Artists for Humanity | 100 W. 2nd | South Boston

....... I understand why Arrowstreet proposes corrugated stainless steel cladding; I also understand why many of my neighbors hate it with the heat of a thousand suns...

I see what you did there. :)
 
Having grown up a Dead Kennedy's fan, I love me a Pol Pot reference...

This explains everything. You remember the F.U.'s? Put them in the midst of the West End after they wiped it clean and roll the cameras.

The warehouse aesthetic and industrial cladding aren't for everyone.....

Arrowstreet also has this project on the boards, a few blocks from my home.... I understand why Arrowstreet proposes corrugated stainless steel cladding; I also understand why many of my neighbors hate it with the heat of a thousand suns...
 
They should cover those blank walls with murals like what was put on the blank wall of the Fenway Health Building (I believe the blank wall was covered by a thin sheet/canvas) next to the Harlo. This building is the Artists for Humanity building, after all. Or at the very least, they could have added some splashes of color. (This old dog just learned a new trick, had no idea I could use the quote button to transfer a pic to another thread. The pics were originally posted by JumboBuc. I tried it out...and voila, it worked! Woohoo!)

mural_streetview.jpg


mural_stree_view_2.jpg
[
 
^^logical, fantastic idea......

provide a blank canvas and they come.

don't even need to get on a streetcar.
 
Good thing they bothered to clean up the metal panels before...
 
I would have liked to have seen some space for rotating murals, like Dewey Square.
 
It's so meh... Lost on me until now is *(my lack of insight) is the possibility that in the overall scheme of things, how little this project will mean to so the vast number of people, if they even learn it exists. i'm sure artists will know. i guess that's what matters. Is it known what it will "be" to what number of people? Don't get me wrong, i hope this thing becomes an adored part of the community, as it well should. But i hope it isn't a miss. Could it have been built with advanced planning to add floors later, and benefits the souls of ++ talented people in the future?--as opposed to being used and enjoyed by, say far fewer than that greenhouse addition under the Preggo.
 
How on Earth did this...



Become this?!?!



If we ignore the scale, is this the worst project this century? It looks like a mechanics garage from the 1970's, with a couple new windows on it.

EDIT: It looks like this is the front piece on the second picture of the original render. What happened to the rest of this? Is there a Phase 2?

I don't hate it as much as everyone else here seems to--there are really nice views into the building from A Street. While the materials are very simple, it detailing is nice.

But, what I've heard and who know if that is accurate, is that the nimby neighbors killed the height. The height provided commercial lease space that would have paid for the building. Loosing the height lost the tenants lost the money lost the design.

And the irony is that a building that tall is approved next door and another one is in the works. Artists for Humanities was just too early. I bet if they could have waited a few years they would have their height because a bunch of developers got it.
 
I don't hate it as much as everyone else here seems to--there are really nice views into the building from A Street. While the materials are very simple, it detailing is nice.

I don't love it, but I understand it. Indeed, if I have to accept The Hub on Causeway as good urbanism packaged with a design ethos worthy of a McDonald's Happy Meal toy, perhaps there's value in looking at this in a similar way -- good space that serves its users in a somewhat "confrontational" wrapper.

But, what I've heard and who know if that is accurate, is that the nimby neighbors killed the height. The height provided commercial lease space that would have paid for the building. Loosing the height lost the tenants lost the money lost the design.

The same exact thing happened a decade ago with the project that became Longwood Center. The 28-story residential tower (pre-leased to Harvard Medical School) was erased from the plan by the Windsor School over shadows on their athletic fields.

And the irony is that a building that tall is approved next door and another one is in the works. Artists for Humanities was just too early. I bet if they could have waited a few years they would have their height because a bunch of developers got it.

Is it possible that this addition is a more-or-less temporary building?
 

Back
Top