[ARCHIVED] Harbor Garage Redevelopment | 70 East India Row | Waterfront | Downtown

Status
Not open for further replies.
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

the Mayor does not live in Harbor Towers.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Besides all the life that it will bring on the ground level (shadows aside)...how could anyone not want this....

boston_harbor_garage_kpf260209.jpg
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

You've got to give Chiofro credit for publishing that pic. Usually developers make sure to add in all the proposals and use an angle that makes the building look shorter. Don's just straight up putting everything out there!
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

^ Yea...as much as I love the Cook + Fox rendering that was released for the other garage...they make it appear as though it's 1200 feet tall.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

So this is three buildings all with blue reflective glass?
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

I love the ambition...but I'm not sold on the execution.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

^ only 2 buildings! that's why I love the design...one can't just gloss over it and know it....someone looks at the tower for the first time and they have to actually go through some sort of thought process beyond any visceral reaction...

people won't obviously be fooled on the ground level but the 'sky frame' itself is an attention getter...
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

^^ The illusion will only work from certain angles and only if the glass is reflective enough. If they cheap out on the glass the effect is ruined.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Hate the rust color. Gives the building that Bethlehem, Pennsylvania look.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Ok I'm officially against these towers and here's why:

After biking around down there, around Harbor Towers and the Aquarium, it's obvious that what the RKG needs are urban buildings to define it's edges. This tower does not do that. This is just another glorified tower-in-the-park and will be disconnected from the city. Honestly I would rather see this building be built ON TOP of the RKG, it would work much better.

Luckily the odds of getting this off the ground are slim. If they can't get the South Station Tower going after a decade I'm sure this will be just another woulda-coulda-shoulda.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

I think this building might actually look better if it were shorter, say 25 stories tall. As presented to us now it is way too tall for the location and its design at this height looks awkward. The "skygate" is not a bad concept as a connection, but the rendering is just not doing it for me. And yes, I think it should be placed on the RKG, as a smaller structure, let's say on the existing horticultural space.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Not everybody will like this building. But this is a fact it will end up being the most viewed building in the CITY by tourists if this ends up getting built. It will also make the GREENWAY real estate strip priceless.
IP, 125 High St, Russia Wharf, IC, One Financial, Rowes Wharf, South Station, Federal Building, Harbor Towers.

I would like to see South Station project and Haymarket get built also. This would finish the book for the Greenway in Major Development.

The strip has major potential keep the private money coming in.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

I think this is one of those buildings that would look better when built then on the rendering. Part of me does not like the design but when I imagine this 700 foot tower built and looking at it from the Harbor, it will look pretty amazing.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Close your eyes for a moment and just imagine it has been there for the past few decades - it would be great architecture.

It would be a tourist draw.
It would be controversial.
It would be photographed billions of times with all kinds of interesting uses of the box void and the views behind it.
It would be unique and it would be special.

And of course it would be controversial at first - and hugely unpopular with certain special interest groups.

And then after time it would be a beloved, integral part of the city's identity

It would be just like the John Hancock Tower.

Someday we will have a leader not a manager in the Mayor's office. Until then we can dream.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

William Pederson is a competent architect; think of him as an artier David Childs. His own boatlike home on Little Rams Island is terrific, the best parts of Aalto, Elwood, and Lautner.

But this isn't a private home...

I don't love this proposal, mainly because it already looks value-engineered. Why build to nearly 800' on the harbor and not include a destination restaurant (or at least an an observation deck) at the very top? Where are the scenic elevators? Small changes could make this proposal an attraction, and considering its proximity to the Aquarium, the Greenway, and Quincy Market, it makes sense. I say this in the spirit of ablarc's sage words.

21. don't be afraid to risk a little hokeyness...

I once accused this proposal of being high on Rem Koolhaas -- the "building-as-folded-surface" has been done to death. Still, it does bring a different artistic sensibility to table. The slightly torqued footprint (i.e. the "sky-frame" is wider on the Greenway side than the harbor side) is an interesting element.

I applaud Chiafaro's ambition here. My money's on this design changing quite a bit over time. The street-level ideas are compelling. Let's hope they make it better.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Ok I'm officially against these towers and here's why:

After biking around down there, around Harbor Towers and the Aquarium, it's obvious that what the RKG needs are urban buildings to define it's edges. This tower does not do that. This is just another glorified tower-in-the-park and will be disconnected from the city. Honestly I would rather see this building be built ON TOP of the RKG, it would work much better.

I think as long as the bottom portion of the tower is engaged to the street, maybe the first 6 stores, the rest of the building could be totally independent and rise up out of the base. Almost what Russia Wharf is doing, or even as far as the Hearst Building in Manhattan.
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

Wait, so he can't build this due to FAA regulations, no?
 
Re: New tower at Aquarium parking garage.

How dare you!

I went to school in Bethlehem! Sure, I used to hate rust brown, but now I love it. I can't get me enough of that rust brown. Ah, memories.

The steel that made the Empire State Building, the Golden Gate Bridge, and countless other landmarks all came out of that steel plant.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Back
Top