Wentworth Institute of Technology Expansion | Fenway

thanks for posting.
seeing the actual materials certainly makes it look better than the white model you shared in November.
 
I wish Wentworth would knock down their main building on Ruggles, and build a new structure to create a streetwall on Ruggles...as it is the suburban front yard is a complete waste. It is unused and makes the site feel suburban. Doing this would enable the school to create a larger quad behind the structure which would actually be used by students.
 
Is you high? That's their best building! It already creates a streetwall via the landscaped set back. It shows institutional dominance and creates a dramatic entrance into the campus. Plus look at the street wall Northeastern created, it's oppressive and uninviting; it's a gated community while Wentworth's is much more traditional.

Besides the student flow wouldn't work with a building there. The campus is on an east-west axis from Huntington through the Quad to Parker St. Unless they redevelop the sports field (wasn't this in the works?) there is no north-south axis and no use creating a northern quad.
 
vanshnookenraggen said:
Is you high? That's their best building! It already creates a streetwall via the landscaped set back. It shows institutional dominance and creates a dramatic entrance into the campus. Plus look at the street wall Northeastern created, it's oppressive and uninviting; it's a gated community while Wentworth's is much more traditional.
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This. Wentworth Hall is also a historical building.

Unless they redevelop the sports field (wasn't this in the works?) there is no north-south axis and no use creating a northern quad.
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Sweeney Redevelopment is deaaaaaaad.
 
It would be a perfectly fine building if it were located in Milton or Needham...it is out of place in the middle of Boston. Look at the overhead view on google maps...you absolutely could improve the quad by pushing the main building out to the street. You wouldn't need to go directly to the street. A setback of 30 feet to accommodate a grand entrance could work. You're kidding yourself if you think a streetwall exists there. There is a setback of 200 feet for a 4 floor building...that's not a streetwall. It's a suburban college campus aesthetic that is out of place in this location. Also, a school of technology could benefit from having a bold new presence that announced itself...as it is now, a neoclassical building behind acres of grass and cherry trees is the statement it makes to the world. Forgettable.
 
We should knock down the Museum of Fine Arts too and build it out to the street. :rolleyes:
 
datadyne007 said:
We should knock down the Museum of Fine Arts too and build it out to the street. :rolleyes:
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And the Latin School - its set back a bit too much. For that matter, we should have Harvard Medical tear down their main building to make a street wall at Longwood Ave :rolleyes:. As a WIT alum (and student in the Longwood area since before that), it goes with the entire area well. Beatty, sure, not much love there from me (although it is waaaay nicer now than when I went before the renos), but Wentworth Hall is a gem.
 
While I have no stance on this issue (although I typically lean on the preservation side of things), remember that "slippery slope" arguments are logical fallacies.

Proposals should be evaluated on their individual merits. Evaluating one proposal on the merits of another imagined one doesn't make any sense.
 
You're right. What we really need here is a good ole 700' tower.

There are times for hard street walls and times for breaks in the street walls. If you redeveloped the site it would just be another bland office park in the middle of the city. Grand institutional sites like WIT or MFA are what makes the Fenway special.
 
Personally, I think extending the wings to Ruggles along Parker and over the parking entrance would be a win.
 
Underground tunnels partway to Ruggles w/ moving sidewalks would be amazing.

and 615' at 45 Worthington is more than acceptable.
 
I don't think this is a great building...it certainly isn't on the order of the MFA. I'm not a reflexive advocate for height at all costs. I simply think this is poor urban planning/design and a "fine" but not great building. Its presence could probably be enhanced by a better landscape design out front. PS...I don't support that massive tower on Worthington.
 
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