88 Seaport Blvd | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

[FitchburgLine]

Plans for office tower revealed by Globe. Practically no detail but clearly more is coming.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...ferent-look/6OKdU9rBxBe5GGcNjpfnxM/story.html

 

[stick n move]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Boston is on fire. Where else gets new proposed towers every single week? Sometimes multiple in a day, and sometimes back to back to back days. Towers that are all going to start construction within like 1-2 years. Amazing. This will block the rest of the crappy side of One Marina Park Drive, along with the back of 1 seaport square which most people say is their least favorite side. Then you get this artistic side facing towards the memorial, along with more retail along seaport blvd. Win, win, win.

 

[tysmith95]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Boston is on fire. Where else gets new proposed towers every single week? Sometimes multiple in a day, and sometimes back to back to back days. Towers that are all going to start construction within like 1-2 years. Amazing.

Oh how hopeful of you, thinking they all will be built.

Am I the only one that thinks the seaport is a bad place for new office towers. It's not well served by transit.

 

[SeamusMcFly]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

I don't like the overall curtainwall. But, I like the attempt at something different.
Maybe with matching glass (similar to the cut away section) it would look better.
I know it would lose the contrast differentiating the gash from the box, but that curtain wall is heinous.

 

[DZH22]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Boston is on fire. Where else gets new proposed towers every single week?

And yet which ones will continue to be held up while we keep getting more offices in the Seaport? For starters:
SST
Pelli Office Tower
North Station Office Tower

 

[FitchburgLine]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Oh how hopeful of you, thinking they all will be built.

Am I the only one that thinks the seaport is a bad place for new office towers. It's not well served by transit.

Walkability to South Station is key here, it's more transit accessible than Kendall. The Seaport itself is bad *for* transit because it forces Orange/Green commuters to double transfer, stressing Park St and core stations. The good solution is to connect the SL to the boylston street portal, not keep acres of downtown parking lots sitting empty.

 

[stick n move]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Oh how hopeful of you, thinking they all will be built.

Am I the only one that thinks the seaport is a bad place for new office towers. It's not well served by transit.

I didn't join this site last year. Im not talking about right now specifically. This has been happening for years, I watched all of fan pier get proposed then built, seaport square, pier 4, etc etc.....all with regards to the construction boom and the area in this thread which is about seaport square. Why wouldnt this get built? I never mentioned any other specific towers so which " they all" towers you speak of could be anything. Idk just doesn't make sense.

This part of seaport square is a longer walk to the red line/CR, but the silver line is next door. It'll bring you to South Station and its a 23 second walk from this tower.

The parcels L5, L6, N, and P, are all very close to South Station.That part of Seaport Square is very well served by multiple transit options and right down the street from South station. From parcel D here you can walk along the harbor walk to Summer st and SS and its about 10 minutes, not tooo bad but not ideal. The future can bring anything, but for now it does have options its not drive or nothing. Its not the greatest, but its not only car accessible either.

That being said this tower is either going to look good or age like hell. Who knows, but its definitely bold and a huge risk. I hope its executed well if this is even whats built.

 

[Poolio]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

That is a very intriguing design. We have no way of knowing what the quality of the materials will be based on such a low fidelity render, but it would seem that contrast is key. What appears to be a banal box of an office building, slashed through the middle as if by some wild animal. I like it. I imagine that there is not only a contrast in forms and styles and materials, but also in light. If that cut is bright and shimmering, no one will pay much attention to the box around it. I think that's the intent. If you try to make the box itself any flashier or fancier you lose the contrast and weaken the overall design. As always it will all come down to materials and quality, quality, quality.

 

[Downburst]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Huh, looks like WS pulled in OMA. They don't do anything subtly, do they?

This site is central. More than anything else, the street level here needs to be done right.

 

[datadyne007]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Huh, looks like WS pulled in OMA. They don't do anything subtly, do they?

This site is central. More than anything else, the street level here needs to be done right.

I wouldn't be surprised if the interaction went like this:

WS: We want you design our new building in Boston's Seaport.
OMA: What is the context?
WS: *shows bland sea of soulless boxes* What do you think?
OMA: Say no more. Let's literally slash & explode a box.

 

[Czervik.Construction]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Wow, that would be amazing to have something like this break up the monotony over there and maybe inspire other developers to do the same. One can hope.

 

[JeffDowntown]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

And yet which ones will continue to be held up while we keep getting more offices in the Seaport? For starters:
SST
Pelli Office Tower
North Station Office Tower

The Seaport mini-towers are lower risk than any of the major towers, unless the major towers land solid anchor tenants. Makes perfect investment sense.

 

[Hydrobus]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

gimmick≠good

 

[falcon42]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Some of you people are unreal. Complain about the plain boring boxes. Now something a little different is proposed and its being called a gimmick? I'd love to see some of your designs, with a budget attached.

 

[FitchburgLine]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Some of you people are unreal. Complain about the plain boring boxes. Now something a little different is proposed and its being called a gimmick? I'd love to see some of your designs, with a budget attached.

^^^
Frankly, I'm more interested in the pedestrian realm- this needs lots of ground floor retail to tie the seaport square area together (and hopefully minimal parking to encourage use of the SL station 50 yards away).

 

[cca]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Some of you people are unreal. Complain about the plain boring boxes. Now something a little different is proposed and its being called a gimmick? I'd love to see some of your designs, with a budget attached.

You have (seen our designs) ... you just don't know it.

Some of us know what meaningful and quality design looks like applied to architecture. It is possible to criticize both things boring and gimmicky. Neither of them are the best you can have for the money. There is a thing called authenticity that is a recognizable design quality. It comes with deep listening, deep thinking, and careful use of resources. There is lots of it around if you look for it.

Don't stop asking for better than what you are being given.

cca

 

[cjbski]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

This building looks amazing. Everyone knows we need to maximize square footage with the height limits imposed nearby. This concept is a heck of a lot better than anything else we've seem lately.

BUILD IT!

 

[cjbski]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

Can we change the title of the thread to 88 Seaport Blvd. please?

 

[Lrfox]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

You have (seen our designs) ... you just don't know it.

Some of us know what meaningful and quality design looks like applied to architecture. It is possible to criticize both things boring and gimmicky. Neither of them are the best you can have for the money. There is a thing called authenticity that is a recognizable design quality. It comes with deep listening, deep thinking, and careful use of resources. There is lots of it around if you look for it.

Don't stop asking for better than what you are being given.

cca

I'd consider myself an "advanced novice" when it comes to understanding design. I'm curious as to what about the rendering would make someone who is far more knowledgeable (like yourself) say that this is gimmicky?

My initial reaction was measured approval, holding out for a better idea of the materials and the street level interaction. I think it's much less gimmicky than the EF Education Building over at Northpoint, and if the materials are of relative quality, this could be a win for the neighborhood.

 

[bigpicture7]

Re: Office Tower | Seaport Square Parcel D | Seaport

There is a thing called authenticity that is a recognizable design quality. It comes with deep listening, deep thinking, and careful use of resources. There is lots of it around if you look for it.

cca

I mean this with seriousness and respect:
Would you mind providing links to some examples that you feel embody what you describe in your quote above?

(if not here, then at the appropriate place with a pointer link)

Thanks in advance!