Liberty Mutual Tower | 157 Berkeley Street | Back Bay

Re: Liberty Mutual Expansion

pixelsand8 said:
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Ughhh! YES! This is AWESOME!

More buildings with classy/dramatic lighting, please.
 
Re: Liberty Mutual Expansion

Not to grind a well known ax too too much BUT -- should have been more sculpted + 10 stories at the top in front and then step down 5, 5 [current level] 5 [5 brlow current top] as you move toward the wide part of the block
 
Re: Liberty Mutual Expansion

whighlander said:
Not to grind a well known ax too too much BUT -- should have been more sculpted + 10 stories at the top in front and then step down 5, 5 [current level] 5 [5 brlow current top] as you move toward the wide part of the block
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I hear you, the upper colonnade is only redeemed at night; saved by the lighting designer!
I also really wish something better had been done where the pedestrian bridge meets the building. Just landing on the service door lintel is weak.
 
Re: Liberty Mutual Expansion

whighlander said:
Not to grind a well known ax too too much BUT -- should have been more sculpted + 10 stories at the top in front and then step down 5, 5 [current level] 5 [5 brlow current top] as you move toward the wide part of the block
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No one is every going to step the building inside its zoning envelope unless it is dictated by the zoning code (i.e. New York) ... Its a complete waste of resource for an owner to accept that no matter how aesthetically pleasing we might think it is.

I personally agree with you.

cca
 
Re: Liberty Mutual Expansion

Czervik.Construction said:
I am not hating, but this building from this angle looks like a cheese grater during the day.
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I haven't noticed any cheese grater effects, could be the high color saturation in the photo or the angle the sun is hitting it. It does look monumentally better at night though, the low height works to it's advantage by drawing your eye somewhere on the skyline you wouldn't normally focus on. The length gives the feel of a lighted low rise city scape which is perfect for Boston.
 
Re: Liberty Mutual Expansion

cca said:
No one is every going to step the building inside its zoning envelope unless it is dictated by the zoning code (i.e. New York) ... Its a complete waste of resource for an owner to accept that no matter how aesthetically pleasing we might think it is.

I personally agree with you.

cca
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CCA --- If the building is design and built by a developer as spec or even a custom for some tenant then I completely agree

However, this building is essentially a 100th anniversary present To Liberty, By Liberty, and For Liberty --- Just like the "International / Bauhaus style architects conned Walter wriston of CitiCorp with the mono-pitched roof -- I'm afraid that Liberty got flim-flamed by the architect and / or BRA planners to have a sawed off top -- Liberty could easily have forced the issue for a stepped back and up -- or step back and down, etc. top


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But otherwise it seems excellent with quality materials, nice finishes, human-scale dtails and thoughful distictive lighting --- and the traditional, sign of gravitas and stability -- the granite at knee level
 
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Re: Liberty Mutual Expansion

kz1000ps said:
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I like the detailing on this building. The curved facade and the windows that look like windows! Having the windows recessed at an appropriate scale add so much visual texture as opposed to so much of the new construction with windows that appear to be stickers stuck on the facade.

One quibble, the main entrance should have been at the corner right where the building curves for a much more striking impact. Instead we settle for a fairly dramatic piece of public art placed in lieu. What could have been a very dramatic "front door", now seems like an afterthought mitigated by street art.
 
Re: Liberty Mutual Expansion

commuter guy said:
One quibble, the main entrance should have been at the corner right where the building curves for a much more striking impact. Instead we settle for a fairly dramatic piece of public art placed in lieu. What could have been a very dramatic "front door", now seems like an afterthought mitigated by street art.
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Commute -- absolutely -- the front should have been the grand entrance, granite, marble, bronze teak .. .there should have been a grand glass canopy curving around the corner to protect the entrance from wind and rain --

and then the wall should then have soared straight up to a peak with the rest stepping back

But these are sort of minor misses --- a midst the current World Series hype -- its like coming to the plate with the bases loaded and hitting the top of the Green Monster just short of a homer for a double ---- clearing the bases but leaving the hitter on 2nd instead of a triumphantly crossing the plate with a Grand Slam

For a modern building its definitely on my list for one of the best!
 
I really love the lit up Pru when it's in Red (menacing) and Green (looks cool). I wish they did that all year long.
 
Oops I posted the wrong pic above...this is the right guy!

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^ ummm.... is it just me or do the shades in the windows absolutely make this building? the inherent randomness in the height they are at of creates a secondary layer of texture to the building, almost like the random veins in a polished block of stone.
 
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This one photo is an only in Boston shot of the the juxtaposition of what looks like 1000 years or so of buildings:

You have in faux historic order:
1) 1rst Corps of Cadets -- late 19th C build to look like the place the 1rst Crusade launched from -- circa 1000
2) Brick Neo Gothic Revival Church -- late 19th C build to look circa 1300 Gothic
2) Brick Victorian office / industrial in background
3) Brick early 20th C industrial in foreground
4) Late 20th early 21st C Liberty Mutual Tower

+ hints in the fog of a couple of mid to late 20th C nondescript boxes
 
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