The Distillery | 516 E. Second St | South Boston

briv

briv

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From the Herald:

The Boston Herald said:
Southie may host first U.S. ?zero-energy? complex

By Paul Restuccia
Friday, May 16, 2008 - Updated 8h ago





Boston?s push to become a U.S. leader in the burgeoning ?green? building movement is taking a huge step forward with plans to start building the nation?s first ?zero-energy? multi-unit residential complex in South Boston by early next year.


The project, on the site of The Distillery artists loft building in South Boston at 516 E. Second St., would have 65 to 70 new units that generate all their power on-site by burning wood chips or vegetable oil. The project is getting exposure at the national American Institute of Architects convention, which began yesterday in the Hub.


?This is a huge thing in Europe and now we?re bringing it to the United States,? said developer Fred Gordon, who owns the Distillery building, which will be preserved.



?What Boston is doing with green design is impressive, going beyond its parochialism and bringing in the real experts from around the world,? said Hubert Murray, a Hub architect and past Boston Society of Architects president. He is a consultant on the Southie project, which is being designed by Next Phase Studios, a young Boston firm with green design experience on the well-regarded Genzyme headquarters building.


The zero-energy project is happening as city officials outlined Boston?s first-in-the-nation ?green? zoning code yesterday to a packed house at the AIA convention.


?Other cities are looking to us as a model and want to emulate what we?ve done,? said Kairos Shen, director of planning for the Boston Redevelopment Authority, one of the presenters at the AIA forum.


Boston?s green zoning code, enacted last year, requires that projects larger than 50,000 square feet be LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certifiable and offers green building credits for energy savings, historic preservation, groundwater conservation and for transit-pass plans and car-sharing and bike facilities.


Zero-energy or ?carbon neutral? buildings far exceed energy savings now required by the city. LEED standards can save up to 30 percent of energy use.


The South Boston project?s ?passive house? technology involves completely sealing and insulating housing units and using ventilators for heat recovery and fresh air.


The project is about two-thirds of the way through the city?s large-project review process and the developer hopes to break ground by early next year. Gordon says the cost premium for the project is only 3 percent.
?We?ve set the floor citywide and we?re pushing developers not just to meet our expectations but to exceed them,? said James Hunt III, chief of the city?s environmental and energy services department and co-presenter at the AIA forum.
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Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery)

This is the kind of project that I like seeing in the works. This is infinitely more exciting than a 1000 foot tower.
 
Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery)

I agree this is the right step, but why burn anything at all?
 
Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery)

?What Boston is doing with green design is impressive, going beyond its parochialism and bringing in the real experts from around the world,? said Hubert Murray, a Hub architect and past Boston Society of Architects president.
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Not only does Mr. Murray come across as a Euro-trash snob but I would add that this building is a perfect example of cookie-cutter "parochialism".

Do not blame the city, all cities have there own style, blame the talentless architects.
 
Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery)

Scott said:
Not only does Mr. Murray come across as a Euro-trash snob but I would add that this building is a perfect example of cookie-cutter "parochialism".
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How does he come across as a "Euro-trash snob"? It's a sad fact that Europe is way, way ahead of the U.S. when it comes to building sustainably. We are playing catch up. And - I would argue - it is also a sad fact that Boston has a reputation as parochial. With cutting edge projects like this, however, the city is starting to outgrow that reputation.

Climate change and widespread ecosystem collapse are some of the most pressing global issues of our time. A project that employs state-of-the-art technologies to address the global environmental crises, breaking the mold of development as usual, is anything but cookie-cutter parochialism.
 
Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery)

it is also a sad fact that Boston has a reputation as parochial
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It is also a fact that Bostonians don't give a rats ass what others think.

btw- When you quoted you left out the most important part.

Climate change and widespread ecosystem collapse are some of the most pressing global issues of our time.
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Yes, I understand, and that is not the point so spare me the lecture
 
Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery)

With mixed use on the ground floor, one could put in a Roi de Burger and drain the pomme frites oil straight to the fourneau. Tres chick.
 
Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery)

once again, this points out how boston is lightyears ahead of the rest of the US in every department cept for shitty penis shaped glass supertalls.
 
Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery)

Awesome news, this is really cool...I'm interested in seeing some renders.

Briv, hope you don't mind me posting this article over at SkyscraperCity.
 
Re: 516 E. Second St (The Distillery)

Scott said:
It is also a fact that Bostonians don't give a rats ass what others think.

btw- When you quoted you left out the most important part.



Yes, I understand, and that is not the point so spare me the lecture
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Okay....what was your point? I'm not sure I understood your initial post.
 
BeeLine said:
https://flic.kr/p/NaGE56

https://flic.kr/p/Nf8gMS
BeeLine said:
https://flic.kr/p/N1ENfW

https://flic.kr/p/N1EGC3

https://flic.kr/p/NYtSZx

https://flic.kr/p/NQHEse
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Originally Posted by The Boston Herald
Southie may host first U.S. ?zero-energy? complex

By Paul Restuccia
Friday, May 16, 2008 - Updated 8h ago

Boston?s push to become a U.S. leader in the burgeoning ?green? building movement is taking a huge step forward with plans to start building the nation?s first ?zero-energy? multi-unit residential complex in South Boston by early next year....

The project, on the site of The Distillery artists loft building in South Boston at 516 E. Second St., would have 65 to 70 new units that generate all their power on-site by burning wood chips or vegetable oil. The project is getting exposure at the national American Institute of Architects convention, which began yesterday in the Hub.

?This is a huge thing in Europe and now we?re bringing it to the United States,? said developer Fred Gordon, who owns the Distillery building, which will be preserved.
Click to expand...

All that hype for what amounts to a more modern 3Decker
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That is terribly unpleasant.

cca
 
cca said:
That is terribly unpleasant.

cca
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I think it's safe to assume it looked good in the CAD drawings. What an eyesore that back is, but I'm sure it will be entertaining if nothing else.
 
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