Seriously. Some ppl were hating on it but watching cars go by is relaxing, especially when it gets darker and their lights come on. Its like people watching but those people are inside of moving metal boxes going 65mph.
Yes, especially since it's perched right over a highway. That is true success.
The fact that there were too many people enjoying the space speaks to the quality of the development I feel.
(I think) I'm close to the reddit commenter age, and I don't have a single non-AEC friend that hates just about everything younger than ~100 years old. It may or may not be a coincidence, but my girlfriend is the only one that appreciates some Modernism (still against the contemporary stuff). I think part of it is a sentiment that the new 5-over-1s everywhere are, often, Not Nice; therefore, everything else that is new is bad. The one exception I've heard is Cambridge Crossing, which really surprised me, though it was mostly because of its park, which is a nice development - it may also have to do with flip-flop sentiments of the unenlightened
Spot on. I also think the nature of time and construction is such that things are "open" before they're complete. Cambridge Crossing has some of this issue, but I think Assembly and Seaport get the most hate. For these very large communities it takes years and years to build, and it takes longer for human patterns of living and migration to shift and account for the promised foot traffic and activity. Of course there are still uncompleted parcels in both neighborhoods and many unopened storefronts in otherwise completed buildings.(I think) I'm close to the reddit commenter age, and I don't have a single non-AEC friend that hates just about everything younger than ~100 years old. It may or may not be a coincidence, but my girlfriend is the only one that appreciates some Modernism (still against the contemporary stuff). I think part of it is a sentiment that the new 5-over-1s everywhere are, often, Not Nice; therefore, everything else that is new is bad. The one exception I've heard is Cambridge Crossing, which really surprised me, though it was mostly because of its park, which is a nice development - it may also have to do with flip-flop sentiments of the unenlightened
I also don't think the general public has an appreciation for what was here before - this just appeared while most people were working remote or weren't shopping/visiting Back Bay as much. I despise the "its better than what was there before" arguments on this site, but this is a case where, if the general public knew that this was a loud windy unshaded walkway with a shitty chain link fence, the 8-lane Pike below, and a rusty bus stop, there'd be more positive sentiment.
We have a few great old threads on here about placemaking, overcoming sterility, sterile tastes, and sterile lifestyles. I'll try to dig some of them up and see if this fits in with the narratives on those threads. This plaza has some good qualities. Considering the risks at stake here - mainly, building over the Pike at the start of COVID through hybrid return to work/inflation - we ended up with a pretty decent result overall, including 2 notable office leases. Time will tell, but I think this plaza will age decently well, while the buildings will start to blend into everyone's subconsciouses as just other background buildings (probably my 4th time mentioning it on this thread, but it would have really been great if they kept the green paneling on the office tower... and used something that doesn't look too plastic/shiny).
Does it, though? I keep seeing people say this, both here and on other sites, but my understanding is that it makes the mezzanine accessible, but not the actual platforms. Anyway, I agree with your overall point, this is a huge win in so many different ways, but Hynes accessibility is still something that needs to happen, separate from this project.
