Christian Science Center
Sasaki designed the landscape for this modernist plaza in the early 1970s. The site has since been designated a city landmark by the Boston Landmarks Commission.
The Christian Science Center, headquarters for the First Church of Christ, Scientist, is in Boston’s historic Back Bay area. The Center includes the Mother Church, the domed Extension, the Sunday School and Conference Center, the 28-story Administration Building, the Publishing House, the Colonnade Building, a 675-foot reflecting pool, and an underground garage. Built by the Church to meet its expanding needs, the Center consolidated the various administrative and technical functions of the Church’s worldwide activities.
As landscape architects for the new Center’s nine acres of open space, Sasaki preserved substantial plant material from the former Church Park for reuse. Twenty-seven full-grown American Lindens were replanted alongside the Publishing House to create a link between Massachusetts Avenue and the new reflecting pool. New Lindens were planted in formal patterns throughout the plaza area to border the Center and enhance the connection between the Administration Building and Sunday School. Special attention was given to colorful seasonal plantings, with particular awareness of the Church’s annual meeting in the Spring.