BCA plaza redesign winner

[JS38]

Winner of the architectural competition to design the plaza around the BCA
in the South End has been decided. View the website with information and
images here:

http://insideout.bcaonline.org/

- JS

 

[czsz]

So much seemingly forced programming built into so many of these designs...I guess landscape architects have disliked being away from the spotlight too long to adhere to the adage "less is more".

 

[Ron Newman]

By "forced programming" do you mean the outdoor movies and live shows that this design is intended to facilitate?

 

[bowesst]

What's wrong with the area as it is now?

 

[Ron Newman]

Nothing especially, but they want to make it more suitable for outdoor shows of various kinds.

 

[bowesst]

How many outdoor shows a year do they have? This looks like the type of think that will stay nice for about a year then will look old and run down. They should just plant some trees and spruce the area up and be done with it.

 

[Ron Newman]

Very few now, but they obviously want to have more. The pictures show things like dance performances and outdoor movies. That can only be good for the neighborhood. Trees could get in the way of such events.

 

[kz1000ps]

What's wrong with the area as it is now?

The plaza feels more like an extra wide sidewalk than it does a destination of any kind. There's maybe two benches and a plot of grass and trees that looks like an afterthought.

Just after I took these pictures, I spotted a guy attempting to steal a bicycle (had some bolt cutter action going on..) and I stopped him! I yelled out "is that your bike there buddy?" real loud so everyone else would notice, and he quickly replied "nope!", gathered up his backpack and started to walk away, slowly as he checked out who was around to see if he could maybe come after me and make me back down. Luckily there were others watching so he had to retreat. The lady whose bike it was came out a couple minutes later and I got to tell her the story. Fun shit!!





The red bike is the one that almost got stolen.. the lady said she'd had it for 25 years without incident

 

[tmac9wr]

haha what a good samaritan

 

[ablarc]

Heroic kz!

Btw, what's happening on this project?

 

[ablarc]

This stretch could use a cafe with outdoor seating.

Streetwall is a bit too impenetrable at sidewalk level.

 

[TC]

This stretch could use a cafe with outdoor seating.

Hamersley's outdoor seating takes up most of that space in the summer. I hope the new design doesn't eliminate that with the outdoor theater or what ever else is being proposed.

 

[JoeSixpack]

I would not hold my breath on any radical re-design there.

The new bar BeeHive will be ready shortly, I do not know that they plan on going to the plaza as Hamersley's does. Though I would not be surprised.

That the area around the Pine tree looked barren in January does not surprise me. I can't wait for the "urban Easter Island" sculptures to come down...Did I say that out loud? Uh oh!

I saw that show last year...Um...Didn't see a lot of choices really. Seemed to be more of an exercise for those competing. Little was considered for the existing uses/needs. The competition included far more than just the Plaza. Some had no, or little concern for the historical nature and just seemed an attempt to future-ify the existing buildings.

The BCA holds the building from the Calderwood, to the Hamersley corner.

An interesting note is that Buckminster Fuller's grid which hangs inside the Cyclorama was recently re-rigged. Much better now.

Also, the Cyclorama needs room out front, for loading in of shows. They have a loading dock out back, but the right to use it regularly was lost when the corner was developed. A concession to the neighborhood, that there be only one loading zone on the street.