City Hall Plaza Revamp | Government Center

Re: City Hall Plaza Polar Bar / City Bistro

novitiate said:
Since the logic at hand implies that there is no such thing as aesthetic 'goodness' and 'badness', just age, I suggest we demolish City Hall but agree to permanently preserve an office building of the same vintage on Route 128.
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That's not really the argument being made though.

Aesthetic tastes tend to cycle and lots of wonderful buildings get razed when their style is at their nadir (the Penn Station example). Brutalism, though never overly popular, is currently at that stage. We should learn from past mistakes and be careful with examples that are often hailed as being among the top of the form.

Wikipedia said:
While assessment of the building's architecture has followed the vagaries of architectural style, the building was acclaimed by some architects such as the American Institute of Architects, and was also praised by publications including The New York Times and The Boston Globe, among others; it was awarded three stars by the Michelin Green Guide, among others.

Representative of its acclaim was the opinion of New York Times critic Ada Louise Huxtable, who wrote, "What has been gained is a notable achievement in the creation and control of urban space, and in the uses of monumentality and humanity in the best pattern of great city building. Old and New Boston are joined through an act of urban design that relates directly to the quality of the city and its life."

Architect, educator, and writer Donlyn Lyndon wrote in The Boston Globe that "Boston City Hall carries an authority that results from the clarity, articulation, and intensity of imagination with which it has been formed." Architectural historian Douglass Shand-Tucci, author of Built in Boston: City and Suburb, 1800–2000, called City Hall "one of America's foremost landmarks" and "arguably the great building of twentieth-century Boston."

Stylistically, City Hall is considered by a few one of the leading examples of what has been called Brutalist architecture. It is listed among the "Greatest Buildings" by Great Buildings Online, an affiliate of Architecture Week.[7] Additionally, in a 1976 Bicentennial poll of historians and architects regarding America's greatest buildings, sponsored by the American Institute of Architects, Boston City Hall received the sixth most mentions.
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Re: City Hall Plaza Polar Bar / City Bistro

I think where the architecture has most clearly failed is in the center courtyard which has pretty much been abandoned as far as I can tell. I don't believe that was the intent unless it was a commentary on the stark hollowness and soullessness of government. Seriously. It is too narrow to let in enough natural light to be inviting or grow things. Maybe if it were covered and artificially lit.
 
Re: City Hall Plaza Polar Bar / City Bistro

tangent said:
I think where the architecture has most clearly failed is in the center courtyard which has pretty much been abandoned as far as I can tell. I don't believe that was the intent unless it was a commentary on the stark hollowness and soullessness of government. Seriously. It is too narrow to let in enough natural light to be inviting or grow things. Maybe if it were covered and artificially lit.
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The courtyard was closed when they eliminated the multiple uncontrolled access points into City Hall and funneled everyone in the controlled upper & lower entrances & thru metal detectors. City Hall's original design intent was to be incredibly pourous, with plenty of entry points and the courtyard was the central feature. The courtyard has an incredible view of Faneuil Hall too.
 
Re: City Hall Plaza Polar Bar / City Bistro

datadyne007 said:
The courtyard was closed when they eliminated the multiple uncontrolled access points into City Hall and funneled everyone in the controlled upper & lower entrances & thru metal detectors. City Hall's original design intent was to be incredibly pourous, with plenty of entry points and the courtyard was the central feature. The courtyard has an incredible view of Faneuil Hall too.
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Good points. Hard to imagine open access working again though unless they gut the lower levels of all the government offices and just put metal detectors in front of access to the mayor's office and elevators and stairs going upstairs to the city council and administrative offices.

Oh and maybe to make room the globe and herald "city desks" can work out of Starbucks instead of having 7th floor offices overlooking the plaza that I doubt they are actually paying market rate rent for.
 
Re: Government Center Redesign

cjbski said:
Delaware North selected to re-design:

http://www.bostonglobe.com/business...d-come-life/Pn4ibrIHy6yQ8WIcgzJoeP/story.html
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Re: Government Center Redesign

We should start numbering these plans. I assume we are in the hundreds by this point?
 
Re: Government Center Redesign

It's like a bad joke. I want to cry.
 
Re: Government Center Redesign

Clearly, there is no saving of City Hall Plaza. Just bring back Scollay Square, put in a bunch of dense Blackstone Block sized buildings and zone the area for nightclubs and bars.
 
Re: Government Center Redesign

I... I... oh no.
 
Re: Government Center Redesign

I like the 40' "BOSTON" sign. Good for tourists who might not know where they are.
 
Re: Government Center Redesign

Boston is a scenic city compared to other american cities. In lots of spots (pier 4, aquarium parking garage spot) a farris wheel maybe could work to see the water. I cannot think of a worse spot than city hall plaza have a farris wheel. The views are going to be laughably pathetic. Hell even the "boston" sign is pointing away from it.

The only good thing i see is a few more trees


Why is it so hard for them to sell the square, develop it, and have a private developer build a new city hall?
 
Re: Government Center Redesign

If city had asked archBoston to come up with the most lamesauce proposal we could think of to "fix" City Hall Plaza, this is pretty much exactly what we would have submitted.
 
Re: Government Center Redesign

BuilditDenser said:
Why is it so hard for them to sell the square, develop it, and have a private developer build a new city hall?
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Privatizing public, open space is a very, very hard sell politically, no matter how terrible it is in it's current state.
 
Re: City Hall Plaza Polar Bar / City Bistro

This is being discussed over here in: Design a Better Boston > Government Center Redesign
 
Re: City Hall Plaza Polar Bar / City Bistro

We have, like, 5 different City Hall/City Hall Plaza threads. Cleaning them up in on my to do list.
 
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