Kendall/MIT Infill and Small Developments

Music building's coming together. Taken April 19:
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stefal said:
Was expecting better build quality out of this... The brick work look quite cheap...
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The brick work is also quite boring. Look at the difference in the design interest level of the old brick work of 41 Linskey Way (above) versus the very plain interpretation of the MIT Music Building. 🥱
 
Modern buildings use brick as a surface treatment, not a structural material. Architects don’t need to rely upon its strengths and weaknesses, because the other materials in the structure are doing the work. As a result, it gets applied with little care.
 
So, yes, there's certainly a difference in facade depth and stylistic detail that comes with historic brick (and well-executed homages to historic brickwork). But there's something different that's an issue here. This design is obviously modern and not aspiring toward historic styles. They were going for strong geometric forms. But when you go for that, you need the simple brick to be of extremely high quality and precision. If your design is a sharp cube, you need meticulous detail; you really can't have uneven gaps and wavy planes. An aBer who's been gone for a while, cca, used to discuss how seemingly simple buildings especially need high quality to be architecturally effective. I recall cca discussing how (at the time, several years ago) all buildings in the seaport were glass boxes, but one of them (101 seaport) nailed the simple but precise detailing, while many of the others fell far short. I think the same considerations are at play with a modernist brick building.
 
stefal said:
Was expecting better build quality out of this... The brick work look quite cheap...
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Agreed, but I've hated this from the beginning, so in my case it's grim confirmation.

And yes, the immediate contrast with the Linskey Way building is absolutely crushing. You can do brick as a facade treatment well - look at Lovejoy Wharf.
 
I don't really mind the concept. My comments were more along the line of bigpicture's, in that this is intended to be a sharp cube, so your detailing of the brick work has to be "sharp." There's no room for imperfections or interruptions, because that's all there will be to look at. You can add more "visual detail," - ornamentation and depth variation - like at Linskey way, to mask these imperfections, but that's not what this form or concept is calling for.

The seams are really quite apparent, and, while I haven't been in person, it appears there are minor inconsistencies in the depth of the facade as well.
 
bigpicture7 said:
Neat feature in ArchPaper on Cambridge's new park at 1st/Binney/Land:
www.archpaper.com

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, a dense, climate-forward forest by Stoss Landscape Urbanism signals a changing approach to urban canopies

In Cambridge, Massachusetts, Triangle Park, a dense, climate-forward forest by Stoss Landscape Urbanism signals a changing approach to urban canopies.
www.archpaper.com www.archpaper.com

^Photos within above (credit: Sahar Coston-Hardy)
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Park seems lovely but… what the heck is that road on the left? Road city over there
 
Fab Foundation to Establish Global Headquarters in Kendall Square, Cambridge
fabfoundation.org

The Fab Foundation

Bridging the Digital Divide Design / Fabricate / Share. We work to provide access to the tools, the knowledge and the financial means to educate, innovate and invent using technology and digital fabrication to allow anyone to make (almost) anything. We create opportunity.
fabfoundation.org
...the Fab Foundation, a Boston-based educational nonprofit, has served as a steward of the international Fab Lab Network...these digital fabrication laboratories are sites for STEM outreach, hands-on technical training, business incubation, and advancing sustainability commitments.
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The facility will include a full-featured Fab Lab with tools for rapid-prototyping and short-run production of functional systems; a storefront selling products designed by the global network and produced locally; an event space for classes, talks, workshops, demonstrations, and collaborations; and the Fab Foundation's headquarters...
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I believe this is going in the currently-vacant second level of the 325 Main St. Google building.
 
bigpicture7 said:
I really do agree with the above statement in itself...

But with regard to Saarinen's MIT chapel, for instance, the whole point is that it only looks like a monolithic brick cylinder from a distance and if you're not paying attention. Afford it even a quick glance closer by and it becomes clear that a ton of thought went into that small building. (And even more so from the interior).

Check out this feature in ArchDaily:
www.archdaily.com

AD Classics: MIT Chapel / Eero Saarinen

Completed in 1955 in Cambridge, United States. Eero Saarinen is one of the most respected architects of the 20th Century, often regarded as a master of his craft. Known for his dynamic and fluid...
www.archdaily.com www.archdaily.com

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And from MIT on the moat:
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So, the question for this new music building is: will it really just be brick boxes, or will it bring the sort of intrigue that the chapel does (or more)?
I really don't think we can know so far with the info that's been posted. My point is: simple geometric forms do not necessitate crude, boring buildings.
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I went to check out the music building so I had to take some pics of this classic. Unfortunately couldn't enter the main Chapel.
 

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Music as of 8/3
 

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Boston Properties (BXP) has plans to renovate the plaza in front of the Marriott, including some features on the lower levels of the Marriott and Google buildings.
Design is still conceptual, but it will notionally include:
  • An enhanced and more obvious public/pedestrian pass-through between Main and Broadway
  • An expanded Tradesman cafe/coffee shop to replace the defunct Starbucks
  • A "Robot Lab" community space
  • MIT COOP relocating back to this spot
  • Other retail/food
As posted on CRA Website for design review:
August 7 - CRA Design Review - Kendall Plaza Vision
(within: https://www.cambridgeredevelopment.org/2024-meetings)
 
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