The Hub on Causeway (née TD Garden Towers) | 80 Causeway Street | West End

[odurandina]

Chicago's NBC tower is also another example (1989).

one of my favorite buildings in Chicago....

so sad something like this isn't going in there.

 

[tangent]

I'll say it again: simply continuing the black grid/glass facade (e.g., what's on the upper portion) over the whole height and putting some kind of interesting roof would have totally solved this.

The black grid/glass facade would have solved their aspiration to fit context/history. It is an industrial look fitting to the historic area.

The industrial look with this kind of window pattern is captured many places around here, e.g.:
https://goo.gl/maps/6taSV2kYpfP2
https://goo.gl/maps/eb8MeWa1cgG2

This is what I most agree with and it seems like a reasonable way to move forward and look at is as a refinement of this new design rather than rolling the dice with yet another complete redesign.

Also, are there renders from the Zakim bridge perspective? It must look totally different from the other side.

 

[KentXie]

one of my favorite buildings in Chicago....

so sad something like this isn't going in there.

Might not be too late. Honestly, the spire iteration wasn't that far off from the NBC tower. It would just need to be a little taller with better set back to make it look less bulky.

 

[stick n move]

If they used that original spire tower and had continued the facade to the ground on the edge of the podium that would have been perfect. You get the full height of the facade from ground to roof giving it the appearance of its true height making it less stubby and you get a full height tower. I think that should have been an option vs the whole tower plopped on a podium. Plus coming over the zakim you would have seen the full height tower but still had almost all of the podium on causeway st.

 

[cca]

Uh ..also the spire was symbolically consistent with the tenant of the building in the case of NBC. This is just a stuck-on detail to be ... uh ... different?

cca

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

As much as I love me some pro-mo-art-deco what was proposed for this project was far from that and wasn't a great building in the first place. The new one is at least more honest with its design. The old design clashed with the base, the new one at least keeps it going. I don't love any of it but I'm not mourning at all.

Y'all are just freaking out because you lost a spire so maybe you need to reevaluate your lives a bit.

 

[Arborway]

I'll say it again: simply continuing the black grid/glass facade (e.g., what's on the upper portion) over the whole height and putting some kind of interesting roof would have totally solved this.

The black grid/glass facade would have solved their aspiration to fit context/history. It is an industrial look fitting to the historic area.

The industrial look with this kind of window pattern is captured many places around here, e.g.:
https://goo.gl/maps/6taSV2kYpfP2
https://goo.gl/maps/eb8MeWa1cgG2

Agreed.

"Why didn't they just make the whole building look like that one part of the building?" strikes again. It's a recurring theme in Boston.

 

[DZH22]

The fat building with the spire had 1 good angle, and that was dead-on from the highway. That's it. Otherwise it just looked FAT FAT FAT. It looked like the aspect ratio was squished, like when the new tv's originally came out but didn't have HD yet, so the 4x3 became squished into short, fat people in the 16x9. That's what the tower would have been, a real-life squished version that could never be fixed with HD.

The current version also isn't good. The glass portion above the podium looks like another podium, so it's basically an oddball tower on top of a glass podium on top of another podium. It's totally disjointed. I don't like the current top either. I mean, 3 different treatments? Glass, grate, AND open area?! Garish, at best. It looks ridiculous and clunky in BOTH angles show below.

The residential tower remains the biggest disappointment, and if they knew they wanted to shrink it and go bigger with the office then the towers should have switched places (ie get the bigger one further from the North End). Then we might have been able to get closer to 600' for the office tower.

In short, the developer was weak for caving to NIMBY's without a fight, short-sited for not switching the towers around, and obtuse to the lackadaisical way they are treating a gateway parcel. Then, the BPDA dropped the ball by being complicit with the height reduction and poor design on a parcel that the FAA would have let go 800', that didn't have "shadow on the park" problems, and that is on top of NORTH FREAKING STATION.

Oh dear...

https://twitter.com/SteveAdamsTweet/status/970775863426977793

https://twitter.com/SteveAdamsTweet/status/970778854762704898

 

[dotdude78]

Do any of you watch Celtics or Bruins games?

One reason this turd of a building bothers me is because it's a prominent location - right next to the Garden - that millions of people see every year. Whenever there's a game, there's a TV shot with a panoramic sky shot of the Garden. And now this fat mid-rise is what people will see of our city.

It's sad that when teams play games on the road, even in D-list cities like Indianapolis, Cleveland, and Charlotte that you see TALL, well-lit towers in their pan shots.

 

[stick n move]

The fat building with the spire had 1 good angle, and that was dead-on from the highway. That's it.

At least it had one.... unlike the new tower. Plus it was from the most important side that it looked the best. I think they should have moved the tower over to the right and continued the facade down to ground level in the corner. That way you get to see the tower in its entirety making it non stumpy, but still get the podium. Also Im going to have to disagree with your one good angle comment.

These look fine too, I dont see the prob: These were also going to be lit at night.

I cant understand how anyone can think the new design is better. Plus the city has basically no spires, we need them, especially lit ones, preferably at important locations that will be on tv every night........

This would be on tv for bruins celts games damn near every night showing basically this angle, which looks very good. Plus coming down 93 the garden would block the bottom of the tower not showing that its stumpy or on a podium, it would have looked great. Look at this pic below and imagine if they moved the tower over to the corner next to 93 extending it all the way to the ground showing its full height. That would have been the best way to do this. We would have still had the podium too. We got screwed, but time.

Lol now we get this coming down the pike and get to see this on tv every night. TURD.

With the converse building and lovejoy wharf this area was reaaaalllly coming along nicely. Plus the pike parcel was capped. All we needed was this crown and lit spire to top it off. Now its back to the west end being the ugly side of the city, sweet. Odurandia and all the other meeting attendees we need you guys now even more than before. Literally just like 115 fed all they have to do is go back to what they had, shouldn't be that hard. For some reason it always is though. Literally just forget about what just happened and go back to before and pretend like this never happened and everything would be ok.



The scariest thing is now everything is on the table to be raped and pillaged. Im worried this is next. Given our track record and how far out this thing is why wouldn't they destroy this. I see a waterside place prefab piece of ass replacing this quick fast and in a hurry to save money. If they touch this glass tower they have no regard for human life or the future of our skyline. Just wait for it..... its gonna hurt.

 

[curcuas]

The new design looks vaguely east asian, perhaps like several traditional Japanese houses stacked...I rather like it and think it a good symbol of modern Boston

 

[KentXie]

As much as I love me some pro-mo-art-deco what was proposed for this project was far from that and wasn't a great building in the first place. The new one is at least more honest with its design. The old design clashed with the base, the new one at least keeps it going. I don't love any of it but I'm not mourning at all.

Y'all are just freaking out because you lost a spire so maybe you need to reevaluate your lives a bit.

All I'm saying is, you look at what other major cities are designing and proposing and you can't help but think that architects are using cutting edge software for them and designing with Lego blocks for Boston.

 

[KentXie]

The new design looks vaguely east asian, perhaps like several traditional Japanese houses stacked...I rather like it and think it a good symbol of modern Boston

More like a stack of jenga blocks with four partially poked out from the side.

 

[odurandina]

All I'm saying is, you look at what other major cities are designing and proposing and you can't help but think that architects are using cutting edge software for them and designing with Lego blocks for Boston. ...like a stack of jenga blocks with four partially poked out from the side.

Unquestionably. Not enough commitment to quality on these significant parcels.

You see what's being built in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle.... We should be getting better designs.

 

[DZH22]

You see what's being built in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle.... We should be getting better designs.

Miami is the ugliest city in the United States. I don't know why you would bring up there of all places. They are finishing up a new tallest building and it is completely lackluster. Downhill from their 4 Seasons, which in turn was downhill from the Wachovia Financial Center.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=1552388&page=8

 

[tysmith95]

Unquestionably. Not enough commitment to quality on these significant parcels.

You see what's being built in New York, Los Angeles, Miami, Philadelphia, Seattle.... We should be getting better designs.

Millennium Tower, Four Seasons.

We are getting good designs, just not on every parcel. No city is getting great designs everywhere.

 

[stick n move]

Exactly. Ny is building things like tower verre and were building a japanese jenga block tower at north station. We shouldnt be settling for any of this. Architecture is in a new golden age in many cities and were farting around with garbage. We have great minds here I think we should be able to build nice things. Hell we should be striving to be THE example of how to do architecture right. We should be showing other cities how its done and be a leader, we have the people to do it. Gcg office tower is a great start on how to be creative and look good at the same time. We need that x10. MT was a great example as well. 888 boylston raped the skykine from across the charles but hopefully with that very nice pike parcel tower we wont notice anymore. That tower if built will be another great example of using the correct angles to make something nice. We need some tall liberty mutuals as well, preferably with a spire because were lacking those, and just lost another one. Still not sure why we built 1 liberty mutual, it was a massive success, then we just forgot about it and that its even possible. Someone remind the bpda that other cities are building incredible limestone towers and since the 20s passed us we should probably catch up to like every other major city in America that built great limestone towers back in the day and add a couple to our 1970s skyline. We need limestone and glass.

 

[KentXie]

Millennium Tower, Four Seasons.

We are getting good designs, just not on every parcel. No city is getting great designs everywhere.

I'll throw in Liberty Mutual but what's that? 3 in the last 15 years? I'm pretty sure most major cities are getting more than 3 above average design in the last 15 years.

 

[stick n move]

We need a tall liberty mutual more than a fat kid needs cake. Limestone art deco has been re-perfected now is our time. We got passed once shouldnt get passed over again. Even buffalo has amazing art deco towers. Were the only great city without any that are substantial.

 

[DZH22]

888 boylston raped the skykine from across the charles....

I share your disdain for this building, but it's hard to argue that the 17th tallest structure in the Back Bay was able to have quite this kind of impact, prominent location notwithstanding.