Here we go again with the "Not Tall Enough" chorus.
Here we go again with the "mediocrity should be good enough, even in the only spot of an entire city where tall & iconic is possible, as long as we get a nice coffee shop" chorus.
Nice straw man.
Not really
By the way, calling something a straw man doesn't make it so.
You can go mid-size (and really 250 - 300 ft is not short but mid-size) and get very high....
The feds were very specific in all criteria for their building (inside and out) and tall and thin was not an option for many reasons.What is the minimum distance between the new Volpe and adjacent buildings? Have the Feds specified a minimum floor plate size?
I ask because why not go tall and thin with the Volpe, to offset the likely squat boxes on the rest of the site?
I emailed the design team - didn't get a response back.
I feel strongly that this development has the opportunity to really shift the opinion of Kendall as living-hub and entertainment destination. One thing I focused on:
Whatever the tallest building is - create a public 270 degree observation deck that faces Boston, along with a 2-3 story restaurant bar underneath it. It would be the hottest establishment in the city if done right and would drive increased traffic to the area.
Here we go again with the "mediocrity should be good enough, even in the only spot of an entire city where tall & iconic is possible, as long as we get a nice coffee shop" chorus.
Last time I check, you don't need something tall to be iconic.
We haven't even seen the actual rendering yet.
Also, keep in mind that MIT will be approximately a BILLION dollars in the hole before they get to start seeing any sort of returns! If you're going to drop a billion, the most iconic building in Cambridge SHOULD be part of the deal, and it SHOULD be as visible as possible!