCEC_ Exterior_ 350dpi .jpg

Image by Brad Feinknopf

Overview


As Director of Interiors at Rafael Viñoly Architects, Gillian Rose led the interior development of the building’s primary interior components.

The 1,700,000–square-foot structure—equivalent to forty-three stories if placed end to end—was organized with private spaces symmetrically arranged along either side of the central hall. Lower three-story volumes accommodate eighty-four meeting rooms, along with pre-function areas and food service facilities, creating a clear hierarchy of scale and use throughout the building.


All interior design considerations were anchored in the pursuit of a humane, legible, and welcoming environment—one that stimulates without overwhelming.

 

The colour palette was drawn from the landscape of Greater Boston and its home state of Massachusetts. Local sky, sea, and the region’s storied foliage are translated across all materials and surfaces—both designed and selected.

Layered greens, aquas, saffrons, tobaccos, plums, cranberries, and deep blues shape the main lobby as an invigorating threshold, greeting visitors with the vitality and exhilaration of stepping into the surf.

 

The public spaces on the west side draw inspiration from autumn, layered in intertwining shades of saffron and persimmon. On the east side, the palette shifts to spring—heathers and a symphony of greens that emerge with the season’s quiet renewal.

 

The building’s extensive anteroom spaces were further articulated through custom wall textiles, their colour patterns tracing the arc of the sun—from the clarity of sunrise to the enveloping warmth of a New England sunset.

More than 80,000 square feet of custom carpet and 10,000 yards of textile were designed to define the building’s expansive public zones. Each of the nine carpet patterns was developed with a distinct palette, scale, and orientation, carefully calibrated to foster inclusion, energy, and balance.

 

This 40,000-square-foot Grand Ballroom, together with its pre-function areas, was conceived to embrace, entertain, and entice through a colour palette inspired by fruits and berries native to New England.

Layered shades of raspberry, plum, and cherry cultivate a sense of intimacy and warmth beneath a soaring 100-foot-high ceiling, clad in perforated elm and stained in a luminous amber-honey tone—supporting an atmosphere of generosity, connection, and shared purpose.

 
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