Boston Properties Office Tower | 888 Boylston Street | Back Bay

[JeffDowntown]

interesting. surprised i missed that.

but more to the point: 1) so in addition to being somewhat gimmicky, these things are not sturdy enough to withstand boston weather; 2) a couple of MONTHS ago and they haven't been replaced/reinstalled by now?

Your first comment probably answered the second. You don't replace them until you know you have a design that withstands Boston weather.

Bigger question -- why are the other ones still up there. Given inadequate design, aren't they a huge liability risk?

 

[statler]

It may not have been a design issue so much as a improper installation issue.

 

[Suffolk 83]

Looks like they luckily fell inward onto the roof, otherwise we definitely would have heard about them smashing glass and crashing to the ground.

They looked like the were bent/broken but still hanging on at first. They must have been removed

 

[DZH22]

I'm not sure why I keep posting pics of this building. Sorry. It's probably because I'm regularly in the area to check out 1 Dalton.

IMG_6108 by David Z, on Flickr

IMG_6109 by David Z, on Flickr

 

[Mike]

I'm not sure why I keep posting pics of this building. Sorry. It's probably because I'm regularly in the area to check out 1 Dalton

kz used to post pics of completed projects all the time before he moved to new york and I loved seeing them and still miss his pics, so I say keep it up!

 

[Justin7]

This building gets a lot of hate, and it definitely has its problem angles, but I think it looks great from street level.

Very disappointed in the "plaza" though.

Time to replace Lord & Taylor!

 

[Hubman]

888 Boylston, if you haven't heard, has the best view in Boston... hands down. Why? Because it's the only tower without a fking view of 888 Boylston.

A 19th century critic of the Eiffel Tower said the same.

 

[BosDevelop]

This building gets a lot of hate, and it definitely has its problem angles, but I think it looks great from street level.

I was there last weekend checking out Eataly and I completely agree. I don't get the hate for this one.

 

[stick n move]

A 19th century critic of the Eiffel Tower said the same.

Thats true but I don't think a low rise with a mismatch of parts is going to become the pride of Boston one day. People used to shit on the Hancock as well for the windows popping out calling it plywood place and that now is the crown jewel of Boston architecture.

 

[Boston02124]

Today looks like they have removed the turbines

 

[odurandina]

Why did they remove the turbines??

...I think it looks great from street level.

...Time to replace Lord & Taylor!

Agreed. Not bad at all walking by.

And it does look good in many close up shots.

Hopefully L&T can get a nice 350'ish thing like Avalon Exeter, and complete retail redo.

 

[stefal]

Why did they remove the turbines??
.

There could be a safety or engineering issue that prompted them to take them down. They did that quickly.. Pretty sure they were all (or mostly all) up on Sunday when I walked by.

 

[bigpicture7]

I stand by my previous assessment of this building: the bottom 2/3 of it are fine, the top 1/3 is a train wreck. Early renderings of this did not have the oversized penthouse w/ contraptions sticking out of it.

I am all for trying to integrate green technologies, but it is hard to understand how this implementation could be botched so badly. Engineers should have been able to ascertain environmental conditions for the turbines and design/implement an appropriate solution that was robust to those conditions. Not to mention it aesthetically looked tacked on (to me anyway).

 

[JumboBuc]

Yeah, whighlander's off-topic rants can be annoying a.f., but he was totally right about this (pages 24-25). Vertical axis wind turbines are super issue-prone and don't work very well. It's not surprising that we have multiple broken ones after only a few months. Incorporating them into this a building was a silly gimmick.

 

[Boston02124]

Guess I was wrong they're still there

 

[Hubman]

Thats true but I don't think a low rise with a mismatch of parts is going to become the pride of Boston one day.

No I don't either. However, it is a funny coincidence.

 

[stick n move]

Im fine with this I do like the ground floor a lot, but Im not flip flopping on this. Its a dud, but who cares...new office space, more retail, it lights up at night n shit....woo.

 

[stick n move]

This was far and away the busiest place on boylston street today, ground level is very successful- still a turd on top of it but hey....

 

[bbfen]

This was far and away the busiest place on boylston street today, ground level is very successful- still a turd on top of it but hey....

It was always kinda the busiest place on Boylston though between the Apple Store, the Pru itself and the Hynes. I just wish the city would crack down on these idiot cabbies who loiter in the bus stop speak in car horn all day.

 

[bigpicture7]

As of early this past week, they have finally fixed the two broken wind turbines on the roof. All now appear operational.