State Street HQ | One Congress | Bulfinch Crossing | West End

atlantaden said:
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So I'm going to be the "skunk at the garden party" and say that I think these towers look out of place/ weird(?) at present. Both being of such significant height and being so close together, really makes them stand out in an awkward fashion that's really apparent from both Cambridge St and even more apparent from the Greenway.

I like them both individually very much, I just find them visually jarring in their current environment . 🤷‍♂️
 
Hopefully such a view, if common among many other people, leads to the conclusion that we need more new structures to improve the massing aesthetic, lest we end up like Paris with Tour Montparnasse lol.

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You could probably have made a similar argument about the prudential as it was going up, and I think most would agree it ended up quite nice
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cburns said:
So I'm going to be the "skunk at the garden party" and say that I think these towers look out of place/ weird(?) at present. Both being of such significant height and being so close together, really makes them stand out in an awkward fashion that's really apparent from both Cambridge St and even more apparent from the Greenway.

I like them both individually very much, I just find them visually jarring in their current environment . 🤷‍♂️
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Presumably you have some ideas about what might be done to mitigate the visual impact at some future date? Just trying to understand the perception issue, but, for example, would things improve with additional towers generally in this neighborhood? Or is it about needing more background filler buildings? I'm just not sure what might be the issue and therefore how it might be addressed.
 
cburns said:
So I'm going to be the "skunk at the garden party" and say that I think these towers look out of place/ weird(?) at present. Both being of such significant height and being so close together, really makes them stand out in an awkward fashion that's really apparent from both Cambridge St and even more apparent from the Greenway.

I like them both individually very much, I just find them visually jarring in their current environment . 🤷‍♂️
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Hard disagree. Friendly question (as "friendly" as I get, anyway): Have you seen these in person?
 
@sean99090900 : I figured this comparison might come up, so I think to illustrate my point, imagine if only 111 and the Pru were the prominent buildings of the Back Bay skyline (eliminate 1 Dalton, 1 Clarendon, and the some of the mid rise hotels). I think this too would seem odd to have the pair next to each other in an area of much shorter buildings. Acknowledging I might have been conditioned/ biased by the "high spine" concept to expect a "chain" of towers to extend north of downtown, creating more linkage to the cluster forming around North Station and perhaps some more infill between 1 Boston Pl and this pair.

@HenryAlan : We know some sort of height/ change is coming to the Boston Government Service Center, so some vantages could change/ offer more infill if that project comes to fruition.

@chrisbrat: yes, rode over (by bike) the Longfellow and up Cambridge St yesterday on the way back from Central; it gave me that same jarring feeling as it does from approximately the Gov't Ctr offramps from 93N.

Again it's a personal/subjective thing; it just reads as weird to me.
 
cburns said:
So I'm going to be the "skunk at the garden party" and say that I think these towers look out of place/ weird(?) at present. Both being of such significant height and being so close together, really makes them stand out in an awkward fashion that's really apparent from both Cambridge St and even more apparent from the Greenway.

I like them both individually very much, I just find them visually jarring in their current environment . 🤷‍♂️
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Gotta start somewhere. Can't build 20 at the same time. Pioneers are needed.

I mean if that was a reason not to build them, nothing tall would ever be built.

I appreciate these. Just like I appreciate that 121 Broadway MXD resi tower going up in Cambridge and that Union Square tower all alone up at the end of the Green Line in Somerville. All of these are the catalyst/ gamechangers......and they are the truly meaningful ones long-term.
 
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cburns said:
So I'm going to be the "skunk at the garden party" and say that I think these towers look out of place/ weird(?) at present. Both being of such significant height and being so close together, really makes them stand out in an awkward fashion that's really apparent from both Cambridge St and even more apparent from the Greenway.

I like them both individually very much, I just find them visually jarring in their current environment . 🤷‍♂️
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I agree. Right now they're in stark contrast to their surroundings. The new, smaller version of the Sudbury that's planned should help. Even the ugly proposed lab would provide some relief. I'd love to see a few mid size buildings and lots of green space.
 
Patrick Winn said:
I agree. Right now they're in stark contrast to their surroundings. The new, smaller version of the Sudbury that's planned should help. Even the ugly proposed lab would provide some relief. I'd love to see a few mid size buildings and lots of green space.
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I'm hoping that lab there is aborted forthwith. Demand is high - - for residential, not labs. And there is very little sense for a lab on the Greenway, ffs.
 
I feel the same. It's an anticlimax to the whole project. There are a few buildings in seaport I'd love to copy and paste into that spot. Then some gardens, walkways. Something like the St. Regis would be nice.
 
The best part was the ground level connection to canal st which was removed with the lab proposal.
 
thats not accurate. granted it wasnt as good, but it wasnt 'removed'. and it wasnt just the building that diminished the connection as the site plans evolved, there are other factors too.

the image above has 2 buildings constructed on top of the T stations, which just isnt feasible at this point. for many reasons (development economics, construction phasing, politics of permitting, T bashing, take your pick). what was proposed 10 years ago (actually longer) just isnt feasible at this time.
 
real_EthanHunt said:
thats not accurate. granted it wasnt as good, but it wasnt 'removed'. and it wasnt just the building that diminished the connection as the site plans evolved, there are other factors too.

the image above has 2 buildings constructed on top of the T stations, which just isnt feasible at this point. for many reasons (development economics, construction phasing, politics of permitting, T bashing, take your pick). what was proposed 10 years ago (actually longer) just isnt feasible at this time.
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I'm a layman but I don't understand any of this. Are you working on the project? Can you be more specific on things like "Development economics"? I always thought t stops had a very small footprint. There's even one in the old state house. What changed in the last 10 years that made a plan like this go from feasible to completely out of the question?
 
cburns said:
So I'm going to be the "skunk at the garden party" and say that I think these towers look out of place/ weird(?) at present. Both being of such significant height and being so close together, really makes them stand out in an awkward fashion that's really apparent from both Cambridge St and even more apparent from the Greenway.

I like them both individually very much, I just find them visually jarring in their current environment . 🤷‍♂️
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Totally get what your saying. I personally wish they were a little further apart or angled/rotated differently. Plus the void in the foreground doesn't help. I hope when the project is finished that it'll look like it makes more sense.
 
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