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  1. theSil

    The New Residential Conversion Thread

    Not a height fetishist, and don't think all of these sites need to go tall, but the Thomas P. O'Neill Federal Building is an obvious candidate site for Boston's next tallest.
  2. theSil

    Congestion toll in Boston?

    Also, the exact same thing happened in NYC. The month before congestion pricing went into effect, it polled at 32% in support vs 52% opposed amongst city residents. Since its implementation, it has consistently polled favorably amongst city residents. We just need politicians who have the guts...
  3. theSil

    Copley Square Revamp | Back Bay

    I'd explain my thinking by comparing this to the overhaul of Winthrop Square in recent years. Compare it in 2009 and in 2024, after it was redeveloped. To me, the previous iteration distinctly reads, "Northeastern American city, early 20th century built environment". The current iteration isn't...
  4. theSil

    Copley Square Revamp | Back Bay

    Echoing what @FK4 pointed out, I think the selection of pavers is one of the biggest issues here. @Bananarama's photo feels like the two dimensional version of how today's architects "break up the facade" of a five-over-one. We have 6+ different surface treatments in a small area with no clear...
  5. theSil

    Residences on Madison | 5 Madison Street | Worcester

    I really hope we're at the nadir of multifamily facades. It can't get much worse than this. For the point of illustration, here is what @cubalibre shared in November, with a 2 second AI brick facade slapped on. Imo, worlds better. Do it in precast brick! How much more expensive can it be?
  6. theSil

    Four Seasons Tower @ CSC | 1 Dalton Street | Back Bay

    Curious if anyone knowledgeable on construction knows this: Why do the hotel floors would look so different from the condo floors? Part of it is that the lower portion has blue panels in between the windows and the upper portion has the silver indentations running up the building. But the...
  7. theSil

    New-build classical architecture (evoking old styles)

    The Mega Lucas At least in the renderings, the congruent materials makes the facadectomy much less conspicuous, whereas the Lucas, while not terrible, kind of has a cyborg effect. Makes me wonder how the Lucas would've turned out with a stone or light brick facade.
  8. theSil

    Boston and the Homeless

    Has there been reporting on how many total people have died from this cold snap in Boston? NYC is up to 17, which is pretty unbelievable. I was also surprised recently that when it's a "Cold Blue" in NYC, a lot of homeless outreach is foisted upon NYPD. I placed a call to 311 recently for a man...
  9. theSil

    West Cambridge / Alewife Area Infill & Small Developments

    Makes it feel very personal and lived-in. I'm sure these would be difficult to see for anyone able to recognize half of their kitchen dangling up there. Sad, but very well captured photos, @kz1000ps.
  10. theSil

    Allston Square | 334 Cambridge street | Allston

    Also it inherently raises housing prices. For underground parking and parking structures, the cost to construct an individual parking space is in the tens of thousands of dollars. That translates to more expensive rents/asking prices.
  11. theSil

    Allston Square | 334 Cambridge street | Allston

    This has inched along. I remember emailing the developers probably 4+ years ago asking them to consider preserving the facade of 10 Highgate – it's a handsome build that prominently marks the entrance of Allston when entering from Cambridge St. Hope that it remains, like the later renderings...
  12. theSil

    Postmodernism deserves a little love too!

    Wow these images had completely faded from memory, and yet that first photo immediately transported me back to my childhood, remembering the food court down the hall beneath the giant scoreboard. Thanks for digging up.
  13. theSil

    Hurley Building Redevelopment | 19 Staniford St | West End

    I'm in favor of its adaptive reuse, ideally with a plan that goes tall and reconnects the street grid in some way. Will we give this to a team talented enough to pull it off? I'm skeptical.
  14. theSil

    Photo of the Day, Boston Style: Part XIX (2025)

    I'm generally anti design review, but facades as bad as the Hampton Inn's should be illegal.
  15. theSil

    Boston Landing (Strider Hotel) | 180 Guest Street | Brighton

    Regrettably but predictably, this thing lost considerable height since 2012 (source). That said, the version being constructed looks like it will have a nicer materials palette and cleaner lines than previous iterations. One thing not super clear in these new renders is how this version will...
  16. theSil

    Cambridge Multi-Family Zoning Reform

    This document shared by the author of the bill, Councillor Burhan Azeem, is the clearest description of the final bill and its context that I've found: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1frmIjXVm-DXKKXu7D3xMA71kicVjXeDOGrzQeXydsWQ/edit?tab=t.0
  17. theSil

    NYC Architecture and Development

    If anyone wants to support expanding rail projects in Queens: The QueensLink project is eligible to be awarded a $400k grant from US DOT to study reactivating the Rockaway Beach Branch and sending the the M train through southeast Queens. The project needs to raise $100k in matching funds to...
  18. theSil

    The Ipswich | 2 Charlesgate West | Fenway

    Huh, curious if anyone has insight into this aspect of it? Are they targeting mid-term leases for folks working in Longwood?
  19. theSil

    West End Library | 151 Cambridge Street | West End

    Strong agree. The selected design is cohesive (not pretending to be 3 different structures), has actual facade articulation, a promising looking material palette, and an inviting public space. I think it looks great and contextual. If anything, wish they had gone a little taller.
  20. theSil

    Copper Mill Development | Elm Street and Grove Street | Davis Square

    That's likely because Copper Mill does not want to sign new retail leases on a building that they hope to redevelop imminently. Relatively temporary situation. Whereas the number of retail spaces they decide to incorporate will be more or less locked in for decades to come.

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