Avalon North Station | Nashua Street Residences | West End

palindrome said:
From 3 mins ago.

Tower crane will be on site at the end of the month.

Sorry for the shit quality. Paranoid about taking pics of the site next to federal offices.

rp9EjKM.jpg

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No pics, but steel is on the second level now. This is all for the parking I believe. Still no sign of crane.
 
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I agree with Bobby. The high rises getting underway here is one of the most exciting things in the city's development right now.
Wooo!!
 
I'm surprised to not see a sheer core here? Are they substituting some other design/construction method to get around that?
 
I am so glad they are going with white precast. It will really stand out.

cca
 
Those will be where the icicles will hang from. Nice.

cca
 
cca said:
Those will be where the icicles will hang from. Nice.

cca
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cca, since you're an architect, I enjoy your commentary on new developments. But this comment and your earlier one about the white color standing out (which I take as somewhat sarcastic, correct me if I'm wrong on that) I'm curious, why the hate on this building?
 
atlantaden said:
cca, since you're an architect, I enjoy your commentary on new developments. But this comment and your earlier one about the white color standing out (which I take as somewhat sarcastic, correct me if I'm wrong on that) I'm curious, why the hate on this building?
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I don't hate the building. Don't think its bad at all. I never understood the choice to use white precast paneling, that's all. I cannot say that I subjectively like it on any project I have seen, which is not to say that I don't think THOSE buildings are bad. I just do not like that particular choice. It seems to be a "safe" and "trendy" choice for developer driven projects in many cities not only Boston. I would like to see a bit more variety and richness that connect to a kind of local context. Maybe I need to be educated why this trend is so prevalent. Can someone add to this discussion?

cca

Ps. I also have real concerns about how Precast Panels (white or otherwise) are detailed, and how they weather over time. I have had to work on many projects that needs intense restoration or modification of existing precast because of long term durability issues. Our current energy code makes waterproofing/insulating of this system very difficult.

Pps. The icicle comment is also from experience. Designer really have to think twice about hanging these kinds of fins off of buildings. Ice falling can be a disaster to roofing, or if above people ... safety. I hope these are detailed properly. If you all can remember .. the Shapiro building in longwood had major fins and had to go back and remove them all because of falling ice. I guess I should not have just quipped the way I did ... but designers should be very careful with these details.
 
To your point about white precast...I have a view of the Devonshire apt building downtown and that thing has not aged well imo. Is it a safe bet that this is what boston will look like down the road with all these white precast buildings rising?
 
617 said:
To your point about white precast...I have a view of the Devonshire apt building downtown and that thing has not aged well imo. Is it a safe bet that this is what boston will look like down the road with all these white precast buildings rising?
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In my opinion, without serious maintenance costs, yes. My fear is that this is a material that is cheap (fast installation/low labor), on day one it looks really nice and clean and continues to look pretty good for about five years or so, and then when the building gets sold ... the maintenance and the cleaning becomes someone else's problem. This is why you see very few institutional buildings go this direction. When the owner evaluates the long term issues .. they tend to chose a different kind of material.

cca
 
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