Radian (Dainty Dot) | 120 Kingston Street | Chinatown

Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

briv said:
I don't know why you're looking to Mexico for examples of how it may have been when you could've looked a block away to 125 Summer St. which is more appropriate and certainly as bad. Or, for a more recent example, maybe you could've looked a few blocks the other way to Russia Wharf...eh, I mean Atlantic Wharf.

Regardless, the comparison seems disingenuous.
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Russia (Atlantic) Wharf is tasteful compared to the ocean liner that was docked behind the facades of Red Lion row in Washington (by George Washington University, no less). And nearly across the street from the Mexicans.

2000penn.jpg
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

briv said:
Or, for a more recent example, maybe you could've looked a few blocks the other way to Russia Wharf...eh, I mean Atlantic Wharf..
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Briv, just curious, and not to get too far off topic, but what's the problem with Atlantic Wharf? They preserved an original building, kept the facades and good chunks of two others, have active retail/restaurants on the street level, loft's in the preserved section, a stunning lobby and built what I consider a pretty damn good looking building above! How would you have handled the project if you had been the architect?
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

To blaspheme... I also love Exchange Place *cringes from backlash*
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Every time I see 125 Summer I always question the hatred as well.
I don't love or hate it.
What I do hate is the lost of my favorite burritos there.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

atlantaden said:
Briv, just curious, and not to get too far off topic, but what's the problem with Atlantic Wharf? They preserved an original building, kept the facades and good chunks of two others, have active retail/restaurants on the street level, loft's in the preserved section, a stunning lobby and built what I consider a pretty damn good looking building above! How would you have handled the project if you had been the architect?
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My big issue with it is that they gut out the relatively rare Guastivino tile vaulted floors. That feature was far more significant then the otherwise unremarkable facade, and the part that was really worth saving.

Imagine the BSA space in THAT.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Why is Photobucket so useless?



 
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Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

quality addition to the skyline
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

Looking at that shot makes me think of what a huge impact the Filene's tower is going to have on the skyline from that angle ... it will be right in the middle of the gap between this building and One Beacon. Coming in from the south on I-93, I predict a lot of pics.


Nice pic, kz. I like this way this one is turning out for the most part.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

This stump is starting to look better now that glass is being slathered on the side of it. I agree with Mike, this angle is going to look great with the new Millennium DTX building.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

I'd still rather have the Dainty Dot, even in its tired and age-worn condition. Yes, it was in dire need, but the building that replaces it reflects little more than a financial arrangement, a piece of real estate negotiated and sold, a barter between the BRA and the developer. I am not cynical by nature. Business needs to be done. Understood. But there are people on this site who are happy because one edge of this erection is rounded and glazed? Really? The city is diminished by structures like this and people need to make a point of it. Not everything can be defining and iconic, true enough. There is no harm in straight-forward modest background buildings. But if you take down a piece of our history you better put up something that makes a difference and helps us forget what you've done. Or, if not quality design, quality materials at the least. This is not that. That was not accomplished. And we should not just find a way to accept mediocrity.

I may be a lone voice here - and I suspect I am on a forum where most people would take any kind of height in any manner possible - so be it. The character of this city will eventually be harmed if many more decisions like this are made. We are Boston. That means something. Underwhelming efforts like 120 Kingston diminish us as a city.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

nm88 said:
I'd still rather have the Dainty Dot, even in its tired and age-worn condition. Yes, it was in dire need, but the building that replaces it reflects little more than a financial arrangement, a piece of real estate negotiated and sold, a barter between the BRA and the developer. I am not cynical by nature. Business needs to be done. Understood. But there are people on this site who are happy because one edge of this erection is rounded and glazed? Really? The city is diminished by structures like this and people need to make a point of it. Not everything can be defining and iconic, true enough. There is no harm in straight-forward modest background buildings. But if you take down a piece of our history you better put up something that makes a difference and helps us forget what you've done. Or, if not quality design, quality materials at the least. This is not that. That was not accomplished. And we should not just find a way to accept mediocrity.

I may be a lone voice here - and I suspect I am on a forum where most people would take any kind of height in any manner possible - so be it. The character of this city will eventually be harmed if many more decisions like this are made. We are Boston. That means something. Underwhelming efforts like 120 Kingston diminish us as a city.
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Serious question. If Forest City hadn't looked to redevelop this site and the Dainty Dot was still sitting vacant and decaying, would anybody have given it a second's thought? Did anybody even realize it was there before this building was proposed?
 
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Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

nm88 said:
The city is diminished by structures like this
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I was in favor of demolishing Dainty Dot. I think the aesthetics of this glass tower does diminish the neighborhood.

This is a value project masquerading as a luxury one. The Ritz Carlton glass tower next door was a luxury project masquerading as a luxury one.

However: a building, especially a residential building, is not just a sculpture for the public to admire from the outside, nor even an architectural construction for it's residents to enjoy on the inside. It is a vessel of culture and lives and people. In this sense, I have great hopes for the four massive apartment buildings going up in this area.

Just 10 years ago, this area was desperately unpleasant. I think it's now one of best urban neighborhoods in Boston. I also think it's on the way to becoming the best neighborhood in the East Coast. It has an elite mixture of arts, commerce, dining, recreation, and residences within a walkable human scale. That makes it unlike any other urban neighborhood in America.

nm88 said:
it reflects little more than a financial arrangement...Business needs to be done.
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I see it as practical realism. I'd like to take an elevator up to the 20th floor rather than dream about soaring beauty.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

nm88 said:
I'd still rather have the Dainty Dot, even in its tired and age-worn condition. Yes, it was in dire need, but the building that replaces it reflects little more than a financial arrangement, a piece of real estate negotiated and sold, a barter between the BRA and the developer. I am not cynical by nature. Business needs to be done. Understood. But there are people on this site who are happy because one edge of this erection is rounded and glazed? Really? The city is diminished by structures like this and people need to make a point of it. Not everything can be defining and iconic, true enough. There is no harm in straight-forward modest background buildings. But if you take down a piece of our history you better put up something that makes a difference and helps us forget what you've done. Or, if not quality design, quality materials at the least. This is not that. That was not accomplished. And we should not just find a way to accept mediocrity.

I may be a lone voice here - and I suspect I am on a forum where most people would take any kind of height in any manner possible - so be it. The character of this city will eventually be harmed if many more decisions like this are made. We are Boston. That means something. Underwhelming efforts like 120 Kingston diminish us as a city.
Click to expand...

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

nm88 said:
I'd still rather have the Dainty Dot...I may be a lone voice here - and I suspect I am on a forum where most people would take any kind of height in any manner possible - so be it...
Click to expand...

-1 for solipsism
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

nm88 said:
I'd still rather have the Dainty Dot, even in its tired and age-worn condition. Yes, it was in dire need, but the building that replaces it reflects little more than a financial arrangement, a piece of real estate negotiated and sold, a barter between the BRA and the developer. I am not cynical by nature. Business needs to be done. Understood. But there are people on this site who are happy because one edge of this erection is rounded and glazed? Really? The city is diminished by structures like this and people need to make a point of it. Not everything can be defining and iconic, true enough. There is no harm in straight-forward modest background buildings. But if you take down a piece of our history you better put up something that makes a difference and helps us forget what you've done. Or, if not quality design, quality materials at the least. This is not that. That was not accomplished. And we should not just find a way to accept mediocrity.
Click to expand...

I guess I'm one of those who are happy because one edge of this erection is rounded and glazed! No apology for that! I, for one, do not for a minute miss that damn ugly, blank, ruin of a brick wall that faced the Chinatown park extension of the Greenway! And as far as a piece of our history gone, frankly, any building that is taken down in the city is a piece of our history! Is it right? Not in every instance by a long shot! But it's what allows a city center to grow! I am sure that the original Dainty Dot building herself rose above the ruins and bones of some previous set of smaller buildings just as I'm sure that the Dainty Dot herself was the result of a straight-forward, cold, business transaction! And the original proposal for this building did, in fact, do the Dainty Dot justice, it was simply a beautiful structure that incorporated the best of the façade of Dainty Dot but the neighborhood and the BRA basically killed the design! To me, that's the biggest shame in this whole sorry episode! The Dot was probably doomed from the moment she was sliced in half to build the Central Artery through downtown Boston!
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

atlantaden said:
....I, for one, do not for a minute miss that damn ugly, blank, ruin of a brick wall that faced the Chinatown park extension of the Greenway!
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Well, Boston is trading that blank brick wall for a modern less expensive blank wall at the ground level. Did you know that? That's why most people are complaining about this project.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

What they shoulda woulda coulda done here would have been to chop off the back of the Dainty Dot and built the tower opening onto the greenway. The fountain would have had to be moved but that's about it.

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The tower (red) would have been just over 60', perfect for residential. The remaining portion of the Dainty Dot could have either been tied into the tower if the floor plates lined up, or flipped to someone to make lofts out of. Either way the cornerstone of that area would have remained, and the greenway would have gotten a better streetwall then we are getting, or would have gotten had the brick remained.
 
Re: 120 Kingston, 29 Story Tower in Chinatown

That's a really nifty plan there, davem, and it looks like the tower portion could have the same amount of floor area or perhaps even more than the as-built design. But it's a bit too nifty...the ruling bottom feeders could never go for it.
 
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