Canopy by Hilton (née Haymarket Hotel) | Blackstone St | Parcel 9 | Greenway

[timsox6]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

This has gone through so many different looks over the years that comparing this to previous proposals for the site gets confusing. I've seen better proposals here and I've seen worse.

This particular iteration is much more contextual and fits in with the neighborhood. Previous proposals-- generally in the range of 8–12 stories-- were too tall for the Historical Commission's approval, and, now that I see it at 6 stories, that makes sense to me. Build taller stuff elsewhere; here, on the Blackstone Block, build this. By the renders, however, this one is going to depend a lot on the materials used. Better be high quality glass and real masonry or at least something that looks as real as possible.

And I hope they light up that sign.

 

[Shepard]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

So this is going to be emblazoned with a sign saying BLACKSTONE BLOCK ...? Yes I know it's historical. But is that the new thing? Everything now will get designated as a this-or-that block with an oversized billboard?

Other than that grumpy non-gripe, good proposal.

 

[odurandina]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

it does look great.

why not have part feature a pencil/boutique mid-rise going 80-90m?

 

[JumboBuc]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

it does look great.

why not have part feature a pencil/boutique mid-rise going 80-90m?

Dude, you really gotta get your height fetish under control. Maybe you should see a therapist or something...

I was wondering how long it would be before someone proposed a tower here facetiously, as a joke, like the crane base comments in the One Dalton thread. But no, it looks like you're proposing it seriously.

There are SO many reasons why this is not the site for a tower.

 

[stick n move]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

http://northendwaterfront.com/2016/04/haymarket-h/

I quoted you so we could have all of them in the same spot.

Pulled from the pdf.

They look to be more along the lines of massing models with color than final. Im sure updated renders will come showing the materials much better and we should wait until then to pass judgement. I base this on the rest of the buildings being grey blobs and the people are just silhouettes. Usually final renders have real people and the skyline in full detail. That being said the massing looks great and I expect that this will be a quality addition.

 

[tangent]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

So this is going to be emblazoned with a sign saying BLACKSTONE BLOCK ...? Yes I know it's historical. But is that the new thing? Everything now will get designated as a this-or-that block with an oversized billboard?

Other than that grumpy non-gripe, good proposal.

Taken with the giant Boston sign proposed for government center plaza, the answer seems to be yes someone has a giant sign fetish.

 

[bolehboleh]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

Good. No more talk. Build it.

 

[FK4]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

Good. No more talk. Built it.

Looks good but they need to change the color and maybe the font as well of the lit sign... looks too similar to Union Oyster House... just appears strange with both lined up like that.

 

[stick n move]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

Remember this is what we got for lovejoy wharf and it is turning out to be one of the best new facades we've had in a long time.

 

[stellarfun]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

The previous iteration was disrespectful -- in design, materials, and palette -- to the setting, and was more like a specimen building that could have been erected anywhere.

As for the setting,

The Blackstone Block Historic District encompasses what was once a waterfront business area in Boston, Massachusetts. Due to the infill of land it is now slightly inland from the waterfront. The district is bounded by Union, Hanover, Blackstone, and North Streets, not far from Quincy Market and Faneuil Hall. It includes the Union Oyster House, a National Historic Landmark building erected in the 1710s, and a collection of commercial buildings dating from the late 18th and 19th centuries. It also includes the c. 1770s Ebenezer Hancock House (10 Marshall Street), a Federal-style wood-frame house that is the only building left in the city which was known to be owned by John Hancock.

from Wiki

 

[CSTH]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

I quoted you so we could have all of them in the same spot.

Pulled from the pdf.

Wow, the windows are actually in a grid - i.e. not random like so many things we've seen recently. That alone is enough for this to get a thumbs up from me...

 

[Brad Plaid]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

The Massachusetts Historical Commission is throwing a fit about the height in relation to the Blackstone Block & Faneuil Hall: http://northendwaterfront.com/2015/...el-9-design-as-too-high-for-blackstone-block/

Interestingly the Waterfront Development Council actually approved the project 7-1: http://northendwaterfront.com/2014/11/haymarket-hotel-updates-building-plan-at-parcel-9-video/

Also in that article are new renders:

The previous proposal. Interesting and exciting, a market/hotel that looks fun to visit/stay in. The current proposal is something I would usually support as contemporary and well designed but in the name of Architectural Correctness and as a knee-jerk response to claims of non-existent microaggressions against the Blackstone Block it's a big disappointment. The score: Provincialism-1 Forward Lookingness-0

 

[DZH22]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

The previous proposal.....

It looks like it's 90% out of the 60's, with the "forward looking" part being the random walls of glass that seems to be all the rage nowadays. Also, it's the same lovely color as Waterside Place and the Troy Residences, 2 of the worst buildings I have ever seen and total blights on the Boston landscape. Thanks for posting this so we can see just how big of a bullet we dodged here.

The new one may or may not disappoint. It really comes down to the materials.

 

[Tombstoner]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

Wow, the windows are actually in a grid - i.e. not random like so many things we've seen recently. That alone is enough for this to get a thumbs up from me...

Perfectly okay, but maybe a bit too stark/minimalist?

 

[cjbski]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

This new batch of renders looks amazing. ANYTHING is better than what's there now. But this set looks really great. Build it yesterday!

 

[commuter guy]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

Newest iteration looks fine to me and overall an improvement IMO. Regarding the older proposal which was taller - I can appreciate the fear of overwhelming the historic blackstone block buildings. However, on the other hand, the gash on the other side of the parcel 9, which we affectionately call the greenway, needs larger taller buildings to produce an appropriate scale to offset the abundant undefined open space in this part of town. For example, although the design of One Canal has been criticized on this forum, I like it for the fact it is massive enough to somewhat fill in the edge of the greenway.

 

[617]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

What about behind that? The haymarket pizza building and those shantys? That is PRIME real estate and it looks like a favela

 

[Beton Brut]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

There's nothing wrong with the new iteration of this project. It's forthrightly modern, thoughtfully contextual, and scaled to meet its "ancient" neighbors in the Blackstone Block. To my weary eyes, this is an urban application of the tenets of Organic Architecture -- removed from the Wrightian ideal of prairies, woods, and deserts, the latest scheme appropriates the surrounding (urban) landscape with praiseworthy results.

The earlier scheme called to mind a low-rent rehash of Herzog & de Meuron playing with Tropical Modernism. The fenestration - all of it - is as trendy as it is silly. The white color-palate is completely inappropriate for gritty urban New England. A darker rain-screen treatment (crimson or dark gray) with the canopy in a bright color would have been an improvement.

 

[whighlander]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

This new batch of renders looks amazing. ANYTHING is better than what's there now. But this set looks really great. Build it yesterday!

CJBski -- the proposal says 2017 to start construction -- so since there is nothing to demolish and what should be a simple foundation -- we might see this finished [at least on the outside] by the end of 2017

Now what is needed is a 10 to 20 m tall Sundial situated on the nearby Ramp Parcel with appropriate nighttime associations with the nocturnal visible universe

 

[DZH22]

Re: Parcel 9 - The Greenway

Now what is needed is a 10 to 20 m tall Sundial situated on the nearby Ramp Parcel with appropriate nighttime associations with the nocturnal visible universe

The ramp parcel should be built over, with appropriate access for cars/trucks into the tunnel, as well as pedestrians crossing the greenway. It's as bad a parcel as we have downtown.