Idyl Fenway | 60 Kilmarnock St | Fenway

[areiss]

Thank you so much for the photos! Looks like cold formed light gage construction. Much better than the papier-mâché route. Can you keep us up to date with more photos as time goes on?

Will do, just snapped a quick picture this morning but I'll try and get some shots with the whole building in the future.

 

[Treviot]

I don’t know if people are making fun of me, but people on this forum should be as concerned with structural quality as they are with the architectural elements of a given building.

Not making fun of you at all! I wholly agree that the structure matters and I think Plen-T-Pak was poking fun at the poor quality of most wood-framed 5 over 1s, equating them to papier-mache.

 

[awood91]

Thank you so much for the photos! Looks like cold formed light gage construction. Much better than the papier-mâché route. Can you keep us up to date with more photos as time goes on?

What’s with the constant bashing of wood framing? Please kindly chill unless you are willing to cover the premium for steel framing. If you were in charge, housing would be more depressingly expensive than it already is.

 

[king_vibe]

What’s with the constant bashing of wood framing?

Light wood construction is extremely combustible, a horrendous fire risk before it's finished, and it relies on the perpetual presence of a functioning sprinkler system to stay safe once it's complete. Unlike in a steel framed or concrete building, fire cannot be compartmentalized because literally all surfaces are further fuel for the frame. The dimension lumber is drenched in flame retardant chemicals (for Type III buildings) and the plywood sheathing is made of wood chips and formaldehyde resin. Terrible for indoor air quality.

Wood construction is also inherently dimensionally unstable, subject to cupping, warping, bowing, etc. A lot of old apartment buildings have wonky floors and tilting staircases - now imagine if all of the walls were made of the same material. Plus, exposure to any moisture ruins the stability of the wood, and allows for mold to grow. These are problems that appear 30 years down the line, so developers don't care.

Don't even get me started about the labor practices on stick-built projects. You can get a lot of underpaid and dangerous work done when you choose a building type able to be assembled by any lunkhead who can swing a hammer.

Please kindly chill unless you are willing to cover the premium for steel framing.

No.

 

[Plen-T-Pak]

I don’t know if people are making fun of me, but people on this forum should be as concerned with structural quality as they are with the architectural elements of a given building.

I agree. Just having a little fun. Didn't mean any disrespect.

 

[BeeLine]

Walked by the site a couple weeks ago and the steel was up to the second and third levels along the Kilmarnock side of the project. Steel was also rising on the smaller north building.

 

[king_vibe]

Walked by the site a couple weeks ago and the steel was up to the second and third levels along the Kilmarnock side of the project. Steel was also rising on the smaller north building.

Do you mean west building?

 

[DBM]

Light wood construction is extremely combustible, a horrendous fire risk before it's finished, and it relies on the perpetual presence of a functioning sprinkler system to stay safe once it's complete. Unlike in a steel framed or concrete building, fire cannot be compartmentalized because literally all surfaces are further fuel for the frame.

Whenever *they* decide to make a noir, "true crime"-style documentary investigating the horrendous (mercifully non-fatal) arson that completely incinerated the Edison development in summer 2017, which I was eyewitness to (at the time I resided just 1,000 yards away), this should be the blurb. Based on what happened, it sure ain't hyperbole.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...aused-arson/SNmrsSo98cUmTssaHJlLoJ/story.html

 

[Suffolk 83]

I'm admittedly not privy to the insider economics of building housing but the whole sympathetic to builders mentality where excuses are made for them to build shoddy, cheap housing seems like some supply side bullshit propaganda to me.

 

[HenryAlan]

Is that true? I haven't been by to see it. I figured with the bridge over the alley that it would be a steel building.

It's eight stories tall, no way that doesn't have some steel.

 

[king_vibe]

I'm admittedly not privy to the insider economics of building housing but the whole sympathetic to builders mentality where excuses are made for them to build shoddy, cheap housing seems like some supply side bullshit propaganda to me.

Stick-built multi-family is legitimately cheaper to build, but cities could require developers to use real materials in exchange for lowering/eliminating expensive parking requirements and allowing for additional FAR.

 

[curcuas]

Stick-built multi-family is legitimately cheaper to build, but cities could require developers to use real materials in exchange for lowering/eliminating expensive parking requirements and allowing for additional FAR.

And cutting all the lengthy review. Years of design review adds a huge cost and makes projects much more conservative. Look at what happened to the new building at Dartmouth and Newbury.

 

[bakgwailo]

Whenever *they* decide to make a noir, "true crime"-style documentary investigating the horrendous (mercifully non-fatal) arson that completely incinerated the Edison development in summer 2017, which I was eyewitness to (at the time I resided just 1,000 yards away), this should be the blurb. Based on what happened, it sure ain't hyperbole.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2...aused-arson/SNmrsSo98cUmTssaHJlLoJ/story.html

Same with the Treadmark by Ashmont Station (although that wasn't arson). Almost fully built and days away from the fire suppression system from being turned on and up like a box of matches. Certainly made my commute home that day rather interesting.

 

[stellarfun]

Boston not mentioned.

...In 2022, an estimated 420,000 new rental apartments were built in the United States, the highest amount for new multifamily construction in a half-century, according to the latest data from RentCafe, an apartment search platform.

The new developments look startlingly alike, often in the form of boxy, mid-rise buildings with a ground-floor retail space, sans-serif fonts and vivid slabs of bright paneling. The bulky design is conspicuous, jutting out of downtown streets and overpowering its surroundings. Over time, it attracts a certain ecosystem — the craft breweries, the boutique coffee shops, the out-of-town young professionals.

]

‘Lego structures’

Colloquially, people have referred to 5-over-1s as “gentrification buildings” or “fast-casual architecture.” Not all of them are built the same, however. Some are permanent affordable housing communities, while others hawk luxury urban living. Still, for many people, 5-over-1s have come to symbolize, in tangible form, the most painful aspects of today’s housing crisis — stand-ins for gentrification, corporate landlords and excessively high rents.

That’s in part why they’re so hated, and why it’s acceptable to hate them.

“I think they’re terrible,” said Zereseni Selemun, 50, a Lyft driver, as he was passing through the Ballard neighborhood of Seattle. “It’s very ugly. Very ugly. I hate it!”

In 2015, Brad Evans, an artist, created the private Facebook group “Denver FUGLY” to express his frustration over the city’s new uninspired development.

The group now has nearly 10,000 members and does not mince words: “Let’s get after it at the core of what needs to be exposed and work to stop the stupid, the lazy and the pathetic execution of bad ideas,” the page summary reads.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/20/...city-architecture.html?searchResultPosition=1

 

[taketern]

1/25/23

 

[AndreyD]

 

[AndreyD]

 

[AndreyD]

 

[BeeLine]

As 8/13/23

 

[stick n move]

This couldnt be coming at a better time, 435 units soon to be on the market. This, dot block, and northpoint are the most important projects u/c in the city right now imo. Weve got labs out the ass but the 5 units here 3 units there isnt cutting it. Multiple hundreds of units at a time is what we need, over and over to even have a chance at making a dent.