The Clarendon

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Today can't seam to get enough of this building I look forward to when the top is done and lit up at nite!
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from 93 south
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i've seen people hate on the Columbus Center, Fan Pier, Russia Wharf, IC, 111 Huntington, 45 Providence basically, every single new development in boston. And I have loved all of them [well, Fan Pier i don't love, but i don't hate it like most]

Then along comes the Claredon, and a majority of people think its great. I, On the other hand, absolutely HATE it. Least attractive building i've seen in my memory. Design IMO is horrible, at quick glance you hardly notice the glass portions and it looks like a big brown zig zag. The mullions are random and awkward on the glass section. Overall, just a very confusing building that makes me think of the time I threw up in 5th grade.

Am I the only person who feels this way?
 
^ I'm not exactly in the same boat as you (I never threw up in 5th grade) I could go either way on this building. I don't love it, and I don't hate it--but I'm closer to at least not really liking it than I am liking it. I don't mind the design so much as I mind the color brown they picked. In the initial rendering (see page 1) it looked more reddish brown than it does now. I liked that better. However in comparison to something like the Northeastern Dorms, this is a million times better. I'm with you though, I'm just not really into the brown facade at all.
 
Pats, I hear you on liking things others don't and vice versa, but I personally like the Clarendon a lot. It's modern (the window treatments, the zig zag, etc.), but it's also contextual (the color palate, the brickwork, etc.).
 
I don't see any zig-zags. I don't know what you're talking about.

I like it because it's super-contextual. The reddish-brown is very similar to all the older buildings, and the modern glass sections reflect the Hancock tower. It's no landmark, but it wasn't really meant to be. It's handsome, and it's a very strong addition to the skyline and the streetscape.
 
I don't hate it but as I posted last week...I am highly highly disappointed by the final product.

I do think it will look slightly better once the crown is done as it will help distract from the base....but overall this is just absolutely botched....

the glass...the windows...the brick....the color....the size...ugh

the rendering looked great but this looks nothing like it....
 
I'm pretty sure the color of the brick was chosen to match the YWCA building across the street. I went by it today and I really like how it seems like it is an extension of that building.
 
There's so many nice parts to this building, but IMO they don't add up to a satisfying whole.

For instance, I love the brown brick. In person it's rich, and with dirt eventually making its way onto the mortar it will be even more lovely. Also, I like the idea of ultra-blocky massing right next to the John Hancock. But the two together make for really strange bedfellows, and it does absolutely nothing for me.

And the white window frames on the brick portion was a horrible choice. They clash with the brick and clutter up the overall design like crazy.

HOWEVER, I still recognize that it's better (much better?) than average....just too bad the final product is so awkward. It leaves me thinking Stern should stick to the historicist stuff. (Comcast Center, while having nice glass, leaves me feeling the same thing).
 
My only problems are:

The shortness of the top section.
The way the building was rotated so that the lowrise is randomly stuck between the building and the neighbor.
 
I think this building is clumsy, awkward, and slightly depressing.
 
Man would it have looked nice if it was twice it's current height and slim like that.
 
Thoughts:

1) I honestly don't think the building would look better with more height. I think the design works as it is.

2) God damn the Westin is one piece of crap (not to mention Copley Place).

3) I've never given them much thought but I really like the apartment towers at the Pru. Classic modernism with good colors and massing.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
Thoughts:

1) I honestly don't think the building would look better with more height. I think the design works as it is.

2) God damn the Westin is one piece of crap (not to mention Copley Place).

3) I've never given them much thought but I really like the apartment towers at the Pru. Classic modernism with good colors and massing.
Click to expand...

I've often wished the penthouses at the Pru were a hair shorter, but they're actually aging quite well.

This is a decent addition to the collection to the area (the Westin and Copley Place were not!)
 
By Zig zags, im referring to the shape of the brick portion when its seen from the south.

Btw, another example of somthing others hate I like...the westin. Its not a lively building and it certainingly is no award winner/landmark, but it is a decent filler building IMO.
 
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