HalcyonEra
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- Mar 6, 2012
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Cambridge is real let down for us architecture enthusiasts
I don't know which is uglier, the existing or the proposed.
Cambridge is real let down for us architecture enthusiasts
I'm amazed that a university like MIT so consistently produces such dreck. They have a good school of architecture...they are smart people...this isn't that complicated...why can't they opt for decent urban planning and design??????
It's not so much ugly as it is inert, an Apple Store metastasized to the scale of one of the Seaport's Borg cubes.
I'm amazed that a university like MIT so consistently produces such dreck. They have a good school of architecture...they are smart people...this isn't that complicated...why can't they opt for decent urban planning and design??????
Enabling utility work on the Federal site is ongoing, and construction of the garage and building is expected to start later this year and take approximately three years. Once the new John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center is up and running, the Institute will be able to commence redevelopment of the remaining 10 acres of the original U.S. DOT Volpe parcel. MIT’s proposal for that portion of the site, which was presented to the community during the rezoning process, features housing (including 280 affordable units), commercial and lab space, retail, open space, a community center, and a job connector.
MIT is currently advancing other commitments that were codified as part of the Volpe rezoning agreement. The Institute has already provided $500,000 toward the design of the Grand Junction multiuse community path, which will be followed by an additional $8 million contribution for continuing design and construction. MIT staff are currently working closely with the city and other stakeholders to implement this critical infrastructure project. In addition, the Institute is in the process of identifying a site for a new 500-bed graduate student residence hall — a commitment made to the City of Cambridge through the Volpe zoning process.
First information and renders of the new DoT building. A lot shorter than expected - 212 feet - which wouldn't be bad if it weren't so bland...
Cambridge is real let down for us architecture enthusiasts
^Beton, you are, without doubt, aB's poet laureate.
Not that I'll defend MIT's design choices, but this wasn't their choice - it was the Federal Government's choice. MIT's ugly buildings tend to be insane, not boring.
BTW, I don't find this design bad at all. It's exactly what I expected when SOM was announced as the architect - whether SOM is your taste or not is a different question.
Yes ... but not a let down for actual designers. Its a shame there is so much distance between the two.
cca
I really think the Volpe program requirement are better suited for a site somewhere like Hanscom.
I really think the Volpe program requirement are better suited for a site somewhere like Hanscom.
But their employee requirements are better suited for Kendall.
Security requirements of Federal Buildings are fundamentally anti-urban.
It's a problem.
I see from the article that it's being presented to the Cambridge planning board tonight (edit, looks like that was last night). Is there any way they might veto it?
Do they have a twitter handle or any method for public comment.