Fenway Infill and Small Developments

*sigh* Economics aside, they couldn't have sprung for real brick here? Or at least better precast?
 
The Commonwealth Hotel expansion looks like an engorged version of the eponymous home of The Boxcar Children, only made with cheaper materials.

Seriously, is the hotel teetering on the brink of bankruptcy? That's one of the ugliest, cheapest structures I've ever seen. It'd be contextually appropriate (though still highly unfortunate) for a warehouse in a low-density area of Chelsea or Everett.

Given where it actually is, it's just criminal.
 
yeah, i was on the pike for the first time in months and was struck by how ugly it is... it looks like something off 128.
 
FK4 said:
yeah, i was on the pike for the first time in months and was struck by how ugly it is... it looks like something off 128.
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FK -- you answered your own question -- not too many people are going to be walking up close and personal admiring the facade -- wo why not spend the money on the inside
 
Downburst said:
*sigh* Economics aside, they couldn't have sprung for real brick here? Or at least better precast?
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I live next door to this building. They are laying real brick as far as I can tell, not precast panels. I think it's just particularly ugly. I can photo the stacks of bricks they're using, if you're curious. There's several stacks of them in the alley.
 
curcuas said:
I live next door to this building. They are laying real brick as far as I can tell, not precast panels. I think it's just particularly ugly. I can photo the stacks of bricks they're using, if you're curious. There's several stacks of them in the alley.
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Huh, good to know. Perhaps they'll lay real brick out front? I feel confident that the back is precast due to the seams you can see in the photograph.
 
Downbust, the brick on the Sepia building at the Ink Block has some pretty big seams and they are not precast panels.
 
Those are expansion joints. They are critical to preventing cracking & other structural failure.

masonry-part-3-32-728.jpg


Without expansion & control joints at regular intervals, you encounter thermal expansion cracking:

JCCBricks033DF07-06-07es.jpg


brickwork-crack.jpg
 
BostonDrew said:
Downbust, the brick on the Sepia building at the Ink Block has some pretty big seams and they are not precast panels.
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EDUCATION! Thank you Drew and data, I had no idea. I'd learned to associate those seems with precast.
 
Wow, Hotel Commonwealth was really just going for a cheap expansion, weren't they?... Not like people pay out the nose to be in a very pretty building on the outside; they can charge premium room rates simply based on location, but these rooms will probably be fitted for the hotel's 4-star rating. It won't matter much that the guests can't see how ugly their rooms facing the Pike look.
 
No one will care. A saltine cracker tastes like a ritz if you are starving. (Murphy)

cca
 
DigitalSciGuy said:
Wow, Hotel Commonwealth was really just going for a cheap expansion, weren't they?... Not like people pay out the nose to be in a very pretty building on the outside; they can charge premium room rates simply based on location, but these rooms will probably be fitted for the hotel's 4-star rating. It won't matter much that the guests can't see how ugly their rooms facing the Pike look.
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Digital -- it will all be down to how well the sound proofing does

If you expect to sell those rooms at a premium there better be a lot of foam or fiberglass in the walls and a thick layer of sheetrock on the inside -- or perhaps they could install some active cancellation such as Bose
 
Does anyone have a link to files for the final traffic plans for the Boylston-Brookline Ave-R'way-F'way-Park Drive intersection? I cannot for the life of me find anything; the Army Corps site (at least what I can find) is useless and just shows temporary traffic patterns.

Currently, they are building a new curb for a single travel lane of the Riverway headed directly at the Landmark Ctr, not sure what this is all about. But I still am not clear what the final product will be - I think the next phase is going to be construction of the arches for the new riverbed.
 
FK4 said:
Does anyone have a link to files for the final traffic plans for the Boylston-Brookline Ave-R'way-F'way-Park Drive intersection? I cannot for the life of me find anything; the Army Corps site (at least what I can find) is useless and just shows temporary traffic patterns.

Currently, they are building a new curb for a single travel lane of the Riverway headed directly at the Landmark Ctr, not sure what this is all about. But I still am not clear what the final product will be - I think the next phase is going to be construction of the arches for the new riverbed.
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Article in today's Globe on how the Corps is finishing up on the Muddy River.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/20...on-repaired/wnMj17akCEhxd6s3NVBYxO/story.html
 
^ I know, but what I'm looking for are the files detailing the final traffic patterns. There is nothing online that I can find that is comprehensive, just updates, yet the real files must be out there somewhere.
 
FK4 said:
^ I know, but what I'm looking for are the files detailing the final traffic patterns. There is nothing online that I can find that is comprehensive, just updates, yet the real files must be out there somewhere.
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This PowerPoint from 2011 has some slides showing the end condition. Having been out there last week, it appears that this is what they're aiming for. I believe they moved onto Stage 2C within the last week or two.

http://www.nae.usace.army.mil/Portals/74/docs/Topics/MuddyRiver/MuddyRiverVHB3Nov11.pdf
 
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