South Boston Infill and Small Developments

It appears that the vast majority of these infill projects over the last 5yrs or so have included garaged parking. It's a great move. Maybe one day, little by little, the spot-saver wars in that area will be less ridiculous.
 
Never in 50 years have I heard of a West Southie. The area is often called "The Lower End" because it is relatively flat.

Also, I just don't buy that even a simple majority of new residents without deeded parking spaces are going to go car-less; South Boston is not Manhattan. Not all good jobs in or around the area, or new residential developments in South Boston are reasonably accessable by the T. So my advice to new-comers is to bust out the cones and get a good shovel. You will need them come February
 
These are atrocities, and not because of VE. There is bad design, bad documentation, and bad construction happening, and those are not about cost savings.

An example: in e-style's second photo from the last photodump, we see a pop-out box which dies into that masonry volume with absolutely zero care. No trim, no nothing. It's not that those materials can't go together, it's that you can't just smash any two boxes together and call it a day.

Let your eye travel just a few feet higher and you'll see that the white cornice trim is totally misaligned with the gray box it sits on top of. Who messed up there? It got through punch, which means the architect didn't properly document the design intent there, and the contractor built exactly what they saw. If you want something, you have to draw it.

It's possible, with thoughtful and careful design, to get more with less. This ain't it.
 
cadetcarl said:
These are atrocities, and not because of VE. There is bad design, bad documentation, and bad construction happening, and those are not about cost savings.

An example: in e-style's second photo from the last photodump, we see a pop-out box which dies into that masonry volume with absolutely zero care. No trim, no nothing. It's not that those materials can't go together, it's that you can't just smash any two boxes together and call it a day.

Let your eye travel just a few feet higher and you'll see that the white cornice trim is totally misaligned with the gray box it sits on top of. Who messed up there? It got through punch, which means the architect didn't properly document the design intent there, and the contractor built exactly what they saw. If you want something, you have to draw it.

It's possible, with thoughtful and careful design, to get more with less. This ain't it.
Click to expand...

Lets get this straight. You get what you pay for. This design was done on the cheap because cheap was what was asked for. If you think it takes no time or money on either the design or construction time to detail well than you have not done any detailing. These projects are all what we call design/build. The client pays an architect to make a building code compliant and to give the client marketable renderings of the exterior of the building. Than it is handed to the builder to use their best judgement in interpreting the drawings. Why do it this way? It is cheaper. That is all. That is why I say in almost every thread that has pictures of projects like this "buyer beware" I would never think about buying a condo in a place like this, or even renting in a building like this older than 10 years old.

The second part of your question is easy. That trim you are offended by is a gutter. Like on a single family house. The client did not want internal drains (because it is expensive) so that only other option is a gutter. Nice ... right?

cca
 
We are not talking at cross purposes here--this is cheap garbage.

I'm not convinced it's a gutter. Can't see downspouts from either of the angles, which are present in other areas of the building. And also, it's a corner so even if you only needed a gutter on one side, how much more work would it be to draw a piece of trim to match on the adjoining side? That's a super-typical condition and wouldn't be that much more costly.

You get what you pay for, of course, but I think it's of utility to point out the kinds of things you aren't paying for when you cheap out so we can develop a collective eye for what is lost. I'm trying to be somewhat particular instead of being vague about not liking stuff.
 
cadetcarl said:
We are not talking at cross purposes here--this is cheap garbage.

I'm not convinced it's a gutter. Can't see downspouts from either of the angles, which are present in other areas of the building. And also, it's a corner so even if you only needed a gutter on one side, how much more work would it be to draw a piece of trim to match on the adjoining side? That's a super-typical condition and wouldn't be that much more costly.

You get what you pay for, of course, but I think it's of utility to point out the kinds of things you aren't paying for when you cheap out so we can develop a collective eye for what is lost. I'm trying to be somewhat particular instead of being vague about not liking stuff.
Click to expand...

We are agreeing, yes. I just want to be clear that the reason this is cheap is that the entities paying for the work ... are cheap. Which is why we are stuck with this garbage. And there will be a point where people are not willing to live in a cardboard box with (fake) granite countertops and pay a kings ransom ... and then quality will have to come back into the equation. This is a cycle that happens many times over history.

cca
 
Beeline, fantastic photos as always. I could never figure out where these projects are at all, so your inclusion of the addresses are also much appreciated for anyone interested enough to go take a gander in-person.

I think most of these projects look anywhere from 'OK' to 'pretty nice'! Unfortunately, common attributes like exposed overhead power lines and very narrow sidewalks detract from the overall aesthetic.

By the way, I had always assumed that this Y column was supposed to be structural in some way. It's purely decorative?? That is freaking terrible.

BeeLine said:


[url=https://flic.kr/p/KsNRvt]https://flic.kr/p/KsNRvt
Click to expand...
 
It's structural as in it's the end support for the balconies. I agree that this looks really, really weird.
 
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