Wentworth Institute of Technology Expansion | Fenway

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Did you go inside Beatty/Flanagan Campus Center at all? It's pretty nice in there now. A huuuuuuge difference from what it was.
 
I did not. Too bad the additions are so discordant with pretty much everything around it.
 
You should also check out the addition to Ira Allen when you get a chance too. The atrium they created with the former brick exterior facade is just awesome.
 
Huh...I walked right by it and didn't notice anything new and shiny. Guess I'll need to look harder next time.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
What's going on there?
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Not sure what's going on in Dobbs (that's what KZ's pic is of), but the basement of Wentworth Hall will become the Altschuler Computer Center.

Quick Facts

- Large, collaborative workspace for data center development.
- State-of-the-art corporate data centers: open cable trays for easy access, flexible computer work pods, and open server racks.
- Main computer classroom sheathed in full-height glass along the corridor.
- Social spaces for students that include device-charging stations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akviq0xV2TI
 
Boston has designs to spruce up ‘Avenue of the Arts’ on Huntington
It’s home to the Boston Symphony Orchestra, New England Conservatory, Huntington Theatre Co., Northeastern University, Museum of Fine Arts, Massachusetts College of Art and Design and Wentworth Institute of Technology.

And now the Boston Redevelopment Authority wants the Huntington Avenue area, known as the “Avenue of the Arts,” to live up to that institutional weight in terms of urban design.

The city’s planning and economic development agency is seeking proposals to develop design guidelines that will elevate the area’s character in terms of future development and a more pedestrian-friendly streetscape.

Its solicitation comes in the wake of zoning relief and conceptual approval granted last year for future projects — individual components of which still need BRA approval — that will effect the Avenue of the Arts, which runs from Massachusetts Avenue to Longwood Avenue, and the immediate surrounding area.

“The idea is to really give a more coherent urban character for this most important avenue,” said Kairos Shen, director of planning at the BRA, who conceded it’s “not particularly beautiful” now.

Projects set to affect the area include Wentworth’s redevelopment of Sweeney Field at 500 Huntington Ave. into a 650,000-square-foot research and academic complex. Northeastern’s master plan includes 2 million-plus square feet of new academic, student life, housing and athletic space. The final location and appearance of those buildings, open spaces and public amenities still are subject to BRA approval.

“There could be better coordination among the projects,” Shen said. “These guidelines will help us coordinate the specific design and development review.”

Future MFA projects include infilling or enclosing the west courtyard, a new wing on the west side of the museum, upgrading the School of the MFA, a new underground parking garage and landscaping.

The BRA study is in line with Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s focus on the arts and culture in his administration and the city. Walsh this week named Julie Burros as Boston’s first cabinet-level chief of arts and culture, who will oversee the creation of a long-term cultural plan for the city and increase diversity and inclusion in the arts and secure funding.

The planned study was welcomed by the MFA, which asked the BRA to implement a collaborative approach to the future planning of the Avenue of the Arts in August 2013, according to spokeswoman Karen Frascona. “The MFA is pleased that Mayor Martin Walsh and the BRA have authorized a comprehensive planning process, and we look forward to working with our neighbors on a long-term plan for the area,” she said.

A spokesman for the BSO said it is “very encouraged by the renewed focus on this incredibly vibrant neighborhood.”
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http://www.bostonherald.com/busines...to_spruce_up_avenue_of_the_arts_on_huntington
 
WIT files plan for Sweeney field project

Wentworth Institute of Technology (WIT) has set in motion the relocation of Sweeney Field to the site of the current Parker Street parking lot.

WIT filed a Letter of Intent with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) last month, which officially begins the project’s development review process.

The new Sweeney Athletic Facility would allow for the redevelopment of the current field at 500 Huntington Ave. by relocating it atop a 330-space parking garage at 540 Parker St.

WIT anticipates submitting a Project Notification Form (PNF) to the BRA this month, which will require an as-yet-unscheduled public meeting. The project was part of WIT’s Institutional Master Plan (IMP), filed in 2010.

The site at 500 Huntington Ave. would be redeveloped to create a six-story, 97,400-square-foot engineering and technology building, a new six-story WIT and community office building and an 18-story “endowment” building, to be leased to a third party. The 18-story tower is planned to be a “dry lab”—that is, a lab that would be technology-oriented, not medical-research-oriented.

An “endowment” building or campus means that WIT, the owner, would use the income from a long-term lease to fund potential new projects. At the end of the lease, both the land and the building would belong to WIT.

An IMP is a comprehensive development plan that describes an institution’s existing facilities, long-range planning goals and proposed projects. The institution must update and renew its IMP periodically and must amend it whenever it adds or changes any project significantly. The IMP serves as zoning approval for all its projects. A PDA functions in much the same way, except it applies to private and commercial developments.
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http://missionhillgazette.com/2014/11/14/wit-files-plan-for-sweeney-field-project/
 
Ive said this before elsewhere, but I like this field where it is. It looks nice to see green and kids playing sports, and it provides a really nice perspective vista of the West Village. I wish Wentworth would just build up those awful vacant lots off Parker instead of moving their field there.
 
I agree with you totally but from their perspective a new tower built to attract 3rd party tenants needs to be on Huntington Ave and not stuck behind the campus. It's a smart move on WITs part.
 
I do like that field but I will like a tower more. It will be a nice little string of towers. There is the treehouse, an NEU tower nearby, a potential NUE tower and this. That will be nice.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
I agree with you totally but from their perspective a new tower built to attract 3rd party tenants needs to be on Huntington Ave and not stuck behind the campus. It's a smart move on WITs part.
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I actually deleted the last sentence before posting, which read something along the lines of the need to build something ritzy on Huntington. It's true that branding and caché matter, but still unfortunate.

I do like that field but I will like a tower more. It will be a nice little string of towers. There is the treehouse, an NEU tower nearby, a potential NUE tower and this. That will be nice.
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Hmmmm what exactly will be nice about it?
 
FK4 said:
I actually deleted the last sentence before posting, which read something along the lines of the need to build something ritzy on Huntington. It's true that branding and caché matter, but still unfortunate.



Hmmmm what exactly will be nice about it?
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Density, an urban feel on huntington, and a continuation of the highspine.
 
coleslaw said:
Density, an urban feel on huntington, and a continuation of the highspine.
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Not to mention a gorgeous, unique building. For those who forgot what this looks like: http://www.wit.edu/imp/docs/WIT_TF-mtg -070913.pdf

While the field is nice, FieldTurf still has a relatively jarring look. Nobody's going to mistake it for natural grass, even if it is far better looking and feeling than AstroTurf (I remember playing a club football game on AstroTurf at UNC-Chapel Hill and it was one of the worst sports experiences of my life). The new project's scope & architecture, especially given its location directly across from a world-famous museum, is a heavy upgrade over the field.
 
^That too. I love the building; however, I figured that was a less objective measure.
 
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