Lobby Renovation/Addition | 175 Federal Street | Financial District

Equilibria

Equilibria

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www.bostonglobe.com

Another downtown tower’s lobby will get a major makeover - The Boston Globe

The former home to Fiduciary Trust at 175 Federal St., overlooking Dewey Square, will be renovated at its ground level, in part to help the pre-Big Dig tower face the Greenway.
www.bostonglobe.com www.bostonglobe.com

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That's certainly an improvement, though it kind of ruins the form factor...
 
I LOVE this. Will make for better pedestrian activity - - what's also noted in the article, and looks great in that render is a side staircase/pedestrian deck on the right side there for a nice passageway. 12K sq feet of additional retail/restaurant/lobby space. Overall a nice realignment towards the Greenway. I understand Chrisbrat's lament about losing the distinctive architectural feature, but that was always a beard for the remarkably drab/office park like structure above. This is, on the other hand, is excellent urban fabric work.

For such a cool architectural idea, that current pedestal is just mostly slab walls with no windows. It's very cold and offputting.


www.google.com

175 Federal St · 175 Federal St, Boston, MA 02110

Building
www.google.com www.google.com



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hear all that, but i dunno -- so right now you have a very unique, short "tower" that isn't especially inviting at ground level. in the future we'll be getting an in-no-way unique short stub with a coffee shop/restaurant and a better-placed main entrance. i'm pretty sure which of those two options is more valuable (to me, obviously).
 
This definitely called for a full reclad, but Ill take it. Slowly but surely the greenway is being activated more and more.

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I mean this is an improvement but god that original cladding and glazing is awful. One of the worst buildings left in town.
 
The most terrible thing is its putrid massing.
This is a significant improvement.
Greenway street wall will be much nicer.
 
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Massachoicetts said:
Is this the lollipop building?
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No, the lollipop building is the large dark building behind and to the left of 175 Federal as shown in the first pic on post #8 in this thread. The lollipop building is the building with long's jewelry store and i think sebastian's on the ground level. the lollipop structure was moved to roxbury the last i heard
 
I can't see how this wouldn't be perceived as anything other than a major win for this area's urban texture. It is simultaneously the elimination of a negative--the ghastly grim fortified bunker of pedestal--and the creation of a major positive, a fun/lively/vibrant open-air scene that will beckon to what is surely the most heavily-trafficked pedestrian corridor in the city. What's not to love? Also, the views of South Station will be quite excellent, I have to think--it's going to feel surprisingly high up above street level, I bet...
 
shmessy said:
“For sure”????

That’s a great deal of certitude for the only person in this thread (so far) who doesn’t like these changes. Just sayin’.

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opinions. they're like ______ -- everyone's got em. i dunno why i wouldn't be allowed my "deal of certitude" b/c five people (so far) don't share my take. if you like this proposed change, that's awesome and i'm happy for you. it's not a popularity contest, though. you can like stuff and i can like (or dislike) stuff. NBD.
 
chrisbrat said:
opinions. they're like ______ -- everyone's got em. i dunno why i wouldn't be allowed my "deal of certitude" b/c five people (so far) don't share my take. if you like this proposed change, that's awesome and i'm happy for you. it's not a popularity contest, though. you can like stuff and i can like (or dislike) stuff. NBD.
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Whoa!!! Who said you’re “not allowed”????? Cmon. That’s a far cry from a mere observation.
 
That is a sizable set of stairs taking up half the Federal St extended ROW to access what appears to be a patio on the High St side of the building.
 
simply responding to your reaction to my own previous comment. i said "for sure," b/c i think this blands-up an already unremarkable building by removing its one and only redeeming/interesting quality. i don't care all that much -- it's a stumpy nothing of a mid-rise -- but i stand my opinion and also by my reaction to your post. that said, none of it is worth getting riled up about.
 
First the cantilevers on 1POS and now here.... I'm inclined to agree with chrisbrat.

But this does have its merits. For one thing it looks like it will go a long way toward brightening up what is always a dark and shadowy corner even during the day on a major and busy public square. And it seems like the cantilevers will still be present, lurking behind the glass. And that stairway... intriguing... where does it lead?

Both these makeovers are/were originally ugly, but they both had one thing that made them unique, and that thing is being removed/concealed. But while the 1POS makeover is almost entirely without merit, I need to think about this one. It looks awkward but could be interesting... and will bring life and light to a dark corner. But I'm definitely sympathetic to chrisbrat's criticism of this.
 
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