Recent content by goody

In reality or in fantasy? I think the building, without zoning or programmatic constraints, would scale up quite well. I did a quick and dirty markup of the fantasy version back in 2022, below. In reality, though, I suspect this is already maximizing both the zoning envelope and the...

IMO, best new building in years. Wish she was taller, but still striking.

Wild card: Kendall Square. Not technically Boston, but it has more areas at the 1,000' FAA cap than Back Bay. It’s a strong enough market to support that kind of height economically, though Cambridge zoning and entitlements would be the challenge.

Haha, fair point. Well, I don't really think this building has a good angle or side. I find the massing is both oppressive and awkwardly broken up with different step backs and materials. It hulks over the street, and even more so over the poor Winsor School feature. The fenestration, lack of...

I believe the technical term for this is "a turd."

I didn't follow the entitlement process closely, but I'm sure a pound of flesh would have been required in any case. I'm assuming the lure of Kendall office rents was the key factor. If they could have landed a flagship tech or biotech firm looking for a Cambridge location, it could have been a...

Should have gone full residential... brutal.

The industry generally targets ~82% efficiency (GSF to rentable SF). Higher efficiencies are possible but 90% would be a highly efficient building and residential towers are often less efficient due to structure, increased egress and vertical circulation requirements, and building systems...

That map is super cool. Interesting how the back bay appears to be part of Roxbury?

I suspect they mean cars parking in both directions on either side of the street. Guild Street is two ways, despite being quite narrow. Personally I like that way as its a natural traffic calming method of being forced to share the road.

There is nothing cheap about this mildly insane cut in window on window detail. You might not like it, but it isn't cheap.

I feel old, a $720 million dollar high school seems WILD to me. The only way I am in favor of this proposal is if the old high school complex footprint (including the adult high school and mathematics buildings) are demoed and developed for commercial/residential uses. That could go a long way...

I really hope MITIMCO goes higher, this is so depressingly slabby and dull.

I don't think this was ever officially proposed, and if it was I missed it, but I stumbled on this beauty* today on TRIA's website. I have fantasized about this block for a while, the form is pretty cool I have some notes around the detailing but would be an awesome project...

The site plan and context reminders me oddly of Roxbury Community College, now only if RCC would be able to leverage some of their holdings into a mixed use campus or incorporate student housing like this.