Lovejoy Wharf | 131 Beverly Street | West End

BostonDrew said:
I walked around this one yesterday and there's a couple things that surprised me (that you can also see in many pictures above):
1) A mechanical penthouse is visible through the glass on the top floor of the tower; why isn't this all on the roof?
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That is the roof. It has a glass screen around it
 
Many MEP systems (Mechanical aka heating ventilating, and Air conditioning, Electrical, Plumbing) such as Boilers, Chillers and complex electrical systems are far better off located inside buildings where they can be maintained and monitored easily. In the past these items were frequently located in basements. These days, there is a big push to get them located above ground to avoid flooding during events such as storm surge or even rising sea levels. Much of the commercial damage that superstorm Sandy did in NYC was because of MEP systems located within buildings in locations vulnerable to flooding.

Other items such as Air Handling Units (essentially big boxes of air with fans, filters and whatnot) are well suited to being on roof tops. Likewise cooling towers (I believe one can be seen on the left side of the addition on the roof in your photo) need plenty of air to allow for evaporative cooling and are ideal for rooftop locations.
 
Yeah, i saw that last night.

Greg Galer even said those posters are demented sicko's.

...Screaming about the boogeymen (foreign condo buyers) again.
 
JeffDowntown said:
People really need to get over this mindset that you have to own a car to live in the city. That is so last century. There are so many options available that make not owning a car possible for a lot of people. (I use most of them.)
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I think 2 things....that this development will sell quickly But that the majority of the buyers will rent at least a single spot in related's nearby building the merano...genius on their part.
 
One thing I don't think has been talked about enough with this building is the mechanical screen. We see way too many times a promising building topped off with disappointment. Developers cheap out on the screen and so you end up with something that clashes, something where the colors don't match or the materials are different. All too often it's an afterthought, not even a cohesive part of the design, as if they were surprised at the end to discover they had to put all this crap on the roof and now what are we going to do about it. 22 Liberty is a good example. Looks like they just found some scrap lying around at different work site and threw it up there.

On Lovejoy I love how it's transparent, how the glass just continues on up uninterrupted. I love how you can see the boxes and ducts through the glass. These are a part of the building, and the architect acknowledged that and didn't try to hide it. Just like the glass a couple floors down may reveal furniture and people, here it reveals the mechanicals. The glass ties it all together perfectly, integrating it instead of concealing it, making it feel like an important part of the structure and not something shameful that we're supposed to pretend doesn't exist. It's simple and cohesive and kind of brilliant.
 
The notion of living in downtown boston and owning a car just confuses the hell out of me. What's the point of eliminating the commute otherwise? Just so you can drive through hellish traffic to go 3 miles and never find a parking spot unless there's one reserved for you?
 
You walk to work and take the car out to the suburbs to shop, visit friends and family on weekends, go to NH or the Cape for weekends, Car isn't necessarily for driving to work, but when you aren't working. Lived downtown for years and we had one car for the fam.
 
JeffDowntown said:
People really need to get over this mindset that you have to own a car to live in the city.
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Agreed.

But i think the freakout is at least as much about existing residents feeling that they have something like collective property rights over existing municipal on-street resident parking, and that those rights are going to be diluted by new residents.

Its bullshit but its also pervasive.
 
Poolio said:
One thing I don't think has been talked about enough with this building is the mechanical screen. We see way too many times a promising building topped off with disappointment. Developers cheap out on the screen and so you end up with something that clashes, something where the colors don't match or the materials are different. All too often it's an afterthought, not even a cohesive part of the design, as if they were surprised at the end to discover they had to put all this crap on the roof and now what are we going to do about it. 22 Liberty is a good example. Looks like they just found some scrap lying around at different work site and threw it up there.
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So true, the Kensington is a prime offender. A bit of imagination (not requiring expensive materials) could go a long way.
 
Everyone hates on the Kensington.

i hate 888 Boylston, 133 Fed, Center Plaza, State Services, City Hall, JFK, Christian Science Cement-Hell Tower, Midtown Hotel, CSC Garage, Harbor Garage, Mass Eye & Ear and practically everything built in the West End since WW2.

Compared to all those horrors, i love the Kensington. :)

Mr. Gorbachev ; tear down this Cement Hell wall and bulldoze that cement lake while you're at it.... We'll put up a modern skyscraper and leave plenty of space for a real park with a pond, ducks, tortugas, trees and shade.
 
TallIsGood said:
You walk to work and take the car out to the suburbs to shop, visit friends and family on weekends, go to NH or the Cape for weekends, Car isn't necessarily for driving to work, but when you aren't working. Lived downtown for years and we had one car for the fam.
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I did this for years, then realized what a colossal waste of money it was (parking, insurance, etc.) for a few thousand miles per year of driving.

Zipcar or even Uber if I need to go the burbs. A fraction of the total cost.
 
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