Gables Seaport (née Waterside Place 1B) | 505 Congress Street | Seaport

Call John Fish. I believe I see his company's name on the fencing.
 
Beton, what you see as ripples in the panels as poor materials or workmanship, or both, I see as part of the design. Granted, I said if you look closely enough you'll see flaws, but in this case, looking closely at the ripples indicates, to me anyway, that the ripples are not flaws at all but a deliberate decorative design of the panel. I might be wrong, I'm certainly not an expert in construction, but it's just how I see it.

From the photos the panels appear to be "oil canning." This happens when metal panels are hard-fastened to their structure (slotted or flexible attachment is typically preferred). When the sun hits them the material expands and with nowhere to go they deform like that.
 
^ Thanks for the insight. Makes sense.

These panels do have a suburban backyard vibe to me. I don't think the boat shed comment is unwarranted.
 
I suppose the chunky I-beam aesthetic of the facade references Miesian Modernism. But if Mies is Led Zeppelin, then this project is a shitty wedding band hacking through side three of Physical Graffiti.
 
The ripples do seem to be the design intent but appear to me to be extremely poorly executed/installed. Can't imagine this would pass BPDA inspection, is the VMU on site?

Yes, the end result of intentional poor design and unintentional poor design are the same. What may have been good intentions to incorporate some texture has yielded a result that looks like very poorly fitted panels.

I suppose the chunky I-beam aesthetic of the facade references Miesian Modernism. But if Mies is Led Zeppelin, then this project is a shitty wedding band hacking through side three of Physical Graffiti.

We disagree on several things, but no argument from me about this!
 
Yes, the end result of intentional poor design and unintentional poor design are the same. What may have been good intentions to incorporate some texture has yielded a result that looks like very poorly fitted panels.



We disagree on several things, but no argument from me about this!

BCDC/BPDA requires an on-site mock-up. It is intended to be a quality control tool. If the mock-up and the finished product do not match (in material or in exicution quality) the BCDC/BPDA can require remediation.

So ... there is accountability. Sorta.

cca
 
From the photos the panels appear to be "oil canning." This happens when metal panels are hard-fastened to their structure (slotted or flexible attachment is typically preferred). When the sun hits them the material expands and with nowhere to go they deform like that.

I'm not the cladding expert here (cca is), but that just looks like a ribbed panel to me. Seems intentional.
 
I'm not the cladding expert here (cca is), but that just looks like a ribbed panel to me. Seems intentional.

It is a plank style panel ... but it IS oil-canning which can happen as described above or ... because the gauge of the metal is too thin ... thus not rigid enough for the forces that push and pull on it. (wind).

cca
 
^ Assuming that the BPDA signs off on this, would you care to hazard a guess on how long it'll be before the owners have to pony-up to reclad at least some of the facade?
 
I see it in those pics, but I was just there the other day and couldnt see it and it actually looks really good in person, so probably never.
 
^ Assuming that the BPDA signs off on this, would you care to hazard a guess on how long it'll be before the owners have to pony-up to reclad at least some of the facade?

If the BPDA saw the mock-up and signed off, and then reviewed it and signed-off ..the answer is never.

If there is some question of quality or execution there will likely be some immediate remediation since the crews are out there already.

It is possible that when the sun is at an extreme angle this looks worse. In my world we account for this condition ... but in the world of these types of projects I doubt there is that much attention paid (no one can afford that type of attention)

cca
 
Beton, what you see as ripples in the panels as poor materials or workmanship, or both, I see as part of the design

I'm not the cladding expert here (cca is), but that just looks like a ribbed panel to me. Seems intentional.

I think you two are looking at something different from the rest of us. Yes, the panels are intentionally "ribbed," but if you look more closely you can see "flattening" or distortions along the panels as well.

See the second floor shown in this image:


Looks almost like bad image compression artifacts to me, but I haven't seen anything like this in Beeline's other photos.
 
I think you two are looking at something different from the rest of us. Yes, the panels are intentionally "ribbed," but if you look more closely you can see "flattening" or distortions along the panels as well.

See the second floor shown in this image:



Looks almost like bad image compression artifacts to me, but I haven't seen anything like this in Beeline's other photos.

Right; the give-away is the shadow cast onto these vertical panels by the horizontal band above. Some of the panels bow in so the shadow swoops down, some bow out, so the shadow swoops up.
 
Right; the give-away is the shadow cast onto these vertical panels by the horizontal band above. Some of the panels bow in so the shadow swoops down, some bow out, so the shadow swoops up.

That's a very smart observation!
 
I would say that something just aint quite right here.

cca
 
I would say that something just aint quite right here.

cca

I agree. This isn't just an artifact of digital photography limitation.

Something ain't right with the way the materials are behaving. The thin sheet metal is buckling likely due to temperature change / thermal expansion mismatch.
 
Any possibility that this could all get worked out before this project wraps? It's usually best to withhold judgement on cladding until everything is fine-tuned and finalized. We say this all the time with precast, which first goes up out of plumb and out of level and then gets fixed later on. Maybe we'll see something similar here?
 
who comes up with these names? Is there something I'm missing? not a gable in sight.
 
Idk I think that picture must have caught it just right in the light cuz when I see this in person it looks fine, it actually looks good, and I like the depth it creates. The picture I think makes it look worse than it really does.


The pictures I took is exactly what I see when Im there.

 

Back
Top