Two Congress | Bulfinch Crossing East Parcel | West End

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I kinda wish they did something big and iconic for the T station. The station has 2 subway lines and alot of buses. It would have been neat if they could have incorporated the history of Hay Market with artwork and it's design to tell it's story. Boston has some of the best history of this country and it's always nice when they can show it through out the city in simple things like a T station.

I can't wait to walk through here when the whole garage over the road is gone. It will be like walking through the area when the Big Dig was all underground.
 
Any updated renders or details on the tower going next to the sudbury and state st hq?

Interesting that they seem so focused on the East parcel first
 
It’s a glass box with a slight curve, which still has some of the packing material on it.
 
Everything about this seems half-polished, from the design of the plaza space/bus terminal (the worst offender out of everything, IMO), to the expression of the facade and the supposed design intent behind it. I can empathize there was very likely no shy amount of constraints (the challenges they outline about the subsurface conditions aren't surprising, but highlight the would-be challenges of every archBoston dream (mine included) to infill City Hall Plaza), but it just seems like this was pushed through with no questions/criticisms or any found worth in pushing any sort of expectation higher than the bar being on the floor, especially for being sited at such a prominent location and sitting directly in front of what is turning out to be one of the best designed towers in Boston.


Developers gonna develop.
 
stefal said:
Everything about this seems half-polished, from the design of the plaza space/bus terminal (the worst offender out of everything, IMO), to the expression of the facade and the supposed design intent behind it. I can empathize there was very likely no shy amount of constraints (the challenges they outline about the subsurface conditions aren't surprising, but highlight the would-be challenges of every archBoston dream (mine included) to infill City Hall Plaza), but it just seems like this was pushed through with no questions/criticisms or any found worth in pushing any sort of expectation higher than the bar being on the floor, especially for being sited at such a prominent location and sitting directly in front of what is turning out to be one of the best designed towers in Boston.


Developers gonna develop.
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To me, the proposed building looks like an afterthought. The droopy horizontal elements on the facade combined with the curvature of the building itself and its rounded corners, all those together are unattractive to say the least. If they were trying to complement the curves of the State Street HQ, they didn't. Something a bit more angular and striking would have been great at this site, rather than a saggy blob.
 
The buzz cut of a four floor mechanical screen, which lacks any panache, but is absolutely necessary for the building to work, is the cherry on top of this choco-taco of a building.
I wonder what sort of conniption the punditry would have if the BPDA suddenly manifested a backbone and said “nope” to this.
 
stick n move said:
Hopefully this means it goes down fast now.
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The guy said it should be down within a couple of months but it's not a super fast process.

awood91 said:
Apologies if already posted, but this presentation from August 3 has a lot of renders/images I hadn't seen until today. Plus more detailed plans (pedestrian connection to Canal St is preserved).

bpda.app.box.com

20210803 Bullfinch Crossing East BCDC Presentation.pdf | Powered by Box

bpda.app.box.com bpda.app.box.com
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This is on page 10. I never saw this before. It lists State Street as 611'. Unfortunately, The Sudbury's height is so obviously wrong that it's tough to tell how accurate this is.

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awood91 said:
Apologies if already posted, but this presentation from August 3 has a lot of renders/images I hadn't seen until today. Plus more detailed plans (pedestrian connection to Canal St is preserved).

bpda.app.box.com

20210803 Bullfinch Crossing East BCDC Presentation.pdf | Powered by Box

bpda.app.box.com bpda.app.box.com
Click to expand...

I also noticed it looks like they changed the look on the 2nd residential tower, which will help differentiate it from the first one. That's good because this was never going to look as good, so at least it won't drag down The Sudbury by being totally derivative of it, only worse.

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BCDC: https://bpda.app.box.com/s/jk8tt790ohsof33z8vg9onsapyjc9yxh

Cool part here is the subsurface diagram. TBH, as disappointed as I am with this change, these are probably the best executed renders I've ever seen (beating the Red Sox development). I feel like I'm actually there (though if I were, I'd be asking how the 66 got rerouted so radically :)).

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They also make the mistake of providing their initial design study. Should have stuck with this one, folks:

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I don't like either version, but if we're going to have a big wall here, I'd rather it not be a big blank wall (version 1).

Further, they lowered the overall height by 36-feet, as we were asking them to upthread.

Also, the new version at least acknowledges that a vibrant ground level is important here.

Lastly, who the heck puts a kids' water play feature directly next to a bus station?? That render artist definitely doesn't have a toddler.
 
bigpicture7 said:
I don't like either version, but if we're going to have a big wall here,
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Does it have to be a wall? Could the city ask them to separate into 2 buildings (potentially linked by gerbil tube) with a walkway in the middle between Merrimac and the busway?
 
Me like.
It's swoopy, curvy, organic, and copper-colored (hopefully not red IRL). Maybe some more articulation on the mechanical screening so it looks less of a dropped on afterthought.
 
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