Cambridge Infill and Small Developments

Right next to (like ~10 feet) the storrow ramps spaghetti, behind (downstream) Science Park. Sort of where the skate park is supposed to be and that new pedestrian bridge that looks like a roller coaster. Duck boat ramp. Northpoint Park.



Or after typing all that... google maps.
 
I never meant to be the EF building champion, but I was googling around and found this. If you just remind yourself it is Swedish, then the boring-as-hell aesthetic plus quality materials and one big sculptural flourish makes some sense. Doesn't make it look like it belongs in Boston, but it means the clashing elements of the design are neither accidental nor born of lazyness.
 
So much pretension.... "Look at me build a boring box then deconstruct it before your very eyes! Damn I'm clever."
 
As an aside. I was hanging around the site close to a year ago and the waterfall element was in the same state of incomplete. Does anyone know what the heck is going on with that? To have any element of a building sit for close to a year without any progress is a sign that something is going wrong with that portion of the building. Is this a Berkeley Tower like issue with the installer? Did they not pass their performance mock up tests?
Click to expand...
The structure for the "waterfall" is pretty recent. It was just a gash before.
 
Yes, looking back in time (I love how you can see buildings appear across the pages of these threads!) it looks like the main work--waterfall aside--was finished in mid-September. See page 88, post 1744 by Downburst. I just assumed they (wisely) decided to hold off on the complex waterfall elements until the spring. It has progressed aggressively since the start of April.
 
I can understand why people are upset with this building, but think of this as Fan Pier 5 years earlier. This building is analogous to 1 Marina. Very similar discussion and comments about that one. But then a bunch of other buildings started to surround it. It didn't look so offensive after that. As Northpoint starts to evolve, you won't notice the EF building as much.
 
^^^
While this is true for North Point development in general, I don't think it's applicable to this particular building as it is fronting public park. The only potential dev lot is one across Education Street.
 
type001 said:
I can understand why people are upset with this building, but think of this as Fan Pier 5 years earlier. This building is analogous to 1 Marina. Very similar discussion and comments about that one. But then a bunch of other buildings started to surround it. It didn't look so offensive after that. As Northpoint starts to evolve, you won't notice the EF building as much.
Click to expand...

1) I fully agree. Every mistake looks less offensive when covered up.

2) I don't share your optimism on the ability to cover this up in the same way 1 Marina was. 1 Marina was not built right next to an elevated highway that acts as an auditorium for showcasing its longest (and least interesting) side.

Look, as a stand-alone building in a suburb, it is an excellent edifice. The materials look great and the Swedish minimalism (ex of the waterfall) is a good look. However, as an urban fabric for "The Athens of America", this does not compute. When NorthPoint was originally being conceived did anyone here thiink "I hope they make it a truly top quality suburban office park"?

Maybe I'm asking too much, but after seeing the ongoing development Seaport and NorthPoint, we're talking prime property in Boston/Cambridge - - not Davenport, Iowa.
 
cca said:
See my previous posts about this ... but ...


- The waterfall is, without even being completed, a terrible waste of resources. The amount of technical complexity to making this happen is huge, and there has never been an image nor what is there in reality today that makes me think that any of that value is going to be realized. If they wanted a chance at making that moment a real moment it needed to be on the highway side of the building where someone driving by can get a sense of scale and movement of the faceted glass.


cca
Click to expand...

I'm not an architect but I can see how the waterfall was a good idea and will look good on this side of the building. It wraps around towards the river and will give this box something that actually catches the eye. I think workers on lunch breaks, kids at the skate-park (if it ever gets built) and tourists going on the duck-boats should get to see the interesting side of the building anyway as apposed to people sitting in traffic on the highway
I'm not disagreeing with you that it seems like an unnecessary expensive addition but I don't doubt this will look pretty cool at night once its finished
 
shmessy said:
1) I fully agree. Every mistake looks less offensive when covered up.

2) I don't share your optimism on the ability to cover this up in the same way 1 Marina was. 1 Marina was not built right next to an elevated highway that acts as an auditorium for showcasing its longest (and least interesting) side.

Look, as a stand-alone building in a suburb, it is an excellent edifice. The materials look great and the Swedish minimalism (ex of the waterfall) is a good look. However, as an urban fabric for "The Athens of America", this does not compute. When NorthPoint was originally being conceived did anyone here thiink "I hope they make it a truly top quality suburban office park"?

Maybe I'm asking too much, but after seeing the ongoing development Seaport and NorthPoint, we're talking prime property in Boston/Cambridge - - not Davenport, Iowa.
Click to expand...

I prefer that the waterfall side of the building is on the west side. It would be spoiled if it was right next to ramps and an elevated highway. I'm on the 93 route every day, and I think that the fact that there is mere density popping up in the entire NP area is great.

And to your point about Athens/Iowa/etc, this is an area surrounded by commuter lines, subway, elevated ramps, and Boston's Finest Sand. The thing that works best here are large footprint buildings. Your argument works better against the Seaport but not so much here.
 
cca said:
As an aside. I was hanging around the site close to a year ago and the waterfall element was in the same state of incomplete. Does anyone know what the heck is going on with that? To have any element of a building sit for close to a year without any progress is a sign that something is going wrong with that portion of the building. Is this a Berkeley Tower like issue with the installer? Did they not pass their performance mock up tests?

Inquiring minds what to know.

cca
Click to expand...

The glazing was being supplied by an Irish company that specializes in this kind of non-traditional curtainwall. They were also supplying the glass for the Berkeley Dorm and the UMass Boston building (student center??). That supplier went out of business, throwing all three projects off schedule.
 
Yup.

Thanks.

Cca

Ps. I believe that would be the new Science Center at UMB - it has the same silly ... uh ... I mean complicated fractured facade moment at the intersection of the ell.
 
^Yes. Science Center.
Wonder if any of the contractors had a bond from the supplier or if they're eating that cost themselves.
 
I thought we had a specific EF thread? From my ride yesterday, this thing is very nice in person:
14169056294_f1a41b8419_h.jpg


From Northpoint to the moon:
14166345712_9e9b599c9a_h.jpg
 
From the alewife linear path, on a site near Fawcett. They look like single family homes.

umvaaq6.jpg


uBctHGU.jpg


2VYT1f3.jpg


Major waste of space.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top