Harvard Student Housing | 10 Akron St | Harvard Square | Cambridge

[stellarfun]

Re: Harvard - Allston Campus

The white box was designed by Kyu Sung Woo, with offices in Cambridge. Don't know whether he had been selected to design the Northeastern dorms at the time that Harvard selected him for the Memorial Drive Housing, but looking at his portfolio, there could be no mistaking what they would be getting.

Here is a link to a March 30 picture of the white box being finished.
http://www.construction.fas.harvard.edu/Riverside/images/photos/memorial_drive/BanksAkronSt.jpg

Elkus Manfredi designed the wood houses.

And Piano got to do bigger stuff, if the "few hundred million" cost of the new Harvard Art Museum (the new name for Fogg/Busch/Sackler) is true. The plans for the new Art Museum get unveiled this week; maybe the Sunday Globe will have a preview.

 

[ablarc]

Re: Harvard - Allston Campus

Kyu Sung Woo's building harmonizes amazingly well with Sert's Peabody Terrace; it's based on the same principles of pattern-making, composition and detail (not surprising, since Kyu Sung used to work for Sert).

Of course if you hate Sert's building this will cut no ice with you.

Personally I find both Peabody Terrace and the new dorms quite beautiful. It's the three-deckers I'd like to trash; they look like litter.

don't know what's up with the facade

Gunite. You spray concrete onto wood forms, a bit like building a swimming pool. When you remove the forms, you see the imprint of the planks in the concrete. The architect has chosen a pattern reminiscent of the gunite on Peabody Terrace itself --just one more harmonizing gesture.

 

[briv]

This project was spread among three separate threads, so I gave it it's own.

The main building is looking pretty nice, especially the wood; but I agree with Ablarc about the three-deckers--they look like litter. There will be a small greenspace between them and the river, so they'll effectively front the Charles. World class.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Wow, those triple deckers look like the New-Urbanist projects that have been going up all over Boston for the last decade.

 

[stellarfun]

Rather similar to the 'three deckers' built last year on Grant St. (see p. 2 of this thread). I haven't seen the result but the same architect and contractor for the Memorial Drive 'three deckers' are completing the renovation of two existing houses at 2 and 4 Grant for Harvard. I think one of these is a genuine three decker.

It will be interesting to see whether there is a screen of trees planted along the north side of the park that will become a prominent feature of the site.

Harvard bought that power plant across the street a few years ago.

 

[castevens]

I read the title as "Harvard Memorial to Dr. House"

 

[stellarfun]

Wow, those triple deckers look like the New-Urbanist projects that have been going up all over Boston for the last decade.

The people in N. Allston now want two and three story duplexes to be built on Harvard owned land in N. Allston. Perhaps Harvard having already paid for the design can give them 15 acres worth of this in long rows of cookiecutter housing; and call the new subdivision, Levitt by the Charles.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

You are joking but I wouldn't be surprised if this actually happened.

 

[ablarc]

Pshaw.

Piffling Allston.

World-class mediocrity.

 

[kz1000ps]

Re: Harvard - Allston Campus

And here's a set of the Harvard graduate housing on Memorial Drive:

the courtyard:

view from the courtyard:

ICA on the Charles:

The east wing:

The triple deckers to the south:

And here's the area that will be a grassy park:

 

[briv]

Great photos, kz. I moved them to this project's thread. Thanks for the updates.

Those cheap three-deckers and their gated, asphalted river frontage drive me nuts.

 

[stellarfun]

The nouveau 'three deckers' are similar to those Harvard built on Grant St. several years ago. See post #15 supra.

Harvard is capable of not embellishing what it renovates. Here are two more houses that Harvard redid on Grant St., completed this month. These apparently were the concluding phase of the combined new house construction and renovation of existing houses Harvard owned on Grant St. done in conjunction with the new graduate student housing (the new brick building) on Cowperthwaite St. For how Harvard can replicate the Painted Lady Victorians of San Francisco, see post #11 above.

I hope the AC parked in the front window of 6 Grant St. is temporary, and for the construction workers.

Corner of Banks and Grant. There is a smaller house in the back between these two, and not shown.

The common back yard shared by these 'older' houses and the new Cowperthwaite graduate student residence hall.

 

[stellarfun]

Grad students moving in on Sept 7.

The unfinished park in front of the 'three deckers':

Entrance to underground parking garage under the park.

Harvard owned and renovated housing on Western Ave (Cambridge) abutting this project.

 

[statler]

I've never understood ornamental shutters on windows that clearly would never have functional shutters. It just looks stupid.

 

[kz1000ps]

Today:

 

[czsz]

This provincial house/park combo has slaughtered the otherwise impressive "streetwall" along the river.

It's Leominster-on-the-Charles.

 

[ablarc]

Re: Harvard - Allston Campus

And here's a set of the Harvard graduate housing on Memorial Drive:

the courtyard:

view from the courtyard:

ICA on the Charles:

The east wing:

Just beautiful!

Modernism at its very best --something you don't see much. Crisp, clean and well-detailed, these buildings are simultaneously true to Modernism's minimalist vocabulary and kind to their context --which is very hard to do, given that minimalist vocabulary's limited repertory of moves.

My hat is off to Kyu Sung Woo --who learned his lessons well at the feet of Sert-- and to Harvard for having the taste and generosity to finance somewhat costly architecture that most people are already, and in the future, inclined to hate.

This is what modern architecture is all about. It may be an acquired taste, but if you examine its origins, you'll see that Modernism was always an elitist plot. Here it's practiced in its purest form, ready --if we'll let it-- to turn us into aristocratic proletarians (or is that proletarian aristocrats?) See LeCorbusier for further elaboration --particularly Towards a New Architecture.

 

[nm88]

^ Here, here! Good design is good design. This is really beautiful to my eye.

 

[Lurker]

If it weren't for groomed landscaping and slightly higher quality windows I'd say this looks a lot like a HOPE VI project.

I also love how marine grade plywood is finding itself into many project nowdays because every hack is buying into Dutch fads to fit in at cocktail parties. Gee thanks Robert Ivy...

 

[ablarc]

If it weren't for groomed landscaping and slightly higher quality windows I'd say this looks a lot like a HOPE VI project.

I suspect your post is just hyperbole.

If not, sharpen up your sensibility, Lurker. I bet you can do this: make a list of refined decisions present here that you'd never find in the project you cite.

I have an acquaintance who says Picasso couldn't draw. Says he bases that on observation of the product. And red wine is red wine.

God may or may not be in the details ... if he can't be seen, maybe he just hides from some folks. I bet you're not one of them.

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