Novartis Campus | 181-211 Mass Ave, 22 Windsor Street | Kendall Square | Cambridge

Yikes. I hope that stone stuff looks better in person. Because so far it just looks silly, like they got it from a Flintstones ride at Universal Studios.
 
Up close, the granite detailing is nice. However, I'm not yet sold on it from any distance.
 
I think this is really looking ridiculous. I haven't walked past it in person in a while so maybe I shouldn't be too harsh, but I'm thinking I would trade this for any box in the Seaport. It is trying so hard be a special flower, it is a little embarrassing.

What ever happened to handsome? Stately? Reserved elegance?

This is legos and construction paper.
 
I really like the building on the left & the stone work. Less thrilled with the sky blue building, but overall I like it a lot. It's definitely all over the place and crazy, but Boston needs more crazy.
 
I love that stone work. It breaks up the monotony of the boring office park design.
 
The stone screen is love-able in and of itself. There is a level of craft and thought that is rarely seen in projects these days. It could be a stand alone thing in my opinion and still be nice to look at. Why it is attached to a building is kind of besides the point.

I am mesmerized by the Lin tower (the blue one). I am not sure if I like it ... I guess I do ... but the combination of spandrel glass, fritted glass, and the very limited use of horizontal shading seems to add geometry to a building that is very flat. Its clever in its detailing. I appreciate cleverness.

The Mori Tower (the stepped tan one) ... is a clunky mess that looks like it belongs on 128. Its a huge use of resources for not a lot of impact. I am not sure what is going on here but I am guessing the exterior is an expression of some bigger interior move. Maybe the experience of being there is nice. I will likely never know.

cca
 
It is a bit busy but so are the other blocks around it. A lot is happening in a small area making it all feel somewhat cluttered.
The screened section (presumably back lit) should look great at night though, a big lantern.
 
Wow...that stone screen texture is really triggering some mild trypophobia.

I'm open to seeing the final result, but right now it's absolutely screaming biopharma. The whole thing feels clunky and like its trying too hard to take itself seriously as an urban campus - a collection of buildings designed to look like different but similar urban neighbours on some sort of modern sitcom.
 
Some new perspectives!

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Ohhhhhh that stone wall looks fantastic. Well worth the wait, in my opinion.

I'd say I'm satisfied with about 2/3 of this development. The section with the protruding boxes remind me too much of 1 Marina Park Drive.
 
I like it. A lot. Yes it's basically just an office park but it's fits in nicely and the only section of the site that actually needs to interact with the cityscape does so nicely with that stone work. I bet it looks amazing at night.
 
It is coming together nicely. Sadly the big tree in front is more dead than alive and this could be it's last year.
 
I'll reserve final judgement till it's finished but I don't like the stone work nearly as much as I thought I would. The steel beams really interrupt the visual patterns. Will be curious to see how this interacts with the street when the scaffolding comes down.
 
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