101 Seaport Blvd (PwC) | Parcel L1@Seaport Sq. | Seaport

The only modern fully glass curtain wall I've ever seen that made me feel anything is the one on WTC4. I thought that was going to be the dud of the group but it is so subtle you have to experience it to understand it. That glass is so perfect the building melts away and you hardly know its there. An incredible feat.

While 101 might have an impressive curtain wall it doesn't have the same effect as WTC4 because it's just a box among other boxes. Surrounded by dead space. Perhaps when the area is built out it might stand out but given what's been going up I highly doubt it. D.C. on the Harbor.
 
Ok ... Lever House is isnt ... but what is. I just am giving a +1 for craft (at least) and based on the renderings, the street approach looks fairly pleasant. There is always room for personal subjectivity and I can dig that.

cca
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
The only modern fully glass curtain wall I've ever seen that made me feel anything is the one on WTC4. I thought that was going to be the dud of the group but it is so subtle you have to experience it to understand it. That glass is so perfect the building melts away and you hardly know its there. An incredible feat.
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I just wanted to +1 this thought. WTC4 is boss--the whole WTC redevelopment and lots of infill around High Line park in Manhattan feature some of the best glass I've ever seen.
 
^ I'll +1 the WTC4 l0ve as w3ll

This thing... I totally agree with cca's nonstop defense that the glass is really quite good! but it still reeks of banality, and as well all know smell is the sense that sticks the best.

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Re: 101 Seaport Blvd (PwC)/parcel L1@Seaport Sq./Seaport

choo said:
Is it just too hard to support a vertical structure when you need the wide, flexible space of a convention hall?
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I imagine that it's more expensive considering there's still a lot of land surrounding the site, even with the development boom.
 
Not to get too off topic, but God I love the courthouse so much for so many reasons. So under appreciated.
 
i like the glass side but the rest ain't nothing but a damn hulk of a brick fortress! I'll take that PwC glass beauty any day over Moakley!!
 
The brick sides were planned out to be next to other developments.
 
type001 said:
The brick sides were planned out to be next to other developments.
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Type -- not really -- after Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah federal Bldg. in 1995 -- nothing was going to built next to the Court House -- its surrounded by open spaces on all sides for a reason

The Brick along Northern Ave is just the consequence of the Glass Sea Wall

Right behind the glass is the corridor which ordinarily would be in the center of the building -- its a public corridor with the secure parts of the building inside the mass of brick
 
whighlander said:
Type -- not really -- after Oklahoma City bombing of the Murrah federal Bldg. in 1995 -- nothing was going to built next to the Court House -- its surrounded by open spaces on all sides for a reason

The Brick along Northern Ave is just the consequence of the Glass Sea Wall

Right behind the glass is the corridor which ordinarily would be in the center of the building -- its a public corridor with the secure parts of the building inside the mass of brick
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OKC was a truck bomb and there have always been streets on the two brick-wall sides of the Court House. Adjacent buildings are much less of a risk for bombing than streets are. Anyways, there are now adjacent buildings on the south-east side and buildings under construction on the south-west side.
 
JumboBuc said:
OKC was a truck bomb and there have always been streets on the two brick-wall sides of the Court House. Adjacent buildings are much less of a risk for bombing than streets are. Anyways, there are now adjacent buildings on the south-east side and buildings under construction on the south-west side.
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Jumbo -- After Murrah -- all GSA buildings which had a certain profile as a target such as a Federal Courthouse have either been retrofitted or for new construction specifically designed for the OKC truck bomb.

For example at the Moakley:
  • nothing of any size can get very close to the Glass Wall
  • there are wide sidewalks with bollards on both Northern Avenue and Courthouse Way
  • there is nothing that can be built on either of the "ends of the wings"
  • Undoubtedly there are also seriously reinforced walls at ground level hidden behind the brickwork
  • I wouldn't doubt that there were either films or other protections on the windows to deal with blast and glass

Overall -- like the Fed Bank -- Moakley is not what is known as a "soft target" well
 
If you remember after the Big Dig finished landscaping around the Federal Reserve, the government came in and tore it all up and 'fortified' the surrounding environs to the building itself.
 
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stellarfun said:
If you remember after the Big Dig finished landscaping around the Federal Reserve, the government came in and tore it all up and 'fortified' the surrounding environs to the building itself.
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Stel -- Exactly so -- Certainly came out looking quite nice in season

$9M went into the garden design [Halvorson] and construction including:
  • benches that you could hit with a dump truck traveling at 40 MPH because they are attached to the top of pilings
  • reinforced concrete hidden under strategically placed mounds and raised beds
  • narrow meandering paths limiting access to people on foot

the classic example of the velvet glove over the mailed fist
 
As an aside, when in the world will the ONeill Bldg get some decent bollards? Those cement balls look so freakin' stupid and sloppily lined up. It's a joke.
 
FK4 said:
As an aside, when in the world will the ONeill Bldg get some decent bollards? Those cement balls look so freakin' stupid and sloppily lined up. It's a joke.
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FK -- I've heard that the city plans to redo Causeway St including the sidewalks after the Boston Garden Towers are complete

I would presume that the Feds might be encouraged to replace the cement balls with more modern security bollards at that point in time
 
^ Im not sure of the timeline for the redesign of causeway but the rough plans are floating around on the internet - it will get done, sooner or later, along with the end of merrimac street. A welcome change as causeway still bears the vestiges of the traffic patterns from when the elevated ran above it, forcing weird lane splits. At any rate, you would think that the city would plan everything in conjunction with the fed - but this is Boston, where disorganization and poor planning reach shocking heights. Im skeptical. Also, the fed could right now replace those bollards with better temporary ones, which I wish they would do.
 
FK4 said:
^ Im not sure of the timeline for the redesign of causeway but the rough plans are floating around on the internet - it will get done, sooner or later, along with the end of merrimac street. A welcome change as causeway still bears the vestiges of the traffic patterns from when the elevated ran above it, forcing weird lane splits. At any rate, you would think that the city would plan everything in conjunction with the fed - but this is Boston, where disorganization and poor planning reach shocking heights. Im skeptical. Also, the fed could right now replace those bollards with better temporary ones, which I wish they would do.
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FK -- since there aren't really any functions in the O'Neil that couldn't be conducted from ordinary office space -- the best of all worlds would be for the Feds to sell the O'Neil site for redevelopment and move into leased office space

The O'Neil like the Transportation Building [aka Dukakis?] has the same problem of being a huge blob on the landscape
 
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