Worst 10 Projects of the Decade (2000-2009)

[briv]

CHOOSE 10

In no particular order (apologies to photographers, credits coming):

1. Hotel Commonwealth

2. The Silver Line

3. Park Lane Apartments

4. Rose Kennedy Greenway

5. One Marina Park Drive

6. St. Elizabeth Hospital Addition

7. Harvard Memorial Drive Graduate Student Housing (Triple Decker Component)

8. BCEC Westin Hotel

9. Renaissance Seaport Hotel

10. Archstone Boston Common

11. Seaport Hotel

12. Independence Wharf

13. 111 Huntington Ave

14. 1330 Boylston Street

15. Kenmore Bus Shelter

16. B.U. Biolab

17. The Belvidere

18. Mission Main Hope IV

19. Boston Convention and Exhibition Center

 

[Shepard]

Re: Worst 10 Projects of the Decade (1999-2009)

I didn't choose ten, I think I only chose 4. It seems to have still worked.

 

[tobyjug]

Re: Worst 10 Projects of the Decade (1999-2009)

B.U. seems to be well represented.

 

[found5dollar]

Re: Worst 10 Projects of the Decade (1999-2009)

i don't feel there are 10 in this list that truly should be listed as "the worst"... there might be about 5 or 6 that i will vote for.

 

[unterbau]

i didn't use my whole ten, either

 

[JSic]

I voted only for 2:

1. Hotel Commonwealth
3. Park Lane Apartments

The rest dont bother me (a couple I dont know of). I dont know why 111 Huntington, 1330 Boylston, and The Bevidere would be on the list - I think those are 3 of the better projects that went up.

 

[Ron Newman]

I voted for three: Silver Line (idea isn't necessarily bad, but execution is); BU Biolab (just doesn't belong in densely populated South End); Archstone Boston Common (a theatre was torn down to build this)

 

[statler]

They had to tear down The Rat to build Hotel Commonwealth. Doesn't that deserve some scorn?

 

[found5dollar]

maybe you should average the number of votes per person and only have that many "worst projects of the decade."

 

[ablarc]

^ That would be between 5 and 6.

 

[Shepard]

I really don't get the overwhelming Hotel Commonwealth scorn. Sure, it wasn't superbly executed, and yes it did steal away some of the old Kenmore Sq vibe. But at the same time it isn't really an eyesore (someone from out of town wouldn't pick it out and say that's an awful thing to have) and nor has it torn apart the fabric of the neighborhood. I very often forget it's even there. Could we have hoped for better? Sure. Worst of the decade... really? Must have been a damn good decade in retrospect.

 

[Beton Brut]

Shep -- Prominent location + insipid design - quality finishes = FAIL

You'll need a lot of dynamite to fix it.

Boston's most cynical project of the last 10 years.

 

[Ron Newman]

My view is closer to Shepard's. In another five years this building will have faded into the background.

 

[Beton Brut]

I understand your POV, Ron. I just think that spot deserved better.

The townhouses that were demolished could have been re-purposed. This W Hotel in Midtown does just that on a slightly larger scale.

 

[pelhamhall]

Every single Joe Fallon development is on this list. All near the top of the list.

Seems he wins "Worst Developer of the Decade" award, hands down.

For that, of course, da' Mayuh awarded him the coveted Fan Pier parcels. He certainly lived up to his reputation there!

 

[Shepard]

I'm also interested to know why people are voting for BCEC. Is it because a massive convention center is a bad use of space? A bad public investment? Is it because it's poorly designed? Bad street interaction? Looks like a giant cockroach from aerial views?

 

[Pierce]

I'm also interested to know why people are voting for BCEC. Is it because a massive convention center is a bad use of space? A bad public investment? Is it because it's poorly designed? Bad street interaction? Looks like a giant cockroach from aerial views?

I'll take one of each, please

 

[briv]

I agree with Pierce, all of the above.

I believe it's just too single-minded in its focus, striving to be nothing but a convention center when it should have tried harder to integrate with the city and foster good development around it. Looking beyond its pimped-out awning, it's essentially nothing more than a BIG dumb shed.

I think it was callous to foolishly drop such a gargantuan, super-specialized facility on a neighborhood in its embryonic stages. It pretty much single-handedly defined the Seaport, sealing the area's fate from the very beginning.

 

[ablarc]

I'm also interested to know why people are voting for BCEC. Is it because a massive convention center is a bad use of space? A bad public investment? Is it because it's poorly designed? Bad street interaction? Looks like a b[giant cockroach[/b] from aerial views?

Yeah ... a giant cockroach.

Can't think of a worse symbolism in recent years.

Ugh. !

 

[Beton Brut]

And Vi?oly's a better architect than the BCEC would suggest.

I prefer the similar facility he designed concurrently in Pittsburgh. The site on the shore of the Allegheny River is certainly more exciting than anything in the limbo of parking lots in South Boston. The asymmetrical catenary curve of the roof relates to the suspension bridges that cross the river.