Rose Kennedy Greenway

Harbor Islands Pavilion, today:

5608111348_dfd8899d7a_b.jpg
 
Shade?! On MY Greenway?! Outrageous.

I demand millions of holes be drilled into that roof at once.
 
I like how these are coming along, but will hold off final judgment until they are finished.
 
I mean, I guess pavilions are as good as actual buildings.

Also, notice the only structures that have been put up on the Greenway so far, are city buildings. Or state buildings. Whatever. Joke? Yes.
 
Perfect - looks like they're already prepping for the Greenway Trolley Line with a dazzling new station/shelter. Cheers...
 
So THAT'S where the Silver Li(n)e's promised new enclosed shelters wound up!
 
I know it's fashionable to mindlessly disparage the greenway, but have any of the comments that followed kz's picture added anything meaningful to a discussion of architecture or the greenway?

Here's a start:
Are the pavilions appropriate for the site?
Will they bring any new life to the greenway?
Is the structure interesting?
Are the ends of the concrete roof still shored up because of a design flaw or because it really takes that long to cure when pushing the limits?
Why is concrete not used with any frequency or daring in Boston?
 
Are the pavilions appropriate for the site?
These pavilions? No. A different pavilion design? Yes. It would be much more engaging with some sort of partial enclosure creating some sort of facade that could interact with the organic roof.

Will they bring any new life to the greenway?
Maybe more people will learn how awesome the Harbor Islands are, but the pavilions are certainly not inviting spaces.

Is the structure interesting?
No, it looks like a beginners' Rhino tutorial gone wrong. From a structural engineering aspect, it's extremely complex, but aesthetically it's a whole lot of nothing.

Why is concrete not used with any frequency or daring in Boston?
After City Hall, concrete unfortunately got a bad rap. It could be argued that these pavilions are baby steps to daring organic architecture in Boston, but they definitely DON'T sell it well.

This is the right way to do BOLD, organic architecture:

Barcelona-in-Spain_Santa-Caterina-Market_2893.jpg
699_m.jpg

Santa Caterina Market, Barcelona, Spain - Enric Miralles
 
Last edited:
I've heard (from a structural engineer) that the lack of concrete in Boston is an issue with the trades - if you want to build something, they want to do it with steel.

As for these pavilions, they will be interesting when it rains. I'd rather there were real programming on the greenway. I'd scatter one-story restaurant buildings and snack kiosks to start with - Tavern on the Green and Bryant Park style. Surely the greenway can afford such modest interventions. It's so frustrating that Boston so often refuses to do things that have been demonstrated definitively to work in other cities.

I mean, good god, the definitive study on how to design urban public spaces ? William Whyte's "The Social Life of Small Urban Places" ? has been pretty much gospel for thirty years, but the Greenway fails miserably to implement even the most basic of its common-sense guidelines.
 
Last edited:
My comment...

I mean, I guess pavilions are as good as actual buildings.
Click to expand...

...was meant to be sarcastic. Addressing your first point, datadyne.
 
Concrete wasn't used during extensively throughout the entire Big Dig era due to almost all the available concrete in the area going to that project.
 
here is some expansion on my comment in response to your queries

Are the pavilions appropriate for the site?
As a site that is destined to be park land, i think that it is an above average use. A pavilion that will hopefully show that structures and shade on the greenway draw people, as well as create a sort of home base for the harbor islands, is very appropriate that this time and place.

Will they bring any new life to the greenway?
I believe it will, modestly, but i think the true positive is that it will almost certainly draw more people that the empty park in other parts of the greenway. This will hopefully act as a seed and lead the way to more pavilions and buildings being built.

Is the structure interesting?
I find it so. It kind of reminds me of a modern take on the inside of a whale or a wooden ship, both of which are appropriate for what it will house and what it is near.

Are the ends of the concrete roof still shored up because of a design flaw or because it really takes that long to cure when pushing the limits?
I have no idea. I work in theater and i would just throw some drywall screws in it and call it a day. But, then again, all my stuff only stands for two weeks...

Why is concrete not used with any frequency or daring in Boston?
I would have to agree with the two points above. Bad wrap from all the brutalism, and all the concrete being used int he Big Dig, but this pavilion has the looks of showing the true potential of the material.
 
I'd actually like to clarify and say that a pavilion in general is an appropriate response to the site, but I'm not impressed by the stark concrete slab at all. I think some sort of wooden pavilion with more of an organic structure would be more inviting. It's just too bland, even in the renderings. I'm not personally a fan of Utile.
 
Last edited:
Beton Brut said:
I love how all of Utile's renderings show people walking past the pavilion, but not interacting with it.

Anyone sad this international competition-winning (wtf?) scheme didn't get built?
Click to expand...
I for one was bummed that this wasn't built. I had a feeling at the time that I'd believe it when I saw it. Alas, my gut feeling was correct. It was just too beautiful, too cutting edge for the median strip. What we ended up with looks like a bus stop.
 
The money shot is how it would look at night.
Click to expand...
When nobody is there to look at it.

I wish they would bring back the slow boat to Georges Island. The relaxing chug out there was part of the fun. I don't really enjoy being crammed on a tiny boat and getting blasted by wind.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Back
Top