Winthrop Center | 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Trying to "out" me as a paid poster is not just flat out offensive but outright dangerous...

danger? wow.

Just because I don't believe this building is "the single ugliest highrise/skyscr
per built anywhere in the world since 1979..." does not mean you can personally attack me like this.

true. you're entitled to think the new proposal isn't horrible and not be persecuted for it... even in a radical hellhole like Boston where your opinions best be harmonious with the rich, powerful, liberal elite.

Just because I don't believe ["they sold the city a lie"] does not mean you can personally attack me like this.

It appears they sold the city a lie. Demonstrating it isn't really hard.
 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

danger? wow.



true. you're entitled to think the new proposal isn't horrible and not be persecuted for it... even in a radical hellhole like Boston where your opinions best be harmonious with the rich, powerful, liberal elite.



It appears they sold the city a lie. Demonstrating it isn't really hard.

How so? They are still giving the city $150 million, yes? If anything, the BRA/City was the one peddling/selling lies with accepting the initial bid over 775' when their own proposal called for heights around 725' (which the other devs stuck to). The BRA and City knew full damn well that the FAA limit was around 725' (as one can easily see in discussions from a decade ago when Menino wants a 1,000' there).
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Are you shitting me?

If you have read just about any fucking thing I have posted here or looked at my post history it is incredibly obvious I am a theatrical scenic designer living in Brooklyn and often working in Boston. Hell I was just recently posting about a show I opened at the Huntington Ave Theater. I have been a member in good standing on this board for over ten years and have never seen something as heinous as what you just did. Trying to "out" me as a paid poster is not just flat out offensive but outright dangerous and completely uncalled for.

Just because I don't believe this building is "the single ugliest highrise/skyscraper built anywhere in the world since 1979" or that "they sold the city a lie" does not mean you can personally attack me like this.

The way this board is devolving to personal attacks is fucking outrageous.

I disagree with people on here all the time but I have never felt someone did something so egregious they should be disciplined, until now. Mods, please do something. This board is dying.

That's such a Millenium Partner/Handel thing to say.

But seriously, you're right (the comments about you are laughably stupid). Just tune out the absurd ones and there's still a lot of substance here. It's hard sometimes when it reaches the level of absurdity that it does.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

The way this board is devolving to personal attacks is fucking outrageous.

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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

The windows are not checkered, they are pleated glass. What looks like a checkered patterns is actually just how the rendering shows the different reflections on the different angles of glass. look at this highres image of the render to see it:

https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9s_...s_asset/file/9995223/WinthropSq_Elevation.png

It is actually kind of an interesting take on the notches in the Hancock, Millennium Tower, and new Four Seasons.

Given the absurd hyperbole that has come of this comment, I would just like to say that this is valid architectural fact & discourse. I admit to being fooled into thinking they were offset/checkered windows by the lower resolution renders. It is indeed pleated glass, but the way it is (poorly) reflecting the artificial sun in the render is disorienting, so I appreciate you pointing out that detail.

We are an architecture forum. Architectural discourse is always welcome.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Hopefully the city has its development regulations in order for this site or the Millennium group might not hit the bedrock if it doesn't have to.

Not only does the new rendering suck it might end up leaning sideways on Summer St with a bunch of dumb yuppies thinking they got a good deal on a condo in the heart of the city.

At least Mass does not have major earthquakes like west coast.

Has anybody run the numbers on Millennium Tower if 42 Units sold for over 10+Million? That alone is 420Million.
How much money did they profit off that building?
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Hopefully the city has its development regulations in order for this site or the Millennium group might not hit the bedrock if it doesn't have to. .....it might end up leaning sideways.

no. Boston is relatively easy to put a skyscraper onto solid footing. San Francisco is an alluvial plain several thousand feet thick. A nightmare for putting up skyscrapers. MP will prove limited culpability for the failed project. We've been over this ad nauseum.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Monday 1/15

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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Ok, for those who haven't read the parallel thread, I was in no way getting at what a certain member thought I was getting at.

And with that, let's just hope they get rid of that balcony thing that's supposed to look like that rectangle on the former John Hancock. They already did it with millenium tower. Let's see something new.

Also the upper portion of the massing looks identical to the residential tower going up over the government center garage.

To be concise, this is a disappointment because we thought we were going to add something unique and beautiful to the skyline, and instead what we are seeing is a bland mashup of things we've already seen. I guess it's not ugly by itself, it's ugly considering the context and our expectations for this.
 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Anyone know if the city or anyone has actually been in contact with millennium about the negative reception and what their response is? Any more revisions or anything like that somewhere down the line they can slip something into.
 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Anyone know if the city or anyone has actually been in contact with millennium about the negative reception and what their response is? Any more revisions or anything like that somewhere down the line they can slip something into.

It doesn’t even matter. It’s like Millennium started knocking down the garage then said to the city by the way we are building Something completely different than what we presented to the public.

Not sure who the city lawyers were writing this contract but this should be breach of contract between the original agreement with the city and the developer and they should state why the drastic changes.

The public got hoodwinked giving a prime piece of property away for a 175million only to build a 1/2 ass development.

The corruption only continues.
I hope we never see this group build again in Boston.

This group must just be the smartest group in the room
Time is money.
I would have rather seen the city take less money and build a tower that actually has long-term value and quality for the overall surrounding of the area.

Why didn't the city just say Highest BIDDER. No need for proposals. What was the point of the process?
 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

OMG....this project has not been approved. It is only in the application phase. NOTHING HAS BEEN APPROVED.

There is likely another 12 to 16 months - perhaps more - of hearings, meetings, regulatory hurdles that still need to be cleared.

The city is taking the garage down, not the developer.

Why is everybody acting like this application is a fait accompli and that it won't change a half a dozen times before final approval - like most high profile projects around here?
 
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

^ Fear makes people act irrationally and this proposal is frighteningly bad.

On the other hand, it's great to see that garage come down.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Because Rifle always reacts like this to almost every major development that they have an issue with and they are very vocal so it feels like a lot more people are saying the same thing when in reality it is just them and maybe a couple others.

On a side note I don't think the actual design is that bad. It uses elements of the "pleating" from the second design release during the bidding and elements of the color palette and materials from the first design from the bidding while working within the constraints put in place by the city and the FAA. The only major change I would like to see is possibly to the very top of the building and even that isn't really bad it just isn't my personal preference. I would prefer the vertical lines of the lower portion of the facade continues up the whole facade.

First Design
tower-big.jpg


Second Design
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Third Design
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Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

The first and second designs are miles different and better and more elegant than the latest.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

The first and second designs are miles different and better and more elegant than the latest.

Agreed. The difference between the first 2 and the last one is astounding.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

Ugh....The bottom half of the third looks like a Vegas casino.
 
Re: 115 Winthrop Square | Financial District

The face of the tower groups windows of 6 and the side into boxes of 2. Not only did they actually knock the height down but then took every architectural step to make it appear shorter than it is while widening the upper portion of the tower as well. We need vertical lines and no grouped together windows. This parcel needs to show its height its not in Allston. The funny thing is that the past proposal had all of that and the lines stopped before the roofline to make it ribbed like an actual crown. Then renders showed that crown lit at night and it looked great. Literally just give us the old design back and everyone wins. Its definitely a broken record at this point but this is the THE parcel. This is it. You go all in here and deliver the best that you possibly can. Millennium would also look like a legendary company with MT and the old design both towering over downtown looking amazing and finally making downtown have a substantial skyline. If your Millennium you dont want this tower overshadowing MT it makes it look worse by proximity.
 

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