Northeastern eyes dorms

The "skin" of this building is truly cheap and ugly. Apparently there wasn't much attention paid to quality control when the slabs were being manufactured as the colors don't come close to matching. Unbelievably the "brick" color and the "sandstone" color are not consistent and some slabs are several shades off from their neighbors. I can't believe Northeastern would trash this very high visibility location. Penny wise and pound foolish.
 
Strangely, the massing and color appear contextual with the public housing across Tremont Street.

Baker House this ain't...
 
OK like I said earlier, this looks like absolute shit. At least have fake brick, or (know this is unlikely) a stunning glass facade, to put a modern contrast to a beautiful historic neighborhood. I can stand fake brick, but awful painted concrete (seriously looks like cardboard) can't go on ANY building at this low quality. This is terrible, it would be a disgrace even in developing countries and cities like Dallas, NY, etc...
 
put a modern contrast to a beautiful historic neighborhood
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There's a neighborhood here? And history? I only see the ugly 90s(?) BPD HQ and the ugly midcentury projects nearby.

...which is why, no matter what they use on its skin, this thing is a huge improvement.
 
bostoncitywalk said:
I also dont get why it seems like different sides are different colors.
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I noticed that too yesterday. For instance, the west tower (next to Ruggles St) is red on its north and west facades, yet its beige on the east. I'll post some pictures of it in a little bit.

The entire facade reeks of incompetence. I can't wait to see how cheap the window frames will look!
 
Valentine's Day. These pics aren't up to my usual standards, but hey I was driving.

First one is from 6:30 in the AM

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I would think NU would not accept this if it still looks as bad when th project is done.
 
honestly, i dont believe what we are seeing is the final massing. NU would never purposely put up such crap, its embarrassing!! im reserving final judgement for this building until its 100% complete
 
awood91 said:
im reserving final judgement for this building until its 100% complete
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^ Our judgment on this forum has no influence anyway. If it did, however, this would be a policy of impotence masquerading as objectivity.
 
Sorry, I didn't get any closer than what you see here (keeping a safe distance from its fugliness)

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From Yesterday, March 22, 2008:











Not looking so terrible ... still has a long way to go.

The rest of my pictures of the NU Dorm going up are HERE.
 
The beige part looks uh... OK, but the red part is utter crap.
 
So one tower is sort of beige and the other tower is sort of blotchy red????
 
The only thing I truly dislike in all the recent NU expansion is that useless strip of grass along Ruggles Street.
 
Scott said:
The only thing I truly dislike in all the recent NU expansion is that useless strip of grass along Ruggles Street.
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That strip of grass is to allow Ruggle St to be widen to 4 lanes. NU supports this but the project people are against it.

I also think NU will not accept an inferior product.
 
So NU allows space for road widening north of the rail lines, and yet with this project they build it right up to the sidewalk?
 
I was by this building today and have to say that this is truly one mean and ugly building.

Approaching it from Columbus it's at its best; Columbus finally feels like it has a real termination point instead of fizzling out into vacant lots, and as has been previously said, the white tower (facing Columbus) is its best face. It's actually not too bad.

BUT, the red tower is awful...nothing but huge mis-matched red (salmon-red is more accurate) pre-cast panels. The windows, with the operable portions painted primary colors, look like they were taken from a 1970's public school.

This is truly an unfortunate piece of architecture that could have/should have been a positive link between the Longwood/Fenway area and Roxbury.
 
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I really doubt Northeastern is gonna keep the red. Afterall, it doesn't show up in any of the renderings. The photos don't really do the building justice. Up close, it's much nicer and really melds in well. And even if they do keep the reddish, I'm sure once all construction is done next year it'll be just as beautiful as the rest of the newer buildings on campus. I'm a student at Northeastern, and personally I like the building. It's great that they're going to have a dining hall at Parcel 18 because it's much closer to West Village residents. Also, they're aiming for LEED gold certification with this building from what I've heard.
 
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