I
InTheHood
Guest
Re: Liberty Mutual plans major Boston expansion
I reserve final judgment until the facade is done and the building is complete, but I am beginning to think that the Fatiron may turn out better than I had feared based on the stilted perspective renderings. Obviously it's not anyone's fault that the site isn't a more acute angle ... and while the distorted sketches unhelpfully exaggerated the angle, they also didn't make clear (to me at least) that the curve of the building would be more pronounced than it needed to be on both ends where it abuts existing buildings on Stuart and Berkeley. The net impact is to reduce the bulk a bit and add a touch of visual interest to the corners.
Of course the remaining important questions are 1) the streetscape and the impact of the gerbil tube - will it be as monotonous permanently deadening along Columbus and Stuart as we fear? and 2) the materials and finishes, which are difficult to visualize from the mock-ups. At least Liberty Mutual has cash, so we can hope that there won't be a bunch of ugly last minute value engineering as there was on Rawn's W Hotel ... and it doesn't befit an insurer to project an air of chintz ... so I'm optimistic on the latter. I'm most worried about streetscape.
It is irritating that the biggest concerns I often have about new projects involve relatively modest issues on which the BRA should "have our backs." The difference between good and halfway decent interaction with the street shouldn't make a huge impact to the economics of a building like this, but the BRA never seems to sweat these details. Or, frankly, even to realize they matter.
I reserve final judgment until the facade is done and the building is complete, but I am beginning to think that the Fatiron may turn out better than I had feared based on the stilted perspective renderings. Obviously it's not anyone's fault that the site isn't a more acute angle ... and while the distorted sketches unhelpfully exaggerated the angle, they also didn't make clear (to me at least) that the curve of the building would be more pronounced than it needed to be on both ends where it abuts existing buildings on Stuart and Berkeley. The net impact is to reduce the bulk a bit and add a touch of visual interest to the corners.
Of course the remaining important questions are 1) the streetscape and the impact of the gerbil tube - will it be as monotonous permanently deadening along Columbus and Stuart as we fear? and 2) the materials and finishes, which are difficult to visualize from the mock-ups. At least Liberty Mutual has cash, so we can hope that there won't be a bunch of ugly last minute value engineering as there was on Rawn's W Hotel ... and it doesn't befit an insurer to project an air of chintz ... so I'm optimistic on the latter. I'm most worried about streetscape.
It is irritating that the biggest concerns I often have about new projects involve relatively modest issues on which the BRA should "have our backs." The difference between good and halfway decent interaction with the street shouldn't make a huge impact to the economics of a building like this, but the BRA never seems to sweat these details. Or, frankly, even to realize they matter.
