Bulfinch Triangle Infill & Small Projects

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Cities build. This will be beautiful from many parts of Town. But when people are within the sight range perceiving its fat sides, they will behold its might. Of all the projects in the West End, this one will stir ire. People will write about the destruction in a similar way they interpret the Seaport. All this glass you know.

The West End was so poorly developed, so empty, so squat, sealed off and unwarming for so long... people who've been away a few years, remembering the huge gaping hole in the sky between Beacon Hill and the Waterfront--will be concussed after this thing slams in--along with its curved wall stretching past 600'. People watching the transformation can scarcely believe it.

Perhaps by then, the planning for one of the horror monoliths will be underway. In any case,

The transformation is inspiriting.
 
when it's VEd this will be another glass box with no curves.
 
I like the proposal in the above rendering; a bit bold, a bit Dubai-ish, but Boston needs to put it's toe in the water once in awhile. I remember the 1960's vast urban renewal projects that were incredibly bold, a bit too much in retrospect, but at least they were reaching beyond for something. I see that type of vision again in this proposal, but this time on a suitable scale.
 
^I'd call that the west end. This should help a little. The edges are improving some.
 
Brad Plaid said:
This is turning out quite nicely, a street wall restored and a useless plaza is now history. One of my favorite buildings, simple and modest but still a strong presence.
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The 1970's was the decade of discos and plazas.
 
This wave of lobby/retail frontage renovations is a real mixed bag. I get the need to modernize, but so often the result is the equivalent of wearing a flashy pair of shoes to distract from (but ironically highlight) a crappy outfit.
 
HarvardP said:
This wave of lobby/retail frontage renovations is a real mixed bag. I get the need to modernize, but so often the result is the equivalent of wearing a flashy pair of shoes to distract from (but ironically highlight) a crappy outfit.
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Agreed, and in this case, I don't think this really does much other than essentially enclose the plaza and add square footage to the lobby level. I don't think we're getting retail, and I'd call it a marginal addition to the urban environment here. In fairness, it's not all 50 Staniford's fault. The rest of the street (both sides) is trash from a pedestrian scale standpoint.
 
A larger lobby can get retail added later as we've seen multiple times downtown recently. A coffee shop or the like here could be a game changer.

Building is full of medical offices, FWIW
 
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