W Hotel | 100 Stuart St | Theater District

[Beton Brut]

Re: W Hotel

No, I'm not being sarcastic, I'm just out of it.

I had no idea people could tell 80's glass from today's.

Don't be coy, ablarc. Very few glass curtain-wall buildings from the 80s employed transparent glass. It was too old-school, too Miesien. Most towers were clad in mirrored or black-tinted glass, an influence (perhaps) of Henry Cobb's magnum opus in Copley Square that persevered into the PoMo era.

In terms of sculptural quality in a forthrightly Modern aesthetic executed in the 80s, only Kevin Roche's UN Plaza hotel comes to mind. It is, however, mirrored glass.

 

[kennedy]

Re: W Hotel

Did they serve you up a mean Shirley Temple?


Sorry!

To be honest, a sparkling lemonade. It was very refreshing. No offense taken, but I stay by what I said earlier-Drink is very cool, even for those who are under 21, visiting on a rainy Sunday afternoon.

 

[kz1000ps]

Re: W Hotel

In terms of sculptural quality in a forthrightly Modern aesthetic executed in the 80s, only Kevin Roche's UN Plaza hotel comes to mind.

Mmm, I love that building and its fraternal twin. The glass is as handsome as mirrored glass gets, and I love their hovering presence over Tudor City (a favorite place of mine).

 

[smw2340]

Re: W Hotel

not sure if this link has been posted yet, but it is for the Residential piece of The W
http://www.100stuartstreet.com/

 

[bostoncitywalk]

Re: W Hotel

Another from Saturday, September 19:



Check out the rest of my pictures of W Boston Construction here: http://bit.ly/14uPjs

 

[nm88]

Re: W Hotel

bostoncitywalk, nice pictures. thank you.
again -- liked the building in the renderings more than the finished building itself.
if we go tall (i know this isn't tall for most of you) shouldn't we attempt something more iconic, worthy of height -- what was promised in the renderings? i know renderings are a sales too -- but the building had a more transparent feel in the renderings.
this building just seems tall.

 

[kennedy]

Re: W Hotel

Transparency is much more expensive, in terms of framing the curtain glass. The way they did it here, with those metal strips as frames, is much cheaper but also much uglier. Ditto for the horizontal stripes on the back side.

At least, that's my guess.

 

[found5dollar]

Re: W Hotel

is it just me or does that picture make the W look like a less shiny and striped version of the Hancock Tower?

 

[atlrvr]

Re: W Hotel

The left side just screams 1 Financial.

 

[Boston02124]

Re: W Hotel

today from The Channel center,

 

[Meadowhawk]

Re: W Hotel

It is imperative that the planned building adjacent to the W be built so as to offset its height, compliment its simplicity, and create a "gateway" to the South End.

 

[jass]

Re: W Hotel

Those of you who loved my pictures of the Clarendon base, will love these!

Small cement sidewalk (everything around it uses brick), no trees or any decorative furniture! Even the bike racks (which appear to have been installed incorrectly) are pushed as far away as possible.

On the plus side, the roof, which looks inadequate from far away, does appear to cover everything.

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Re: W Hotel

Wow, that's pretty shitty.

 

[BarbaricManchurian]

Re: W Hotel

^^Better than the Clarendon because at least there will be dozens of drunk tourists staggering and “activating” the sidewalk.

 

[Justin7]

Re: W Hotel

"Go away."

 

[commuter guy]

Re: W Hotel

Dreadful interaction with the sidewalk and public realm on Stuart Street. Looks Cold, sterile and boring from the pics. The other sides are worse. The simple lessons for successful design in the past seem to either have been forgotten or intentionally disregarded. This building only looks good from a few chosen angles. But, I guess one could say it is better than the parking lot it replaced.

 

[czsz]

Re: W Hotel

When will the driveway-ization of Boston's side streets end?

When did economies of scale finally crush the ability to build small in city centers?

 

[vanshnookenraggen]

Re: W Hotel

I wrote this last December:

I think it's biggest failing will be a lack of street activity. All the new buildings along Kneeland and Stuart Sts have really sterile and uninviting street levels which is due to the small number of doors spaced far apart.

I couldn't have been more right, unfortunately.

 

[Beton Brut]

Re: W Hotel

The W is a small-minded, cheap version of NYC's new Standard Hotel. Even a tame, gentrified Meat Packing District beats the hell out of our sad excuse for a Theatre District.

 

[cca]

Re: W Hotel

When will the driveway-ization of Boston's side streets end?

When did economies of scale finally crush the ability to build small in city centers?

When the car-ification of the world ends. Dont hold your breath.