BU Data Sciences Center | 665 Commonwealth Avenue | BU Central

The way that the charles is going to be lined with towers from Allston to North Station is really going to be amazing. Plus this new cluster with this, the kenmore tower, and fenway center is going to be pretty cool.

Youll have the New Balance cluster, then Allston/BU, Kenmore/Fenway center, Fenway Boylston, Back bay, Stuart st, downtown, Seaport, Northpoint, then Cambridge down the Charles opposite.
 
Minor update: Laframboise was on site with a drilling truck yesterday.
 
^ Verified: walked by it on the way to see Werner Herzog at the Tsai last night.
 
Much better facade design. I am liking this building much more. I had hated it in its previous iteration.
 
My Goddd (Laurie Metcalf voice).

Only in Boston;
cajolery in response to the next architectural travesty.

They should name this bldg, "Venezuela," since it's about as bad.
 
odurandina said:
My Goddd (Laurie Metcalf voice).

Only in Boston;
cajolery in response to the next architectural travesty.

They should name this bldg, "Venezuela," since it's about as bad.
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At least it fits with BU's long history of ugly buildings: the cement Gothic block, Warren Towers, the Sert complex. Big and Ugly lives on on Comm Ave.
 
it's exciting, bold, not in any way "normal" or average.

if this was going up in london, barcelona, NYC, or pretty much anywhere, folks on AB would be bitching about "how come boston can never get exciting projects like this?!?!?!" but seeing as it's going up in boston it's "Big and Ugly."

i thought post-2004 the whole sad-sack, everything-sucks, eeyore boston BS had faded. nope -- alive and well right here.
 
chrisbrat said:
it's exciting, bold, not in any way "normal" or average.

if this was going up in london, barcelona, NYC, or pretty much anywhere, folks on AB would be bitching about "how come boston can never get exciting projects like this?!?!?!" but seeing as it's going up in boston it's "Big and Ugly."

i thought post-2004 the whole sad-sack, everything-sucks, eeyore boston BS had faded. nope -- alive and well right here.
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London or Barcelona would never permit this crap.

NYC would, but no one would see it behind all the other taller buildings in the way
 
jass said:
London or Barcelona would never permit this crap.
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London is all about weird designs, and Barcelona has a giant lit up dildo building. I'm pretty sure some similar iteration of this could slip through in either city.
 
spot-on ^^^

i didn't randomly choose metro areas. the three examples i put out there are cities i'm very familiar with.
 
I think it's a little chunky. The stacked blocks design is cool, if not copied from other buildings, but I think a more slender tower would look better and fear that the materials will reinforce the chunkiness aspect, not attenuate it. I think it's bold enough, but I also am easily irritated with "weirdness for weirdness' sake"...
 
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From this week's public meeting:

http://www.bostonplans.org/getattachment/d7335157-5dd6-4145-b3ac-e7fdbb42bc4d

Highlights from the meeting:
- The color of the louvers was lightened, louvers at the base were spaced out, and louvers on the 17th floor enclosed courtyard were removed per feedback from the BCDC
- Shooting for LEED Platinum (drilling 31, 1,500 ft. geothermal wells for building temperature regulation)
- They're only fixing the laneway within the footprint of this project, leaving the other half in the poor state it's currently in
- The building has been moved north and east to accommodate larger sidewalks
- There was a lot of discussion about the loading docks and whether or not the trucks would block the laneway (the answer is still unclear)

Personally, I'm fine with the design updates except for the removal of the louvers on the 17th floor courtyard. It looks so incongruent with the rest of the design - I'm sure there's a way they could incorporate this better. I gave this and other feedback at the meeting and the general feel of their response was, "thanks for the notes, but we're not changing anything unless the City makes us."
 
Still not wild about the building but I can live with it. Really do like the ground level improvements that they're doing so there's that.
 
The default can't do constant: height [that crazy solution every other city in North America (but DC) uses to achieve desired density for x parcel of land] The can do/can't get enough of constant: lousy (in this case horrible) architecture. Someday (in about 70 years), long suffering, forlorn residents will remark over the blight finally ending, "That sucked. Why was it built?"
 
Was there ever anything on this parcel? Its been a parking lot at least since the late 80's but not sure of the history before that.
 
Rover said:
Was there ever anything on this parcel? Its been a parking lot at least since the late 80's but not sure of the history before that.
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There was a gas station on the corner. The other half of the lot was a ghastly drive through restaurant with a winged roof. The latter was demolished to build a Burger King, which was actually a great improvement.
 
TomOfBoston said:
There was a gas station on the corner. The other half of the lot was a ghastly drive through restaurant with a winged roof. The latter was demolished to build a Burger King, which was actually a great improvement.
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Thanks! I do remember the BK from my college days. I also recall (must have been in the very early 80's) when I was a kid going to Sox games with my parents a few more gas stations up and down Comm Ave. Maybe that was one of them.
 
Rover said:
Thanks! I do remember the BK from my college days. I also recall (must have been in the very early 80's) when I was a kid going to Sox games with my parents a few more gas stations up and down Comm Ave. Maybe that was one of them.
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I saw a picture of that site circa 1960 online recently. I will try and find it and link to it.
 
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