BU Data Sciences Center | 665 Commonwealth Avenue | BU Central

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It made sense there when this side of Commonwealth was auto-centric.
The architectural aesthetic is cool, then and now. Really wish more buildings outside of LA or South Florida were saved from that movement.
 
Thank you for finding and sharing!

Man, what a major loss. I'd absolutely love it if that building were still there. That close to Kenmore, literally on the BU campus, and with that aesthetic, in 2024 that'd be a seriously hoppin' club/restaurant/whatever.
 
chrisbrat said:
Looks like Towers (Not "Warren Towers") is going up on Bay State Road to the right in this pic.
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Towers is further down Bay State Road toward Kenmore. The construction is for the Nursing College, which would subsequently be expanded, re-clad, and converted to house Sargent College. The original building looked more like the HoJos, but it has looked like the current version since around 1989-90.

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bdurden said:
It made sense there when this side of Commonwealth was auto-centric.
The architectural aesthetic is cool, then and now. Really wish more buildings outside of LA or South Florida were saved from that movement.
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AFAIK, we have one googie building in Boston, which is now the JP Whole Foods. I'd love to know if there are others--but this is threadjacking
 
Java King said:
Back to the BU Data Sciences Building: Anyone can vote for this building in the current 2023 Harleston Parker People's Choice Awards:
www.architects.org

Vote for the 2023 Harleston Parker People's Choice Award

The Boston Society for Architecture is a community committed to improving the quality of life for everyone through architecture and design.
www.architects.org www.architects.org
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The BU building is honestly a shoe-in this year. Also the last year WRA's Berklee Tower is eligible.
 
HenryAlan said:
Towers is further down Bay State Road toward Kenmore. The construction is for the Nursing College, which would subsequently be expanded, re-clad, and converted to house Sargent College. The original building looked more like the HoJos, but it has looked like the current version since around 1989-90.

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The Sargent building, as you state, was a renovation and recladding of the nursing building. But the nursing building was a renovation and recladding of an industrial building built in the 1920's. In that picture it is being converted for nursing with a small addition being built in the rear.

And for those not around back then, BU closed its nursing school in 1987. The biggest academic mistake that BU ever made.
 
TomOfBoston said:
Just a throwback to the CDS site about 60 years ago. The little white building was a gas station that eventually became a parking lot in the 1970;s. The odd roof building became a Burger King in the 1970's too. Whatever your opinion of the CDS building, I think we can all agree that it is an improvement over this.

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These photos are so interesting to me as a BU alum who wasn't around back then. No security fencing around the tracks, the PCC cars, no pavement markings, the cars are small and don't all look the same... as far as street life I can say this has definitely improved the area, and people seem to adore the coffee/smoothie shop that went in on the first floor (though there's a lack of coffee shops on campus so it's not hard to have a popular one)
 
I just learned that the balconies are locked and only faculty have access. Students are only allowed out in small groups and only under the direct supervision of a faculty member.

Welcome to the world of modern risk aversion.
 
RandomWalk said:
I just learned that the balconies are locked and only faculty have access. Students are only allowed out in small groups and only under the direct supervision of a faculty member.

Welcome to the world of modern risk aversion.
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so dumb. bubble-wrap everyone.
 
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RandomWalk said:
I just learned that the balconies are locked and only faculty have access. Students are only allowed out in small groups and only under the direct supervision of a faculty member.

Welcome to the world of modern risk aversion.
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My understanding of this building, admittedly as someone not part of the BU campus community, is that a) the terraces are mostly actually a green roof with very limited terrace bits with seating and b) the portion that are meant to be more "public" for general student use is the podium section, which contains the classrooms, and that the tower section is occupied by faculty offices and institutional research / departmental space - more grad student workstations than lecture halls. If grad students count as faculty, I can generally understand the restrictions from a purely a " all locked doors up here are staff only, and we're working but we can give you a quick tour for the view." I've always thought of them as being a workplace amenity.

I went to UMass Amherst, which culturally seemed to be "BU in Western Mass," Many of the buildings there were built with balconies, namely the The Southwest Towers & Low Rises, and O Hill. My God the lore... I realize that this building isn't a dorm, but inebriated college students will do what they will anywhere they have access.

It could be as innocent as somehow getting a cow onto the 20th floor balcony, or in the form they existed in my time there, *several* students fell/jumped every year from the O-Hill balconies, not to mention suicide Sylvan or the historical falls from the SWest Towers or the student who died elevator surfing in one. A 20 story fall is a very hard lesson to learn, and I begin to understand the urge on the part of the administration to keep the undergrads away.
 
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