East Boston Infill and Small Developments

BeeLine said:
Old East Boston Branch Library is being renovated. No signage. Anyone know what the conversion will be?
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Update: spoke to a friend on this tonight. The old Library building remains in the hands of the East Boston Community Development Corp, but their webpage hasn't been updated in quite some time...
 
Beton Brut said:
Indeed. Farce-itecture.
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Lets not call it that ... unfortunately we should just call it normal. Its what the market will bear. Build cheap and thoughtlessly because ... you can. The markets says its ok, and the numbers work out. So ...here we are.

cca
 
Nice looking buildings, but I bet that it'll cost a fortune to stay there!! :eek:
 
cca said:
Lets not call it that ...
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I suppose you're right. Sometimes I drift back to glib marketing writer I tried to be half a lifetime ago.

And I understand that the desperation of speculators to make a fast buck in an overheated market is the real generative force behind this truly weird looking project. There is an awful majesty to it, the corbelled cornice beneath the shipping-container penthouse, a design decision more bizarre and terrifying than anything in David Cronenberg.
 
Beton Brut said:
I suppose you're right. Sometimes I drift back to glib marketing writer I tried to be half a lifetime ago.

And I understand that the desperation of speculators to make a fast buck in an overheated market is the real generative force behind this truly weird looking project. There is an awful majesty to it, the corbelled cornice beneath the shipping-container penthouse, a design decision more bizarre and terrifying than anything in David Cronenberg.
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I agree that this project could have been better, from an archtectual stand point, but I think it turned out quiet nice for what it is. This was developed as a mixed income project by the E. Boston Community Development Corp. Inc. and the City of Boston Dept. of Neighborhood Development. We need much more of this type of infill throughout the neighborhoods. Not beautiful or perfect, but a solid addition to the housing stocks of the city.
https://flic.kr/p/TBdjX5
 
^ This would have been so much better if they had just continued the style/colors/materials of the first three stories up to the top.
 
I wasn't aware that that this was an EBCDC project -- thanks for the added insight, BeeLine. That said, I'm with Poolio -- there's something to be said for simplicity and directness.
 
Totally agree with Poolio, BB. It looks like they are trying to add a 4th floor to an existing building with left over materials from another project.
 
It takes a special kind of anti-talent to conjure something this bad. A CDC mixed use project can use simple materials and a simple design and come out fine. Or it can look like a warty toad, like this.
 
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