Radian (Dainty Dot) | 120 Kingston Street | Chinatown

Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

I don't understand why, or how the guy keeps getting voted back into office. IN the last election he was voted in my 14% of all active voters in the city. Only 28% showed up at the polls. His largest voting blocks were Dorchester (22% of his votes), Hyde Park (9% of his votes), Roxbury and West Roxbury (each giving him 8% totalling 16%). I think those areas could use improvement, especially where crime is concerned. yet they keep voting him into office.

Maybe his success is due to the number of workers on the city's payroll as I've seen suggested in the past.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Say what you will about his policies, I don't doubt that he genuinely cares about the city.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Beton Brut said:
A better idea might be to hurl bricks from the Dainty Dot at the jerk-offs who run the BRA.

Boston's value as a city of historic and otherwise architecturally significant buildings is being undermined every day. We allow the demolition of valuable buildings, and tolerate cheap, thoughtless, and unsympathetic modifications to others. And the bulk new "architecture" we see is bereft of civic ambition, below the watermark of a city of Boston stature. The tower proposed for this site is an object-lesson in the insipid trumping the iconic.

Those who care deeply about the built environment in Boston and our architectural heritage from Charles Bulfinch to Paul Rudolph, have grown weary with the piss-poor stewardship of King Tom and his jester, Kairos Shen. I look forward to their departure from City Hall.
Click to expand...

well said!
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

AmericanFolkLegend said:
Say what you will about his policies, I don't doubt that he genuinely cares about the city.
Click to expand...

Abusive parents often care about their children, too.

Okay, I've derailed this thread enough. Sorry everyone.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Beton Brut said:
A better idea might be to hurl bricks from the Dainty Dot at the jerk-offs who run the BRA.

Boston's value as a city of historic and otherwise architecturally significant buildings is being undermined every day. We allow the demolition of valuable buildings, and tolerate cheap, thoughtless, and unsympathetic modifications to others. And the bulk new "architecture" we see is bereft of civic ambition, below the watermark of a city of Boston stature. The tower proposed for this site is an object-lesson in the insipid trumping the iconic.

Those who care deeply about the built environment in Boston and our architectural heritage from Charles Bulfinch to Paul Rudolph, have grown weary with the piss-poor stewardship of King Tom and his jester, Kairos Shen. I look forward to their departure from City Hall.
Click to expand...

+1
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Beton Brut said:
...

Boston's value as a city of historic and otherwise architecturally significant buildings is being undermined every day. We allow the demolition of valuable buildings, and tolerate cheap, thoughtless, and unsympathetic modifications to others. And the bulk new "architecture" we see is bereft of civic ambition, below the watermark of a city of Boston stature. The tower proposed for this site is an object-lesson in the insipid trumping the iconic.

Those who care deeply about the built environment in Boston and our architectural heritage from Charles Bulfinch to Paul Rudolph, have grown weary with the piss-poor stewardship of King Tom and his jester, Kairos Shen. I look forward to their departure from City Hall.
Click to expand...

+1

And I might add that there are far more "bring on the cranes, build anything" posts on ArchBoston than those calling for an upgrade in Boston architecture with an eye to preservation.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Sicilian, this is really the elephant in the room. I've been to dozens of BRA meetings, and I'm a regular at community meetings in my neighborhood.

(And as you know, I'm part of the growing opposition to a particular development less than a thousand yards from my front door. As I ask my neighbors to say no to the casino, I realize that it's critically important to show them that there's something better that they could say yes too.)

Too often, public meetings attract a vocal "too tall/too dense" crowd; it's a tired one-note tune. On the other hand, it's rare to hear complaints about the overall quality of materials or details of a proposed building. Edgy architecture will incur the wrath of a few people, but the drab, anodyne brick-veneer-and-Alucobond rubbish that's filling up the Bulfinch Triangle is approved without objection. More people need to stand up at these meetings and say "Boston deserves better than this."

Am I alone in wondering why Boston, a city with a global reputation, hosts no work by Rafael Moneo, Alvaro Siza, or Richard Meier? These guys all know how to do proper, classy urban buildings. Instead, it's CBT, or ICON, with inert, inoffensive, and utterly forgettable designs.
 
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Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Beton, I've said it before and I'll say it again.

NIMBY's do exist, and they do drag great projects down. But vocal opposition to tower height/density is amplified intentionally by the BRA for two reasons:

1. To increase leverage in the private negotiations with developer for monetary exactions and contributions to public works projects unrelated to the project.

AND

2. To prevent the community from deeply engaging in discussions about the project beyond height and density. There is rarely a public forum for discussion of a project's architecture, ground floors, conformance with broad planning objectives, etc.

The BRA thrives by manufacturing conflict. This is why developers are never allowed to engage the community without being represented by the BRA. The developers must clear every detail of a project with the BRA in advance of public process, and fully having height pre-approved prior to public process.

The game is rigged against higher quality projects, and the community and developer are too often manipulated into being in opposition with one another rather than collaboration.

As I've stated before, I heard a story about Renzo Piano walking away from a large project in Boston. As I understand, his experience during the approval process was emblematic of what I've outlined above, and nothing to do with NIMBYism. The goal in private meetings at City Hall was never to ensure a quality project, it was entirely driven by factors he felt were compromising the integrity of his work. So he walked.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Sorry, why, under your theory, wouldn't the BRA welcome other wedge issues to drive even more concessions from developers? I don't see their incentive to favor height/density issues alone. Also, if everything's cleared ahead of time, with the developer's knowledge, how is the BRA harnessing public anger at height/density issues? They would have already played that hand.

I don't see much evidence that "communities" have all these other frustrations that aren't being addressed. Where are the articles with quotes of people who say the BRA ignored their critique of materials, etc.? Or is the media in on this alleged conspiracy too?

Occam's Razor would suggest we're not dealing with a government agency that's near as put together as you suggest, nor a public that's somehow both incredibly sophisticated but easily and completely coopted at every turn.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

CZSZ, I responded with a lengthier post but deleted it since this doesn't seem like the appropriate forum.

My theory is not absolute. It's just an observation honed over years of dedicated attendance/participation at community meetings.

I suspect there are talented planners at the BRA who feel undermined by factors impacting projects that have little or nothing to do with the outcome on site. In fact, I generally think that comments focusing on Kairos Shen are misguided.

As for Beton's comment regarding the casino and his community, I can say that our community formed an organization to advocate for improvements in planning, architecture and general quality of the built environment. The best way to describe its members at the 10 year mark is "disillusioned."
 
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Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Any photos of the progress in erasing Bostons past?
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

today
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<open it up a lot!
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Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Great! A historic, beautiful building made of valuable, quality materials and in excellent condition has been turned into a few errant bricks and dust.

Now how long before this vacant lot becomes a parking lot after the developer fails to find funding?
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

^Wouldn't that actually be a good thing? Then a new developer comes in with a better design?
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Maybe if there were some guarantee the design were actually better and that it didn't mean 50 years of parking lot.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

^^Is anyone building anything WITHOUT approved funding nowadays?
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

And, in the post-Filene's-debacle era, is the City issuing demo permits if the developer doesn't have proof of financing?
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Suffolk doesn't do parking lots, to my knowledge.
 
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