Holocaust Museum Boston | 125 Tremont Street | Downtown

RandomWalk said:
Part of the point with this program is to clash and make passersby take notice. Otherwise, it will be too easy to dismiss or minimize the horrors of the Holocaust.
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I like contextual urban planning and architecture.

Vandalism of those two tenets for the mere purpose of attention is not what I think of as a "public good". Others may feel differently.

(Btw, early 1980's graduate of the old Hawes St campus of the Hebrew College's Prozdor section, and three survivors in my family, so I'm as interested as anyone in never minimizing the horrors of the Holocaust - - I just don't think we need to shit on urbanity and contextual architecture to do so. It could be done in a positive way without being a negative to the public realm - we're talking education about the Holocaust for Boston, not a punishment).
 
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shmessy said:
I like contextual urban planning and architecture.

Vandalism of those two tenets for the mere purpose of attention is not what I think of as a "public good". Others may feel differently.

(Btw, early 1980's graduate of the old Hawes St campus of the Hebrew College's Prozdor section, and three survivors in my family, so I'm as interested as anyone in never minimizing the horrors of the Holocaust - - I just don't think we need to shit on urbanity and contextual architecture to do so. It could be done in a positive way without being a negative to the public realm - we're talking education about the Holocaust for Boston, not a punishment).
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Count me as an "others"... surveying that row, 129 Tremont (at the Winter St. corner) is clearly a gem, but 128 & 127 Tremont strike me as quite generic, bland, unremarkable. Ditto that for 120 Tremont, the SU Law School. You can overdo it on "respectable dialogue/contextuality with neighbors"... so, I welcome this design, for adding something new and different and alleviating the tedium of that row.
 
DBM said:
Count me as an "others"... surveying that row, 129 Tremont (at the Winter St. corner) is clearly a gem, but 128 & 127 Tremont strike me as quite generic, bland, unremarkable. Ditto that for 120 Tremont, the SU Law School. You can overdo it on "respectable dialogue/contextuality with neighbors"... so, I welcome this design, for adding something new and different and alleviating the tedium of that row.
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Fair enough (y). Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I see it as an almost windowless (save for the top-floor and one asymetric jut out) ice cube wall fortress. I like windows, but respect that some prefer walls.
 
Lee Kennedy has pulled a permit to begin site mobilization for the Holocaust Museum planned along Tremont Street in Downtown Boston. The GC will be installing a pedestrian safety area, and site trailers and prepping for the demolition of the existing structure.
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Lee Kennedy to Begin Site Mobilization for Holocaust Museum

Lee Kennedy to Begin Site Mobilization for Holocaust Museum
www.bldup.com www.bldup.com
 
I get the argument against faux-historicism and I get that the architect wants the building to be somewhat jarring, but this still feels like a downgrade (architecturally - the use is an upgrade.)
 
I have to disagree with the last two posters. The building being replaced was built in 1955 and has no architectural or historical significance. It is a very ordinary building. Personally I don’t find it aesthetically pleasing. I look forward to its replacement.
 
dirtywater said:
I have to disagree with the last two posters. The building being replaced was built in 1955 and has no architectural or historical significance. It is a very ordinary building. Personally I don’t find it aesthetically pleasing. I look forward to its replacement.
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Did you see what's replacing it? I agree with you about the faux historicism of that current building - - but size/wise and style wise - it played well with it's neighbors.

The replacing white cube with few windows is an obnoxious architectural neighbor.

I'm good with replacing that building ...... with something that works in relation to its neighbors. It's across from the Park Street station plaza on the Common, near the Freedom Trail info kiosk - - -tourists abound there and that row of architecture across the street makes a statement of PLACE - - 'Welcome to BOSTON'. This almost windowless, above the street level, white cube invades that row.

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I'm all for modern architecture - - and love what Northeastern is doing on Columbus Ave, the Lyrik development etc. which all inject dynamism into the more stodgy background - but this particular block just doesn't seem to be the place for it.
 
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dirtywater said:
I have to disagree with the last two posters. The building being replaced was built in 1955 and has no architectural or historical significance. It is a very ordinary building. Personally I don’t find it aesthetically pleasing. I look forward to its replacement.
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And even to the extent that they tried for a faux 18th century style, they only achieved that as a background/infill sort of look. There is nothing remarkable about what is there, and what little might be seen as such is artificial anyway.
 
So,
some Renzo Piano Knock-up abomination is the new way to design Museum buildings in Boston ......... Why?
Just call him up and have him doing it proper FGS.....
 
To be clear, I don't think the current building is anything special or needs to be preserved, I just wish it was being replaced with something better. The new building, imho, is not better.
 
I'm all for this kind of building in Kendall Square or in Allston/Brighton.

But HERE, it is like dropping a dollop of yogurt in chicken soup. There is a contextual value in being a good architectural neighbor.

Boston loses something when this happens.
 
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