Tree House Residence Hall Tower @ MassArt | 578 Huntington Avenue | Fenway

Re: Mass Art Dormitory

Hello;

I ran across this page and thought that I'd share that I'm a Freshman at MassArt and that I live in the Artists' Residence--the building right next to the new dorm. The fact that it's supposed to be tall never really bothered me and I actually don't think that the overall building is as ugly as everyone thinks it is, but to each their own.

As for the tower having 13 stories, it's true, but it's also sorta weird; there's, like, two floors to a floor on some floors. So I guess there's technically over 20 stories. Because that building is way too tall for just 13 stories.

I don't know if the new dorm is in fact supposed to be taller than Tower, but it's pretty close. If it is, that's...sorta dumb. But it's more housing, and that's all that really matters.

I'll be posting pictures of the progress of the building if you guys would like.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

Pictures are always welcome here
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

TarantinoK1500 said:
Hello;

I ran across this page and thought that I'd share that I'm a Freshman at MassArt and that I live in the Artists' Residence--the building right next to the new dorm. The fact that it's supposed to be tall never really bothered me and I actually don't think that the overall building is as ugly as everyone thinks it is, but to each their own.

As for the tower having 13 stories, it's true, but it's also sorta weird; there's, like, two floors to a floor on some floors. So I guess there's technically over 20 stories. Because that building is way too tall for just 13 stories.

I don't know if the new dorm is in fact supposed to be taller than Tower, but it's pretty close. If it is, that's...sorta dumb. But it's more housing, and that's all that really matters.

I'll be posting pictures of the progress of the building if you guys would like.
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I don't (and no one else like Emporis) know the actual height of the MassArt Tower besides it being 13 stories. I've been in Tower on a variety of floors multiple times and it's not an extreme ceiling height.

Tower has floor-to-floor heights that are a little higher than typical construction to allow to studio headroom, but the MassArt dorm tower is going to surpass Tower. Keep in mind that the dorm tower isn't even halfway done yet.

PS. Maybe they should consider renaming Tower. It gets confusing... =P

Construction has also slowed for the winter. All they've done is add the construction elevator and start one more floor since winter break.
 
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Re: Mass Art Dormitory

I don't understand why "Tower" is a confusing name just because it might wind up shorter than this dorm. A tower doesn't have to be the tallest of its kind to be a tower.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

czsz said:
I don't understand why "Tower" is a confusing name just because it might wind up shorter than this dorm. A tower doesn't have to be the tallest of its kind to be a tower.
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It was just a joke. It gets a little weird talking about Tower and the (unnamed) dorm tower. I'm sure they'll give it a name.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

Alright; I finally got to getting you guys some pics:

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View from the 7th floor workroom in the Artists' Residence:
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And some probably unnecessary crane shots:
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I didn't have my wider-angle lens on at the time.


In some of the pictures, the building might look like it has a slight curve on the side or it's just messed up--that's because they're multiple photos stitched together since I either didn't have the right lens at the time or because I just couldn't get everything in one view.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

Thanks for the pictures.

It is interesting to see how the plaza turns out, it's quite the setback. I wish the project covered up the blank brick wall.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

jass said:
Thanks for the pictures.

It is interesting to see how the plaza turns out, it's quite the setback. I wish the project covered up the blank brick wall.
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Art students can't come up with a mural or some sort of sculpture to cover that?
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

Oh, and they've been working on this thing at the end of Vancouver street since the beginning of the school year and NOBODY knows what the hell it's supposed to be. I thought it was a sign for the new building because it has the same design language as it, but then they put windows in it. And it's located right in front of the small campus signs that tell you where you're at. I thought it might be like a little sculpture case thing but...nope. Then my roommate came up with the conclusion that it could be a little test piece for the whole building. Which makes sense because the inside of this thing is built like a skyscraper.

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I really want to know what this thing is because it's the first thing I see out of my window every morning. That first picture is taken through the window of my dorm.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

It's a mockup. That is how the facade is going to look.

It was awesome to watch them build it. Actually in studio, we went to visit it a few times because we were learning about the building envelope and structural methods.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

So it is! Well, I'm gonna tell my roommate that he was right.

They have literally been working on that thing since the beginning of the year, and they still are. I guess they have to carefully look over it or something to check for potential flaws?

Do they do this for most buildings?

And you watched them build that mockup?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just really curious.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

TarantinoK1500 said:
So it is! Well, I'm gonna tell my roommate that he was right.

They have literally been working on that thing since the beginning of the year, and they still are. I guess they have to carefully look over it or something to check for potential flaws?

Do they do this for most buildings?

And you watched them build that mockup?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just really curious.
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Yes, they do it for most buildings. Hayward Pl in Downtown Crossing has a similar mockup.

Yeah, I watched it go from the studs all the way to the paneling and everything in between (insulation, etc). I had some classes in Beatty Hall last year and I walked down Ward St every morning.

Don't feel sorry. I'm glad you're curious.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

Oh, that's pretty cool! I think I might go and check that out now if I get the chance.

I'll keep updating you guys with pictures when anything cool happens.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

TarantinoK1500 said:
Do they do this for most buildings?
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They do. I'm assuming it's required by regulation, because I doubt it's an expense every developer loves to have.

Probably so the community has time to complain?
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

What the hell is with that obnoxious green stripe in the mockup?
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

Haha, we were just getting annoyed because absolutely nobody knew what that thing was. We like how it looks; we just didn't get it.
 
Re: Mass Art Dormitory

BostonUrbEx said:
What the hell is with that obnoxious green stripe in the mockup?
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I thought that looked terrible, too, but if you look closely at the rendering you can see there's strips of green in it.

massartresidencehall800x759.jpg


Then it doesn't look so bad. To me, at least. It's supposed to be inspired by a piece of art called "The Tree of Life".

Really, the only thing similar to that piece of art is the colors and that's it. They made everything else up.
 
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