Boston Properties Office Tower | 888 Boylston Street | Back Bay

Toonie29 said:
Maybe I missed it, but any word on landing a big retail tenant for the street level?

With the the first few floors almost buttoned up from the weather I would expect they wouldn't want to waste time before finishing the interior to the new tenant's specs. Thought I'd read rumors of a Bloomie's or Nordstrom way back, but haven't heard a thing since.
Click to expand...

I had heard Bloomingdale's awhile back, too...But since haven't heard anything else either. Personally, a Nordstrom here would be ideal in my opinion.
 
JeffDowntown said:
OK -- it looks to me like they are creating yet another ice dam, icicle, snow melt disaster waiting to happen with the entrance canopy for the Pru mall. They already have issues with the Huntington Avenue entrance canopy (and routinely close that entrance during snow melt, icicle formation weather.

Does it look like they are making the same mistake here, and ignoring that we get snow in Boston?
Click to expand...

Data, cca, you guys are architects. How do you respond to this? Do architects not take into account weather conditions, etc? Or are there arguments behind the scenes with the owners/developers about such things and the recommendations by the architects are overruled?

btw, I love this building!
 
atlantaden said:
Data, cca, you guys are architects. How do you respond to this? Do architects not take into account weather conditions, etc? Or are there arguments behind the scenes with the owners/developers about such things and the recommendations by the architects are overruled?

btw, I love this building!
Click to expand...

A logical architect/engineer would just heat trace the ledge.
 
datadyne007 said:
A logical architect/engineer would just heat trace the ledge.
Click to expand...

I've never understand why anyone would design something like that for a place like Boston. It serves very little functional purpose (shielding those under from rain/snow), looks stupid and wastes energy if the thing is heated. Why spend the money?
 
This is looking pretty good... Waiting to see what the top scaffolding structure and turbines will end up looking like.

Hey architects - all the old prudential midrises are undeniably some of the city's most hideous - but they would could potentially look much better with recladding - I know this is sometimes done, any chance these buildings would ever get that sort of treatment?
 
FK4 said:
This is looking pretty good... Waiting to see what the top scaffolding structure and turbines will end up looking like.

Hey architects - all the old prudential midrises are undeniably some of the city's most hideous - but they would could potentially look much better with recladding - I know this is sometimes done, any chance these buildings would ever get that sort of treatment?
Click to expand...

We did get the short end of the stick with Charles Luckman on the Prudential Center, with the Tower being the strongest. I'm not in love with the Boylston, Fairfield & Gloucester triplets you're referring to, but I don't think they're actually that terrible. They're unabashedly modernist.
 
datadyne007 said:
We did get the short end of the stick with Charles Luckman on the Prudential Center, with the Tower being the strongest. I'm not in love with the Boylston, Fairfield & Gloucester triplets you're referring to, but I don't think they're actually that terrible. They're unabashedly modernist.
Click to expand...

That trio is certainly better than the West End towers. Also, they contrast well with some of the new neighbors (and make the neighbors look even better).

I really think that the Copley Place towers need reclading first (Marriott, Westin). I seem to remember when they were built that the precast panels were only supposed to have 30-40 year life expectancy -- so they might be coming due....
 
101 Huntington got new cladding 5 or 6 years ago, if I remember correctly. It made a big difference. As the Pru Ctr. builds out the three musketeers don't look as over powering. Like a good wine they get better with age. Wish we had the same going on with the West End towers.
 
FK4 said:
Hey architects - all the old prudential midrises are undeniably some of the city's most hideous - but they would could potentially look much better with recladding - I know this is sometimes done, any chance these buildings would ever get that sort of treatment?
Click to expand...

Interestingly, the cladding is actually all red brick on these 3 mid-rises. The designs are pretty awful from afar, but from up close these are not nearly as bad as I always thought they were.
 
JeffDowntown said:
That trio is certainly better than the West End towers. Also, they contrast well with some of the new neighbors (and make the neighbors look even better).

I really think that the Copley Place towers need reclading first (Marriott, Westin).
Click to expand...

I actually think the better looking buildings make the crappy ones look worse! Though maybe it's the reverse effect...

Agree about the hotel buildings, too - in my mind I blend in prudential and copley place but the copley ones are even uglier - but don't have as much proximity to the pru in the across-the-river skyline shots.

Personally, west end doesn't bother me as much as they don't stand against anything good. All that might change with some of the govt center/haymarket construction. I may be alone here, but I actually very much like the twin concrete towers on staniford - the concrete looks great (I think maybe they were cleaned recently?)

Back to prudential, the newest midrise on exeter has ended up being a nice little background slab-shaped tower that looks better to me than I would've thought - I think as a standalone it wouldn't look as good, though...
 
I really enjoy a lot of the Pru complex architecture (Sheraton included). Some of this stuff isn't beautiful like a lot of the 19th and early 20th century architecture we have in the city, but it is interesting which is more than can be said for some newer stuff.

Preserving some of this style is absolutely something we should do.
 
Heh, so apparently one of my friends is on this job...

From the PH:

859010_10205852819259852_2837570008523243513_o.jpg
 
.....another year, another Whighjacking of threads.......
 
shmessy said:
.....another year, another Whighjacking of threads.......
Click to expand...

Shmessy -- its Back to the future

See the interesting point is that while my post may slightly deviate from the primary topic of the thread -- there is a point of historic, scientific or technical nature connected with it

Your post just points out the obvious that there has been a deviation from the thread -- its a bit like seeing the light come on in your gas gauge just as your car grinds to a stop
 
Um no not really at all. Your post is totally out of left field it adds nothing to the thread aside from distracting from the topic and being annoying for anyone who expects to see a new post about the building being constructed. Do you not understand how annoying it is to say oh cool an update on the building and to instead find an off topic post about a moderately intriguing topic that is totally unrelated. If you want to share this just make a new thread on the topic it made you think of.

Rule 2 for etiquette in this type of forum after don't ask if there is an update is don't post off topic stuff because someone picture or post reminded you of something else.

Also if you know you are deviating from the thread why the hell would you go ahead and post. Just stop sometimes I appreciate the information or posts you make but stuff like this honestly just pisses me off.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top