Northeastern eyes dorms

Jesus, what's with people completely reading stuff that isn't there? TomOfBoston, I dislike the ground floor of the Internation Village. I am not a "Northeastern hater." Thank you for comprehending my words so well.
 
Just because we're critiquing a Northeastern building in this thread (which is about Northeastern) does not mean other universities' buildings are not deserving of the same criticism.
 
czsz said:
"It's always been done that way" is not an excuse, though. Jane Jacobs devoted a whole chapter of Death and Life to bitching out Columbia University's beautiful, 19th century campus for turning a cold face to the streets it abutted.

There's no reason a university residence can't engage with its surroundings just as well as any regular apartment building. Practically every dorm at NYU is indistinguishable from non-dorm neighbors.
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And yet Yale's campus shuts itself off almost entirely from the streets of New Haven. What it is, is strikingly beautiful. That is a main difference between NEU's dorm and a residential college at Yale. NEU's new dorm could be forgivable with ground retail or something to engage the pedestrian at street level but instead it is both unfriendly and ugly.
 
kz1000ps said:
Jesus, what's with people completely reading stuff that isn't there? TomOfBoston, I dislike the ground floor of the Internation Village. I am not a "Northeastern hater." Thank you for comprehending my words so well.
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You are welcome!
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
I have to admit it turned out better than I was imagining, but that only means it's gone from a D- to a C-.
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C's get degree's!!!


Definitely came out better than originally expected. I understand the lounge argument, but there is no reason there can't be ground floor retail barring economic factors--A starbucks/panera/independent cafe would be great. I know international village has a dining hall already built in but i am speaking for dorms in general.

I think lounges would be better served on the top floors. Give everyone a chance to see the view.

That said, this is a great dorm that more than serves its purpose. As a former BC student, I am (would be) jealous of the living conditions.
 
What most these guys don't see is that the side you guys are looking at is the backside of the building, it doesn't even face the street. If there was going to be retail, it should be at the front portion of the building. The back portion of the tower is specifically for academic and residential purposes, not a place for retail. Maybe a grocery or a fast food restaurant is fine but anything outside of that is out of place. Remember this is a school building, not a commercial space.
 
palindrome said:
C's get degree's!!!


Definitely came out better than originally expected. I understand the lounge argument, but there is no reason there can't be ground floor retail barring economic factors--A starbucks/panera/independent cafe would be great. I know international village has a dining hall already built in but i am speaking for dorms in general.

I think lounges would be better served on the top floors. Give everyone a chance to see the view.

That said, this is a great dorm that more than serves its purpose. As a former BC student, I am (would be) jealous of the living conditions.
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I do believe there are a couple of cafes at the front side of the building, or at least there are signs saying there are. The name is Jamba Juice and Peat's Coffee.

The photo really does not do this building justice. Unfortunately because of that, people can only make uninformed comments.
 
kz1000ps said:
When did I say "commercial usage"? I'm talking about doors and trees. I saw the lounges inside and thought, "gee, why don't they extend the lounging space to the outside? Add some greenery and surely someone would use it."

Lame. Airlocks exist for this very reason. And close/lock the doors for good during the winter.
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Once again, there are no path leading to the back of the building. The two paths come from either side of the building. Airlocks require a room or a chamber. Creating airlocks on the backside requires having the room or the chamber jut into the building or jut out of the building, creating a very ugly aesthetic look in the inside or outside.

kz1000ps said:
Lame again. There's no rulebook saying, "lounges must reside on the first floor" or, "lounges must provide an entrance to the dorm tower and/or other large public spaces".
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I didn't say that was the rule. I'm saying that college buildings don't normally have entrances coming from every side.
 
TomOfBoston said:
And so it continues. I never knew there were so many Northeastern haters out there. How much retail does Harvard have on the first floor of its residence halls?

The building seems to work for the students, and that's what really counts!
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Groundfloor of Trilogy in fenway. Trilogy houses Harvard grad students. That's more so a product of it's environment though and not really a fair comparison at all.
 
Jamba Juice eh? I totally would have trekked out to Ruggles had this been 6 or 7 years ago. It's kinda played out, but I'm sure the students will enjoy it. According to the website, this is only the second location in town (!), so there's actually some novelty value there.
 
blade_bltz said:
Jamba Juice eh? I totally would have trekked out to Ruggles had this been 6 or 7 years ago. It's kinda played out, but I'm sure the students will enjoy it. According to the website, this is only the second location in town (!), so there's actually some novelty value there.
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The first Boston location, which I believe was the first location on the east coast, is at BU, inside their foodcourt by the BU bridge. It's open to the public.
 
kz1000ps said:
Why the no doors or even trees? Is the area that unsafe?

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When I toured the building a few months ago before construction wrapped up, the architect addressed this question. The NW facade of International Village, as showed in the picture, is clear of any trees or greenery because it's a fire truck throughway... or whatever the city calls it. You may notice the grass between the lampposts and the windows looks a bit different from the grass to the left of the lampposts--this is because there is a concrete/grass grid there to support the weight of firetrucks... therefore, no trees could be planted there (City of Boston's fault, not Northeastern's).

Also, regarding jass' comment about Jamba Juice--> BU did have the first Jamba Juice in Boston, but Jamba Juice has been on the east coast for a long time. You're hearing this from a college student that moved here from Florida and has been going to Jamba for years and years.


PLEASE NOTE THE FOLLOWING:

I live in International Village. I was literally one of the building's first residents. I have lived in four other residence halls at Northeastern (including West Village), and my time at I.V. has been my favorite by far. One of the most enriching experiences and privileges I have at NU is to be a Husky Ambassador (AKA 'Tour Guide') and introduce prospective students and their families to our school. At the request of NU's President Aoun, Husky Ambassadors now offer comprehensive, 45-minute tours of International Village twice a day, Monday thru Friday. Anyone can go on these tours and they're absolutely free.

If you're one of the "haters" of, have any doubts about, or are even genuinely curious to learn more about International Village, I encourage you to take a tour of this building. Tours get to see a bedroom on the 17th floor, panoramic views of Boston from the 17th floor common room, laundry facilities, exercise facilities, the rooftop garden, the underground class space, the internet lounge, and most importantly our amazing dining hall, where all tour participants receive a complimentary dessert and beverage.

Again, tours leave Mon-Fri at 11:30AM and 3:30PM from the Student Visitor Center in the Behrakis Health Sciences Center. Please check it out.
 
dshoost88 said:
Again, tours leave Mon-Fri at 11:30AM and 3:30PM from the Student Visitor Center in the Behrakis Health Sciences Center. Please check it out.
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I might just do this. Anybody can take it? You just walk in and join the tour?

Can you be more specific on the location the tour leaves, I dont know my way around northeastern.


(Im still trying to get into stuvi2 at BU, I have a friend who has a bf that lives there, but Im never around before sunset)
 
Here's a link to the Visitor Center's website:

http://www.northeastern.edu/admissions/visitcampus/information.html

If you look at any map on campus or online, it's the giant yellow star on Leon Street, near Ruggles Street. I actually give tours of I.V. on Thursdays at 11:30AM; I give regular campus tours at 11:30AM on Wednesdays. Should you decide to go, make sure to arrive 10 to 15 minutes early. You'll need to fill out a visitor information card.
 
dshoot, thanks for that info. I shoulda known something technical and/or regulatory was to blame.
 
What a lot of anonymity.

What a bunch of mediocrity.

.
 
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