The Aubrey | 149-153 Newbury Street | Back Bay

11/4

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Not a fan of stacked bond masonry. It always looks like it was printed out in a big factory even when it’s hand-laid.
 
king_vibe said:
Not a fan of stacked bond masonry. It always looks like it was printed out in a big factory even when it’s hand-laid.
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I can see where you're coming from, as I've seen this done cheaply around Boston and agree with the visual risks. Yet, I am actually really optimistic about this one and am withholding judgement until its complete. The stacked bond has a very mid-century modern look, yet the color/texture of the brick is nonetheless compatible with old-school Newbury street. So this has the potential to present a very interesting juxtaposition. On very small scale (i.e., detail work, including interior, such as a fireplace surround), I have seen hand-laid stacked bond brickwork look fantastic and non-cheap. I have admittedly never seen hand-laid stacked bond at a scale such as this (that I can recall).

The designers took a risk on this one to spice up Newbury St. a bit without introducing any jarring dissonance, and I respect that experiment. Let's see where it takes us.
 
Frustrating that in NYC you see buildings built at this scale that just seem to be much higher quality.
 
bigpicture7 said:
I can see where you're coming from, as I've seen this done cheaply around Boston and agree with the visual risks. Yet, I am actually really optimistic about this one and am withholding judgement until its complete. The stacked bond has a very mid-century modern look, yet the color/texture of the brick is nonetheless compatible with old-school Newbury street. So this has the potential to present a very interesting juxtaposition. On very small scale (i.e., detail work, including interior, such as a fireplace surround), I have seen hand-laid stacked bond brickwork look fantastic and non-cheap. I have admittedly never seen hand-laid stacked bond at a scale such as this (that I can recall).

The designers took a risk on this one to spice up Newbury St. a bit without introducing any jarring dissonance, and I respect that experiment. Let's see where it takes us.
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I don't disagree, I just think that the pleasant effect of hand-laid brick is muted a bit by the bond pattern they chose. (I do get why they chose it.)
 
the wild rover said:
ehhh...i really hope the finished product is nice but the developers really missed out by not building one of the earlier proposals with the corner entrance design
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Couldn't agree more. I really liked how those earlier designs embraced the corner location. This one is so blocky it has a kind of a 1980s contemporary yet slightly dated appearance. The large windows that extend out from the building remind me a bit of the Darth Vader building though they will be much better. This version, under construction, would have been among my least favorites from the various redesigns they went through --

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I think that the size of the windows and their depth make this building really pop.
 
I think I preferred the look before the brick started to rise. A limestone facade would have been more visually appealing. Still a worthy addition to Newbury.
 
Those slits in the facade are pretty ugly. Are they permanent or will they be filled in?
 
I’m just a casual observer but I think those are expansion joints?

I really wish we got the corner entrance on the second and third iterations. Disappointing miss in my opinion.
 
I'm liking this one. It's definitely nothing to get excited about, but I think we're getting the best of the several iterations that were presented. Those earlier designs with the triangular facets at the corner were tacky and would have aged quite badly, IMO. This design being built doesn't appear interested in making any big architectural statements, and instead seems content to just quietly behave itself. I think that is about the best we can hope for these days, all things considered.
 
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^I think we can expect a bit more than to just behave nicely especially when there is quality infill projects abound in many cities (and a few recent in Boston such as Harriet Tubman house).
 
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