Millennium Tower (Filene's) | 426 Washington Street | Downtown

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Re: Filene's

BostonUrbEx said:
Today Metro Boston paper reported that Millennium Tower will cost just $6.15 million. Yes, that's right, Millennium Partners found a way to slash $608.85 million from the price tag. Talk about value engineering!
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All that glass you see in the rendering?

Saran Wrap.
 
Re: Filene's

datadyne007 said:
Well if you're going to talk about the undulating wall, you can't leave out Borromini.
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My favorite Baroque architect.

AmericanFolkLegend said:
Thanks for the interesting post...
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I don't know if I'm correct in my assumptions, but I do put some effort into being interesting...

AmericanFolkLegend said:
...as people moved in I thought it lost it's luster a bit. Varying window treatments and lighting, the addition of deck furniture and decorations, imperfections in the color of the concrete decks ... all these things made the building (and the individual units) stand out more.
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I suppose this is an all-too-common occurrence in residential buildings. It's a shame that the developers didn't try to establish some standard on window treatments and write them into the residential covenants. Alas, there's no accounting for taste...

AmericanFolkLegend said:
I think Aqua worked better as a concept and a sculpture than as a residential building.
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I wonder how the residents like it...
 
Re: Filene's

I bet Aqua has reduced cooling costs. Those curvy features probably keep things shady while still allowing enough light in to see.
 
Re: Filene's

Beton Brut said:
(My girlfriend is convinced I have Asperger's)
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Best ending to a post ever. Mine probably thinks the same of me, especially now that she's intimately aware of my Sim City condition.

But back on point (sort of), I recently got up close and personal with Aqua and was impressed though not blown away by it. There was a certain coolness about it up close that didn't live up to the passion I felt seeing it in pictures. But I agree that as a think-piece it never stops boggling the mind, as in why didn't someone think of this before?
 
Re: Filene's

Is no one else disturbed by the street level? That's...a long, long, long single glass wall.

Who thought that one of the most prime retail and office spaces in the city was best used as a hub for fiber optic cables and servers?! I mean, really! Move that shit elsewhere.
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You should read Andrew Blum's "Tubes". Where internet infrastructure matters...having lots of it downtown keeps the area competitive!
 
Re: Filene's

Huh? Glass walls allow transparency and the original Filene's design incorporated large glass windows as displays. The architect has stated that it was his intent to wrap the ground floor in glass, to get as much visibility into the retail area. That's generally what we strive for in architecture.

Seriously, what else do you want? A blank wall? You'd be complaining about that too.

Edit: (Or is this a sarcastic joke and I took the bait)
 
Re: Filene's

There are also no doors, nor any really interest (beyond what is going on on the other side of the glass).

So a glass wall is better than a blank brick or alucobond wall it is still a far cry from something like the 1905 facade.

Edit: Also cz, I've been whinging about the ground floor since Millennium took over.
 
Re: Filene's

You can't take renders at face value. Renders at the schematic level suggest texture, transparency massing, etc. I guess this is an area where architects disconnect with the public. We might make a wall completely glass, but that doesn't mean it will have no fenestration.

It's far too early to be planning doors because they don't even know how the retail will be broken up/tenants.
 
Re: Filene's

One of the reasons I'm concerned about the destruction of the facade of the 1905 building is that we're may end up with a ground floor like the W Hotel. Cool, transparent and engaging in the rendering, but cold, bare and sterile in reality.
 
Re: Filene's

Thank you.

I've been trying to think of a good comparison.

The W is the perfect example of how a large glass wall can fail as a streetscape.
 
Re: Filene's

I'm more concerned about the park. I think that is more of a factor in attracting activity.
 
Re: Filene's

Have you been by the W recently? It's definitely evolved since a year ago. There are now at least three separate entrances, each differentiated and pedestrian friendly, including to a spa, the hotel/lounge, and Market. The inside/outside lighting scheme also really enlivens the block at night. To me, whatever residual coldness there is would be more a product of the streetscape (no trees, benches, etc) than the ground floor exterior.
 
Re: Filene's

Shepard said:
Have you been by the W recently? It's definitely evolved since a year ago. There are now at least three separate entrances, each differentiated and pedestrian friendly, including to a spa, the hotel/lounge, and Market. The inside/outside lighting scheme also really enlivens the block at night. To me, whatever residual coldness there is would be more a product of the streetscape (no trees, benches, etc) than the ground floor exterior.
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Bingo. The W streetwall is fantastic. Filene's will be even better because it's pretty much all retail and there's even more to see.

I went to the spa last night and there definitely was some streetlife in front of the complex.
 
Re: Filene's

The streetwall at the W is still pretty awful. Personal feeling only, but the signs at those entrances are bland, cold, and aside from saying "MARKET" don't give you much idea of what's going on.

I personally am sick and tired of the single word or overly simple names of places that tell you nothing. Come to "Trade" "Drink" "Juice" " Blah". Pretentious to the max. Not even just one word but usually monosyllabic. Yes Market is 2 syllables, but I'm willing to bet that if I walk in there, I won't find the market I would expect based on that one word. Can I buy cabbage, meat, milk, eggs, and string in there?

I haven't walked by in a while, but the W still needs lots of work.

The glass curtain wall typically leads to a poor interaction at street level. The big display windows were mentioned that were there previously. Yep, but they were typically surrounded with some nice architectural detailing. Windows without end lack structure. They also don't direct the eye to anything, which is usually the idea behind ads and displays. Just looking at a store from the outside in means you're looking at a mess.
 
Re: Filene's

The material has nothing to do with the failure / potential failure of these facades. It's the lack of differentiation. Filene's would do well to incorporate smaller retailers along the edges to give it life other than what can be eeked out of window shopping. There's a reason the Washington side of Macy's feels so bland, and it's not just the brick on top.
 
Re: Filene's

filenes006-001.jpg


From an article in today's Globe (beyond the paywall) on how architects are pouring over Burnham's original drawings for Filene's.

“The property’s function as the traditional, 100 percent corner of the retail district makes it crucially important,” said Pangaro, a principal of Millennium Partners, the real estate firm leading the project. Added Middleton, a partner at Handel Architects of New York: “This is a chance to create a new marker for downtown Boston and this historic shopping district. To be able to give this building another 100 years of life, what a fantastic thing.”
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When it opened on Sept. 3, 1912 — 100 years ago this month — the Filene’s store attracted more than 235,000 people, representing roughly one-third of Boston’s population at the time.
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Their plan is to bring back many original features, including metal and glass canopies, outdoor lighting, and a wall of glass along Washington and Summer streets. They will also complete a full restoration of the facade, repairing its damaged terra cotta panels large Chicago-style windows.
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...ng-restored/3CTFjNZSzhDFLj9rL0t7yM/story.html
 
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