EXP | 795 Columbus Avenue | Northeastern University

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Foundation coming along nicely

So I've never actually been able to watch the bit of construction that follows this, how are the excavators removed from the basement they're excavating? Like they've got four down there and no ramps back to the surface, do they lift them out by crane? If so I'd love to watch that
 
HelloBostonHi said:
So I've never actually been able to watch the bit of construction that follows this, how are the excavators removed from the basement they're excavating? Like they've got four down there and no ramps back to the surface, do they lift them out by crane? If so I'd love to watch that
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I've watched on a couple other projects that excavators are lifted out by crane. Sometimes you see a ramp, especially at bigger sites (NY World Trade Center reconstruction project comes to mind).
 
shmessy said:
To paraphrase the Oldsmobile commercial - It certainly isn’t our parents’ Columbus Avenue!
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I do think it's worth noting that going up top to the parking garage yesterday that the pedestrian activity on Columbus just seemed more active than in year's past. I think the LightView dorm certainly helped with that, all this NEU corridor of Columbus really needs is some commercial developments. I know there's an open space in the lobby of LightView available for a business to lease out, maybe that'll be utilized in the near future to really round out this side of the campus.
 
Columbus Avenue is seriously becoming a very dynamic, science heavy area with these two large headquarters buldings. From the looks of the plans, the EXP won't be as drop-dead stunning an interior lobby as the ISEC, but there looks to be several thousands of engineering/science students,professors and professonals soon to be flooding the zone there and next door soon. The future is bright.
 
Zash said:
I do think it's worth noting that going up top to the parking garage yesterday that the pedestrian activity on Columbus just seemed more active than in year's past. I think the LightView dorm certainly helped with that, all this NEU corridor of Columbus really needs is some commercial developments. I know there's an open space in the lobby of LightView available for a business to lease out, maybe that'll be utilized in the near future to really round out this side of the campus.
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During the spring/summer times Columbus ave is booming with pedestrian activity. Mostly due to lightview and also the park northeastern redeveloped back in 2018. I Can't wait to see how this area changes with EXP and the 840 Columbus Ave development.

At best you can only really put a coffee shop or sandwich shop in that open lobby in lightview. What Columbus ave needs are some major commercial developments.

Makes me wish that Tremont crossing didn't fail. I hope something gets built there soon.
 
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shmessy said:
Columbus Avenue is seriously becoming a very dynamic, science heavy area with these two large headquarters buldings. From the looks of the plans, the EXP won't be as drop-dead stunning an interior lobby as the ISEC, but there looks to be several thousands of engineering/science students,professors and professonals soon to be flooding the zone there and next door soon. The future is bright.
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Good! those fancy entrances waste a ridiculous amount of space and add little value (per Stewart Brand); give me labs
 
curcuas said:
Good! those fancy entrances waste a ridiculous amount of space and add little value (per Stewart Brand); give me labs
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Have you ever physically walked through the ISEC?? It is a spiritual experience. Worth it for the recruiting alone. Northeastern made a great move with that and will reap dividends from it for years.
 
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The bridge over the tracks alone is a huge improvement as well. The more connections made between parts of the city divided by infrastructure the better the pedestrian experience. I hope we can get many more, next up being the ped bridge over the north station tracks finally connecting the esplanade to the north end waterfront.
 
shmessy said:
Have you ever physically walked through the ISEC?? It is a spiritual experience. Worth it for the recruiting alone. Northeastern made a great move with that and will reap dividends from it for years.
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I'm pretty sure the admissions tours now end in the ISEC lobby as well ever since the pedestrian bridge opened. Definitely a perfect button for the tour to leave a lasting impression in students' minds before they leave campus for the day. I think that effect on recruiting will be even more pronounced when tour groups walk across the bridge, in between the two giant buildings in EXP and ISEC, and then promptly into the ISEC lobby.

Definitely an upgrade over finishing the tour in the West Village Quad as I think they used to. Green space is nice and all, but every college (sans BU of course lol) has some form of that.
 
Zash said:
I'm pretty sure the admissions tours now end in the ISEC lobby as well ever since the pedestrian bridge opened. Definitely a perfect button for the tour to leave a lasting impression in students' minds before they leave campus for the day. I think that effect on recruiting will be even more pronounced when tour groups walk across the bridge, in between the two giant buildings in EXP and ISEC, and then promptly into the ISEC lobby.

Definitely an upgrade over finishing the tour in the West Village Quad as I think they used to. Green space is nice and all, but every college (sans BU of course lol) has some form of that.
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I think the ISEC was necessary for Northeastern as a statement of "We've Arrived". The ISEC leaves an indelible impresson. Anyone who walks through that dynamic atrium beehive on a school/work day comes away believing the future is full of possibilities. It's almost a religious experience - - and I have ZERO connection to that school.

The fact that NU is extremely hard to get into these days came as a shock to me, having lived in Boston from 1965-1987. I know the old alumna of the school (as evidenced in a previous post above) readily attest that it wasn't quite the elite institution it is today, but the Co-op system was a huge, cutting edge success. And yes, today it is climbing that elite ladder. Living down here in the DC suburbs we know a family with a genius-level robotics engineering son who recently narrowed his 10 top university choices down to Cornell, Carnegie Mellon and Northeastern. It then was narrowed to CM and NU, before a very close decision on Carnegie Mellon. I was utterly amazed.
 
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That makes sense if you lack any spaces that convey awe on campus in that way. I've attended a couple universities that have built gorgeous glass staircases and most of the time they drive scientists nuts by breaking up lab spaces and conference rooms and creating a lot of dead space. These types of buildings frequently get way "over-planned"....
 
curcuas said:
That makes sense if you lack any spaces that convey awe on campus in that way. I've attended a couple universities that have built gorgeous glass staircases and most of the time they drive scientists nuts by breaking up lab spaces and conference rooms and creating a lot of dead space. These types of buildings frequently get way "over-planned"....
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I think it would be helpful to actually physically visit the ISEC. I recommend it. It can only better help understanding. It’s not a mere “glass staircase”.

And the EXP will complement it very well as an almost 100% workspace without the statement area.

Hundreds of universities all over the world would love to achive the same rise in rankings that Northeastern-has over the past two decades. I don’t think NU is making too many huge miscalculations. My alma mater, Brandeis, simply rested on its laurels and atrophied. So, I am watching what has happened at NU with more than a small measure of rueful admiration. The future belongs to those who want to grasp it. There's an analogy in all that to the NIMBY's.

What Northeastern has created in a section of the city that many who didn’t already live in would never dare go near 4 decades ago is an absolute miracle.
 
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Zash said:
I'm pretty sure the admissions tours now end in the ISEC lobby as well ever since the pedestrian bridge opened. Definitely a perfect button for the tour to leave a lasting impression in students' minds before they leave campus for the day. I think that effect on recruiting will be even more pronounced when tour groups walk across the bridge, in between the two giant buildings in EXP and ISEC, and then promptly into the ISEC lobby.

Definitely an upgrade over finishing the tour in the West Village Quad as I think they used to. Green space is nice and all, but every college (sans BU of course lol) has some form of that.
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To be fair, I don’t think anyone considers attending BU for green space even with at least a very decent nice green space area in central campus (the BU beach) as well as other well appointed student areas where students get together — although, there is a ton of green space within a quarter mile or less of BU that is the extension of the campus for those students when it comes to the Charles River (both sides of it).

MIT is also decidedly in lack of that “green quad” that maybe some students are looking for.
Perhaps it’s good they’ll have NEU as an option if the deciding factor is flowers and grassy knolls between 50s era quads.
 
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