BU Development Thread

[Equilibria]

If this were a building at Northeastern, I'd be behind it. This will look awful from the river. Not Harvard prison dorm bad, but there's a reason none of those renders are from the north.

 

[JumboBuc]

If this were a building at Northeastern, I'd be behind it. This will look awful from the river. Not Harvard prison dorm bad, but there's a reason none of those renders are from the north.

From the river this will be between pretty much in front the Warren Towers, next to the law tower. What's so bad about that?

 

[shmessy]

Do folks like the diagonal slats covering the windows or prefer unimpeded windows?

Personally, it's the one thing about the ISEC at Northeastern (99% of which I LOVE) that I can't stand and think it "fortresses" a building. But I'd like to know if people actually prefer that to direct "windowing".

 

[shmessy]

From the river this will be between pretty much in front the Warren Towers, next to the law tower. What's so bad about that?

Actually, looking at it from the river, it will probably be excellent. It's the Commonwealth Ave human front door/street wall that looks awful to me.

Once again, as a stand-alone/waterfront/Seaport/selfish-narcisstic building it seems marvelous. But how it affects weaving together a larger and more vibrant, social Commonwealth Avenue? Disaster, imho. But it's just imho and I fully appreciate hearing how others like it there and why.

 

[Equilibria]

From the river this will be between pretty much in front the Warren Towers, next to the law tower. What's so bad about that?

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but the Law School tower is bad enough. Modernist buildings detract from the generally classical river skyline.

 

[cden4]

This is my favorite quote from the first article, from the BU President:
"We wanted a building that in 2100 would stand up and mark the dynamic change in the University and talk about the century we’re in."

Because nothing says 21st century more than a stack of books! LOL.

 

[Justin7]

Agreed on the ramp. Could just square off the facade and not have the reddish part of the facade follow the ramp.

I haven't decided how I feel about the building as a whole (and likely won't until it is built), but I love the "ramp." Personally, I'd refer to this as stairs. I understand there is some similarity and that there could be some confusion while looking at a low res render, but no one is going to mistake this for a parking garage ramp in person. We shouldn't let past associations with our automobile-obsessed culture ruin the opportunity for active and interesting architecture.

 

[stellarfun]

The design is supposed to represent a stack of books. Of course, no one stacks books that way.

This is a design that tries to do far too much, throwing in a bit of this and then a bit of that, and then tossing in yet another architectural ingredient, seriatim. The result is a teetering confection which I would not care to stand beneath if Boston was on a fault line.

IMO, the design could be improved by substituting a glass curtain wall for those sides with rows of narrow window slots punched into a white veneer. Besides, the leaves of a book are always in the same plane as the binding.

I have no problem with the podium; it references fairly well.

 

[odurandina]

because nothing says Boston louder than a 900' uninterrupted street wall,

endlessly gawking over the human scale, and the privilege of

another walled off pedestrian prison/superblock to welcome in.

 

[Beton Brut]

Do folks like the diagonal slats covering the windows or prefer unimpeded windows?

Personally, it's the one thing about the ISEC at Northeastern (99% of which I LOVE) that I can't stand and think it "fortresses" a building.

I like diagonals in general. There's a tension and energy in them. And diagonals are embedded in the natural world. There's very little orthogonal geometry in nature. Take a look at the wooden ceilings of these two Lautner homes (Walstrom and Bergren) -- there's a combined sense of shelter and "lift."

And in consideration of the purpose of this new BU building, the diagonals on the facade read as "vectors," a gesture that's deeply connected to the sciences.

...how it affects weaving together a larger and more vibrant, social Commonwealth Avenue? Disaster, imho. But it's just imho and I fully appreciate hearing how others like it there and why.

These diagonals lead the eye skyward in the very same way that the lancet arches in Gothic architecture did, nearly a millennia ago. How interesting that this "spaceship" has parked next to one of BU's Gothic Revival buildings...

I know this is an unpopular opinion, but the Law School tower is bad enough. Modernist buildings detract from the generally classical river skyline.

It's all part of the weave...

Sert's Law School Tower, with proportions close to an upturned golden rectangle, has a solidity and gravitas that (like much of Brutalism) is deeply connected to Romanesque and Gothic architecture in vibe, materiality, and expression. The same could be said of Peabody Terrace (the "prison dorms" across the Charles), where the balconies and brise soleil can be viewed as a modernist interpretation of Gothic tracery.

 

[Rover]

Been thinking about this more and while I don't like the building, I dislike the location of it even more. Thinking of BU's campus, such as it is, the East Campus has a heavy Back Bay influence driven by the many brownstones still remaining from Kenmore and stretching out up Bay State Road, Comm Ave, and Beacon St up through South Campus (Audobon Circle). Due to this influence buildings like Myles, Questrom, Metcalf, Photonics Research Building, graduate dorms, School for Education and School for Public Health buildings all fit, right up to the Castle. Yes there are a few outliers like Kilichand and Morse Auditorium but that's not a problem except for Warren Towers which are awful.

Central Campus is where this building belongs. Tallest building and most distinctive right in the center of campus. Here after the 30's era faux gothic look of CAS and Theology School is where you get the more modern architecture including some boring ones (library/GSU) that could use a better focal point. If I had my way they'd slap this in the parking lot by the Pike across the street from the GSU and cover up that section of the Pike to make a better connection to South Campus (not with the building but with some open space). If they did that I'd even put up with the ugly design!!!

 

[DZH22]

From street level, this one needs a lot of work. Regarding the tower itself, I don't find it nearly as bad as many of you. From most angles the base won't really show up at all and it will just be the tower seen behind other buildings. It's kind of neat, quite weird and quite large, but overall it's nothing more than a blip. It stands out in its location, sure, but it won't even be among the 75 tallest buildings in the city! At worst, it will still just be an oddity, like oh that doesn't quite fit but it's just BU so who really cares. It's still going to be better than the Warren Towers and it will probably be built with high quality materials.

 

[jass]

How can anyone look at this and not think "holy shit thats a big parking garage"

 

[Rover]

How can anyone look at this and not think "holy shit thats a big parking garage"

Yup. I can live with the trying-too-hard-to-be-edgy tower but that base has got to go.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

How can anyone look at this and not think "holy shit thats a big parking garage"

Every college building in Boston is a parking garage for kids.

 

[odurandina]

Reminds me of our Humanities Undergrad brutalist library at UCSD.

Not the Geisel but the other deed of horror on the south side of campus circa 1968.

Ours is even ugliaar.

 

[bdurden]

How can anyone look at this and not think "holy shit thats a big parking garage"

I really don’t think it’s going to resemble a parking garage at all. If you look at the closer up renderings, it’s clear that the base is a mix of glass, wood panels, and a brise soleil.

 

[jass]

I really don’t think it’s going to resemble a parking garage at all. If you look at the closer up renderings, it’s clear that the base is a mix of glass, wood panels, and a brise soleil.

So like the new seaport "transportation center"?

 

[cadetcarl]

Do folks like the diagonal slats covering the windows or prefer unimpeded windows?

Personally, it's the one thing about the ISEC at Northeastern (99% of which I LOVE) that I can't stand and think it "fortresses" a building. But I'd like to know if people actually prefer that to direct "windowing".

I like it, visually and because it will reduce heat gain in a way that glass-only couldn't. If they orient and space these right they could save a bundle on operable shading inside.

Gotta disagree about ISEC; I think without the slinky-coil fins you're left with the boring curved walls underneath.

In general I'm a fan of fins because they add depth, materiality, color and performance to facades which would otherwise feel sort of naked.

 

[TomOfBoston]

I really don’t think it’s going to resemble a parking garage at all. If you look at the closer up renderings, it’s clear that the base is a mix of glass, wood panels, and a brise soleil.

Wood panels?? They ought to age nicely in Boston weather.