City Hall Discussion - Redevelopment - Preservation - Relocation

City Hall meets suburban Orlando glass-enclosed pool. Gross.

I've always thought glass would be the perfect way to improve the ground level interaction of the building while retaining the strengths of the original structure, but not like this. Not like this at all. Why on earth does it need to go so high?
 
Adding crappy 80s architecture on top of crappy 60s architecture solves nothing.
 
would look nicer if we just dumped huge tubs of tar from a helicopter and blew a giant bag of feathers onto to the building
 
0726Bartnick-color2.jpg


0726Bartnick-color1.jpg


It's Memphis Group without the color. Awful.
 
aHigherBoston78 said:
"Sad to think of City hall coming under the wrecking ball. Evil or Very Mad"

Are you serious? Have you ever been to another major city? City Hall is a disgusting, embarrassing eyesore that has no redeeming qualities whatsoever. It's even worse inside. Look at San Francisco's city hall:
san-francisco-city-hall-holiday.jpg

city_hall_large.jpg


London:
City%20Hall%20LondonL.jpg


Boston:
300px-Bostoncityhall.jpg


Enough said. Raze the place.
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I know this is an old post, but it still is relevant, can't we get rid of the current city hall and then just move back to the old city hall building?
 
those renderings look awful.
I'm not an architect but I like the Idea of using glass to change the feel of the building. I just think that they should avoid adding more angles with the glass. Look how the pyramid in the Louvre or the dome of the Reichstag work. Simple Clean lines that still let you see the concrete angles behind. I actually think a huge glass pyramid covering it might look cool. You could turn the roof into a glass covered garden and have the whole thing assessable all year round. Even a glass box that complements the new t station might look good. Probably a daft idea but it wouldn't look worse than those renderings.
 
^^^ Comparing Boston with San Francisco is almost as silly as comparing Boston with New York.
 
^^^ Comparing Boston with San Francisco is almost as silly as comparing Boston with New York.[/QUOTE]

There was no comparison to San Francisco. We have Old City Hall which is a HELL OF A LOT BETTER than the monstrosity that we currently call our *gag* City....nope, can't finish it. I just can't. The photo below is our Old City Hall.

old-city-hall-view-from.jpg
 
It will even be better when the glass begins to leak/gets foggy/develops water stains/mold appears. Plus the atmosphere should get quite better too when birds get stuck in there/roost. In addition, it should make for quite a warm retreat in the summer as well!
 
eh SF's city hall is pretty dull and cookie cutter. And the plaza around it basically a homeless encampment. I'd rather have something unique than classically safe. Not to say I'd want this Boston version of unique. But at least it's a talking point.

Philly's hall, on the other hand, is both an awesome building and well situated.
 
pel_north said:
I know this is an old post, but it still is relevant, can't we get rid of the current city hall and then just move back to the old city hall building?
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LOL Old City Hall might fit one city department
 
sm89 said:
LOL Old City Hall might fit one city department
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I think that it would be cool to move the mayor or city council in there during the process of demolishing and rebuilding city hall.

Also any new City Hall should take architectural inspiration from it as well.
 
JeffDowntown said:
But if they were fumigating it would be opaque yet functional. This is neither.
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As the late Joe Early said of the House Banking Scandal -- "Dey RAAN LAAAK RAAATS" -- that what happens when you fumigate a place full of demikrapts

But more apropos to the suggestion -- the glass is all in the wrong places

Leave the brutalist nonsense at ground level for the purists -- do to city hall what was done to the old Federal Reserve -- now the Langham Hotel -- put a functional glass tent on top

Nice restaurant with a seasonal outdoor dining terrace to beat nearly all the others

Give the public a new vantage point to see, Quincy Market, the Greenway, the Harbor, Logan, the Walk to the Sea, etc -- some nice exhibits on the history of filling the Harbor and making the land of Boston

24X7 access with a Pompidous Centre-like external glass escalator on the side of the brick and concrete

Further benefit is the dead interior courtyard could become a really nice interior reception space
 
Bubbybu said:
eh SF's city hall is pretty dull and cookie cutter. And the plaza around it basically a homeless encampment. I'd rather have something unique than classically safe. Not to say I'd want this Boston version of unique. But at least it's a talking point.

Philly's hall, on the other hand, is both an awesome building and well situated.
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Dull and cookie cutter...can you please elaborate? This is an honest question as I can not imagine how anyone can find SF city hall dull and cookie cutter. That's like saying Buffalo's city hall is dull and cookie cutter because it looks like every other art deco tower.
 
Re: City Hall Plaza

MBTAddict said:
http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/...ed-makeover/N9faEcKrpEtJNg3JO6ZgTL/story.html



Some renderings of the idea here: http://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/...EtJNg3JO6ZgTL/picture.html?p1=Article_Gallery
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This is a joke? Right!!!!! The Globe is pulling our communal leg?

If my memory serves me, they held an open competition for designs to enhance City Hall back around 2006. What every happened to them. They all were much better than this mess.

However, I do like some of whighlanders ideas as a starting point.

They could also clean the "D" thing!!!!!
 
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This is so fucking bad, I can't even. I literally can't even. This is a disgrace to the profession of architecture.

Paging Bruner/Cott. Paging ARC. Please pick up the white courtesy telephone.
 
sm89 said:
LOL Old City Hall might fit one city department
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That's fine, actually. Use City Hall as the Mayor's office, Council chamber, and ceremonial space, and move other offices into non-descript buildings, perhaps high-rises, elsewhere in the city. It's just office space - no need to make every municipal department reside in a statement building.

It's not like the Commonwealth tries to fit every one of its agencies and departments into the State House.

Also, can't post without adding to the chorus of vomit noises. BLEEEEAAACH
 
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