Northshore magazine showcases the best that the North Shore of Boston, MA has to offer.
Issue link: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1175260
104 sediment from more than seven acres of the Mystic River. Rail cars and trucks hauled the waste to commercial remediation sites all over the country. The stressed and ailing condition of the river was always kept front and center as the project progressed. The MyRWA worked closely with Wynn to design a 24,000-square- foot living shoreline on the river bank. Natural materials have helped to decrease erosion and have provided a habitat for wildlife. Ducks, geese, herons, cranes, and rabbits, along with fish in the water, continue to show a rapid return to the revived environments, says Rosie Salisbury, Encore's director of public relations. The latest Water Quality Report Card issued jointly by the US Environmental Protection Agency and MyRWA rates the Mystic River watershed as having clean water grades in the A- and A range. The lush abundance of flora and fauna, a signature element of the other five Wynn " S M A R T D E V E L O P M E N T I S R E A L L Y A N I N V E S T M E N T I N B U I L D I N G Q U A L I T Y O V E R A N Y T H I N G E L S E . " — Erik Hansen, Wynn's Chief Sustainability Officer resorts, creates an aesthetic, not only eye- catching but environmentally sound. Within the entire resort area a rainbow of colors from living plants please the senses in a silent yet effective way. More than 55,000 flowering annuals, more than 100,000 shrubs, and nearly 1,000 mature trees were planted. Thousands of annuals are exchanged every two weeks, including many favorites of New England. The South Lawn Garden presents a respite from the busier areas. Scotch pines rise above a spacious open park, complemented by flowering pear trees, spruce, and magnolia trees. The Harborwalk laces the living shoreline, winding through 6.5 acres. Twenty thousand seedlings were planted to shore up the berm. These views haven't been seen by the public in more than a century. Art is also evident throughout Encore's layout, but it is no more intriguingly presented than in the 10-foot sculptures from Jaume Plensa's Secret Garden series. The Barcelona- born, Plensa has cast a trio of stainless steel portraits of women gazing alternately toward the Boston skyline and back toward the hotel. One thinks of the mysterious heads of the ancient monoliths at Easter Island staring out over the Pacific. Inside, live elements are integrated throughout the decor. Guest rooms have a single flower or plant and expansive windows. "Bringing a sense of the outdoors inside is really important to us," Salisbury notes. "We like to have lots of natural light to refresh and make people happy." While the handsomely fun carousel in the lobby first greets you when you enter, practically—and operationally—it cannot support living plants. Instead, an array of 83,000 decorative flowers and 11,000 sparkling jewels tease your imagination to think they are The common areas are whimsical and colorful while the guest rooms are serene and soothing. PHOTOGRAPHS BY BARBARA KRAFT