TallIsGood
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- May 30, 2006
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They WON'T but if it was they owned they building and a contractor built it, then it could be done. Will NEVER happen (as much as I wish it would).
The following is speculation: As part of the development package, the Federal government might specify that no residential housing have line-of-sight into the new Volpe building, and that any building with line of sight have controlled access. The government might also specify that no building be taller, or appreciably taller the new Volpe.
equilibria, my suspicion is that MIT will be part of a joint development team. And that was/is one of the reasons this is so under wraps. Another reason for the secrecy could be security factors.
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tysmith and tallisgood, land owned by the Federal government is not subject to zoning. The rights and powers of the sovereign are not to be infringed by a lesser power. The Federal government also need not adhere to local building codes.
But as a matter of practice, the Federal government typically will adhere to local zoning and codes. It does so in an attempt to be a good neighbor.
The following is speculation: As part of the development package, the Federal government might specify that no residential housing have line-of-sight into the new Volpe building, and that any building with line of sight have controlled access. The government might also specify that no building be taller, or appreciably taller the new Volpe.
Is there anybody who honestly believes that the Volpe Center is a target? I am sure that much more sensitive high-security stuff goes on in Draper right next door, and they don't have the crazy requirements.
Modern terrorists don't have their sights set on federal office buildings. That sort of thinking is so pre-9/11.
I'm sure the OKC and 9/11 victims' families will be comforted to know that the form of terrorism their loved ones died from has gone the way of bell bottoms and flannel shirts.
The fact is that no form of terrorism goes out of style. That also means that changing all the rules to react to a specific terror attack is more or less futile. You can't protect from every possible threat.
Personally, I don't believe federal buildings need higher security than any other building, but the federal government doesn't agree. That means that having federal buildings in your city sucks and there isn't much any of us can do or say about it.
I would presume that requirements for building distance from vehicular traffic varies by security level of the federal facility: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_building_security
US DOT does some pretty important research here, but I don't think any of it qualifies for such stringent security requirements. You could achieve required distance from street by narrowing the lanes on Binney St and removing the center median that makes it feel like a highway like Seaport Boulevard - should happen anyway. Then set back the building from Third and Munroe Sts. OR put it in the northern corner along Binney St as part of the L-shaped building, displacing the residential or office to Binney and Third.
Is there anybody who honestly believes that the Volpe Center is a target? I am sure that much more sensitive high-security stuff goes on in Draper right next door, and they don't have the crazy requirements.
Modern terrorists don't have their sights set on federal office buildings. That sort of thinking is so pre-9/11.
I don't believe that VLOPE would require a higher security clearance than the JFK federal building for example. A few large towers just got approved to be built right next to the JFK federal building.
That means that having federal buildings in your city sucks and there isn't much any of us can do or say about it.
So, looking at the US DOT headquarters I don't see anything particularly obvious from the outside to make it much of a burden on the streetscape. A few extra granite bollards. A bit of a sizable setback from the street by Boston standards, but one which invites people to sit outside along the sidewalk. Some trees along the street. Heck they even have ground level retail (with that herald of civilized city life: Starbucks):
DOT Headquarters
DigitalSciGuy --Have you ever been inside any of the secure areas inside Volpe -- well I have, and I can assure you that there are things going on inside that need the highest levels of security -- they mostly occur in an underground bunker.
Never mind that there is a research nuclear reactor (whose chief scientist I have met), quietly working basically across the street. This area was bulldozed for NASA before Kennedy was assassinated. There are things that go on here that are not discussed publicly.
DigitalSciGuy --Have you ever been inside any of the secure areas inside Volpe -- well I have, and I can assure you that there are things going on inside that need the highest levels of security -- they mostly occur in an underground bunker
Volpe not only does research on core technology for DOT -- but it does research using advanced technology on solving real-time problems for other Federal Clients -- such as tracking every government shipment, and displaying in real-time all of the air traffic, rail, ship and road commerce taking place within north america and some beyond
JumboBuc -- Draper does indeed conduct high security work for the Federal Government inside their facility and so they have made the necessary provisions
By the way ---- its remarkable what a few meters of earth will do to provide that kind of secure work environment where ease dropping is fairly difficult. Note that for a lot of things such as presentations to groups on mildly sensitive topics a few dark really heavy curtains do a fairly good job at containing both sights and sound. For the "important stuff" you need a fully interior auditorium with no external walls and of course no windows. And for the stuff that Hillary had on her server you need a special space called a SCIF [Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility] -- often in a "bunker"
Volpe would need all of those kinds of facilities to deal both with discussions and design work and also the real-time BiG and Sensitive Data
And if you 'Google' drive a bit further on M. St., you come to this:
https://www.google.com/maps/@38.876...4!1sVyQ3Qhxt_f2j6at28lxonw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656