One Greenway (Parcel 24) | 0 Kneeland Street | Chinatown

JeffDowntown said:
Well, that highway side facade is pretty drab and awful. Is there some new rule from the BCDC that facades facing I-93 have to be battleship gray? AC Hotel and this make not so great gateway projects.
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Hmm.. the overall look of the highway side reminds me more of a self-storage facility than a residential building. Probably not a great thing.
 
I drove up this ramp yesterday, its drastic how good 1 greenway is vs this. Two polar opposites on the architectural spectrum. 1 Greenway looks extremely classy and then you get to this and it looks like the side of a self storage building. I dont think that just because its facing an onramp this facade should have 0 effort at all, people still have to look at it. No idea what this was all about but its a huge dud. 1 Greenway has those long pillars with brick or terra cotta or whatever that material is and it looks amazing and then this is like the side of a warehouse.
 
stick n move said:
I drove up this ramp yesterday, its drastic how good 1 greenway is vs this. Two polar opposites on the architectural spectrum. 1 Greenway looks extremely classy and then you get to this and it looks like the side of a self storage building. I dont think that just because its facing an onramp this facade should have 0 effort at all, people still have to look at it. No idea what this was all about but its a huge dud. 1 Greenway has those long pillars with brick or terra cotta or whatever that material is and it looks amazing and then this is like the side of a warehouse.
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I hate to say this, but since this building is actually part of the One Greenway project I can't escape this impression.

The mid-rise Phase 2 building is 100% affordable ownership. The Phase 1 high-rise building includes both affordable and a lot of market rate luxury rentals.

This feels to me like affordable housing shaming in action (as in this is affordable, so you don't deserve nice things).
 
JeffDowntown said:
I hate to say this, but since this building is actually part of the One Greenway project I can't escape this impression.

The mid-rise Phase 2 building is 100% affordable ownership. The Phase 1 high-rise building includes both affordable and a lot of market rate luxury rentals.

This feels to me like affordable housing shaming in action (as in this is affordable, so you don't deserve nice things).
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Its too bad they didn't keep the phase 1 architects to do phase 2 - might have turned out/fit in better. The view from the highway side is awful - how the hell did it get through approvals/etc?
 
Spending a bunch of money to make one side of an 100% affordable building that is invisible from the street look better from a highway on-ramp is a pretty tough proposition...

I'm okay with this Phase II building. Are the finishing details great? No. But I still think this'll turn out better than plenty of market rate buildings that are currently going up (see here and here). And the site use here is perfect: take an awkward little slice of a plot next to an onramp and use it to create affordable housing and turn what was basically a highway frontage road into a real city street.
 
JumboBuc said:
Spending a bunch of money to make one side of an 100% affordable building that is invisible from the street look better from a highway on-ramp is a pretty tough proposition...

I'm okay with this Phase II building. Are the finishing details great? No. But I still think this'll turn out better than plenty of market rate buildings that are currently going up (see here and here). And the site use here is perfect: take an awkward little slice of a plot next to an onramp and use it to create affordable housing and turn what was basically a highway frontage road into a real city street.
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Yes, but changing the color choice from the soulless battleship gray on the highway side to something more in tune with Phase 1 would have been easy and "free".
 
JeffDowntown said:
IThis feels to me like affordable housing shaming in action (as in this is affordable, so you don't deserve nice things).
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If this is housing oppression where do I sign up? Yes the highway side could have been more attractive but this is a decently designed building.
 
JeffDowntown said:
This feels to me like affordable housing shaming in action (as in this is affordable, so you don't deserve nice things).
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I don't think it has anything to do with affordable housing. The backside of the luxury highrise 45 Province St. is that awful blank gray wall. Many buildings have backsides that neither resemble the front or have finishes that are more downmarket from the front. The same with many homes in the burbs with their brick or stone fronts and vinyl siding on the back of the house.
 
atlantaden said:
I don't think it has anything to do with affordable housing. The backside of the luxury highrise 45 Province St. is that awful blank gray wall. Many buildings have backsides that neither resemble the front or have finishes that are more downmarket from the front. The same with many homes in the burbs with their brick or stone fronts and vinyl siding on the back of the house.
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So basically just boils down to the time-honored tradition of cutting corners wherever you can then? :D As someone who appreciates details (even where not typically visible), this just irks me.
 
Looks like it's time for AB to bring back the worst architecture of the year award, or whatever it was called.
 
jl326 said:
So basically just boils down to the time-honored tradition of cutting corners wherever you can then? :D As someone who appreciates details (even where not typically visible), this just irks me.
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Can we be charitable and assume that they went cheap on the highway side in order to fund some nice touches (e.g. masonry) on the neighborhood side?
 
CSTH said:
Can we be charitable and assume that they went cheap on the highway side in order to fund some nice touches (e.g. masonry) on the neighborhood side?
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I agree that the neighborhood side is fine, and the entire complex is a great addition.

Unfortunately the highway side is not exactly a barely visible back alley -- it is a gateway location with a couple hundred thousand people viewing the blank gray wall daily. That doesn't say much for BCDC oversight. (Buildings in prominent locations often don't have "back sides".)
 
JeffDowntown said:
I agree that the neighborhood side is fine, and the entire complex is a great addition.

Unfortunately the highway side is not exactly a barely visible back alley -- it is a gateway location with a couple hundred thousand people viewing the blank gray wall daily. That doesn't say much for BCDC oversight. (Buildings in prominent locations often don't have "back sides".)
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Honestly, this is a prime candidate to have a nice mural painted onto it. I really think we should be doing more of that in situations like this - where economics might necessitate a rather bland/blank wall in a nonetheless visible location.

Such arrangements truly are a win-win...gives a budding artist a chance to build their portfolio in a high-profile way, and gives the city a low-cost means of improving the feel and sightlines of the city

I wish there were a way to nominate walls for this...
 
bigpicture7 said:
Honestly, this is a prime candidate to have a nice mural painted onto it. I really think we should be doing more of that in situations like this - where economics might necessitate a rather bland/blank wall in a nonetheless visible location.

Such arrangements truly are a win-win...gives a budding artist a chance to build their portfolio in a high-profile way, and gives the city a low-cost means of improving the feel and sightlines of the city

I wish there were a way to nominate walls for this...
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Excellent suggestion. I wish there was a process for this!
 
Yes!!

btw, can anyone give an estimate of the closest approach of semi-remolque's to people's bedroom windows down to fractions of feet?

The thought of those Catapillar tractors roaring just inches from your pillow is fuc_ing badass!
 
It should have never been called 0 Greenway. Maybe -242 Greenway, because that's how "close" it really is.
 
type001 said:
It should have never been called 0 Greenway. Maybe -242 Greenway, because that's how "close" it really is.
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Actually the Greenway Conservancy considers the small green space on either side of the Surface Artery all the way to Kneeland Street to be part of the Greenway. So One Greenway is a perfectly acceptable building name.

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Also the official address of the tower portion is 99 Kneeland Street.

The 88 Hudson portion is the affordable housing entrance around the corner.
 
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