Recent content by aws129

wtf?

Why the hell have Globe writers been harping on about Downtown Crossing's lack of cars as if it was a major handicap?! Downtown Crossing's failure has nothing to do with its pedestrianization. As is, there a more than enough people going through the area to make it lively. Pedestrian spaces...

It looks like a ski lodge.

I'm more bullish on the Fenway area than any other developing neighborhood in Boston. It seems like all the major players -- the developers, community groups, the BRA, and the Red Sox -- are reading from the same page and working towards the right ends. I really hope this transformation succeeds.

I don't understand why people are getting fixated on the lack of automobile traffic. The pedestrianization of DC has little or nothing to do with its current mediocrity and bringing back traffic, on its own, won't do a damn thing. That said, the city should decide once and for all whether it...

Okay, this project isn't quite a homerun... Nonetheless, the architect deserves credit for making the most of a tight construction budget by using the cheap materials in a creative and honest fashion. I think people are reacting strongly against these buildings because we're not used to new...

From the Globe: Corner of South End attracts 9 proposals for redevelopment By Casey Ross Globe Staff / February 21, 2009 It is considered one of Boston's hottest development frontiers. An industrial corner of the South End between Harrison Avenue and Albany Street is brimming with new...

The land use patterns in Greater Boston (and New England as a whole) are also, in large part, responsible for the high cost of housing here. The large minimum-lot-size zoning in many Massachusetts towns guarantees that the only new housing construction consists of huge McMansions, beyond the...

Re: 28-story tower planned for Downtown Crossing I'm starting to question whether the blocks directly adjacent to Washington St. are appropriate sites for high-rises... Downtown Crossing seems likes an area where increased winds and shadows actually would be detrimental to the potential lively...

Tax dollars WILL go to providing the services. The difference is that the $$ will only come from the people -- local property and business owners -- who benefit from the additional services. Think of it as a local small-scale government that will supplement, but not compete with, City Hall...

I know this is getting slightly off topic, but I love that Alvaro Siza building in Berlin that Beton Brut posted a link to. It exemplifies the kind of elegant minimalism that we seem unable to pull off in this city. I wonder how Bostonians would react if something like that was proposed here...

I still think y'all are being too pessimistic. It's not obvious to me that this proposal won't work, but maybe I lack the perfect foresight of other board members. The materials can be treated to withstand Boston winters -- at any rate, the designers must have taken the climate into account...

Why the hell are you guys so down on this? I can't believe the cynicism...it's really depressing hearing it on this board of all places! What's wrong with trying out a different kind of urban space? Not everything has to be Parisian. It seems like whenever something slightly different and...

Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery) Okay....what was your point? I'm not sure I understood your initial post.

Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery) How does he come across as a "Euro-trash snob"? It's a sad fact that Europe is way, way ahead of the U.S. when it comes to building sustainably. We are playing catch up. And - I would argue - it is also a sad fact that Boston has a reputation as...