Yawkey Center @ Dana Farber | 450 Brookline Ave | Longwood Medical Area

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Beton Brut said:
Van --

Since you're in NYC, you may want to check out the new Sloan-Kettering research tower. SOM designed it in collaboration with Zimmer Gunsul Frasca, the lead firm on the Yawkey project. The grammar and materials palate are similar, though the Sloan-Kettering building is well over twice the square-footage of the DFCI project.
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I literally work down the street from that building and see it almost everyday. I'll check it out up close, thanks.
 
Re: Dana Farber Cancer Care Center

10/26:

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Re: Dana Farber Cancer Care Center

Does anyone know who the architect is? The glass and terra cotta massing is very similar to the new BMC ambulatory building.
 
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nice building...too bad it's not closer to downtown
 
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bdurden said:
Does anyone know who the architect is?
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Zimmer Gunshul Frasca with Miller Dyer Spears.

I'm involved in the owner-furnished procurement for this project.

bdurden said:
The glass and terra cotta massing is very similar to the new BMC ambulatory building.
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Very true. Terra cotta > Alucobond. When I first saw the renderings for this iteration of the Yawkey Center (there was a scheme for a 20-story building), the first thing I thought of was Behnisch's Genzyme Center in Kendall Square.
 
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love the glass and the terra cotta...looks like 45 province's fat little cousin.
 
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Facade nearing completion -- sorry for the poor quality (camera phone):

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Not much has changed but an update from today.

The sign outside says, "Opening 2011" but there's already lights on in part of it so it looks like it's at least on schedule.

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Re: Dana Farber Cancer Care Center

So terra cotta is in? That means it's already out.
 
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We're very much on schedule, and ahead in some key areas. We're shooting for a ribbon-cutting in February. My colleagues and I are working on sourcing key owner-furnished items.
 
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My only qualm with this project: I wish the horizontal terra cotta panels between the ribbon windows were recessed a few inches, to give the facade some depth.
 
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pelhamhall said:
So terra cotta is in? That means it's already out.
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Terra cotta was in back when 45 Province was just a rendering. But now that that's a good two years past the institutions get to use it on their thoroughly institutional buildings. (See this and the BMC building)

Having said that, this one seems pretty good.
 
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Looking a bit bunkerish along Brookline Ave, no?

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Re: Dana Farber Cancer Care Center

The bunkerish aspect is unfortunate. Some windows on those bays would be nice. The bulkiness of the stubby shape doesn't help, either.

The materials make it rather handsome, though.
 
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I'm not in love with the way the building meets the ground. I believe the three terra cotta and granite-clad bays will be devoted to retail tenants, with access from the street and the interior. The fourth floor (covered in the horizontal terra cotta "grill") is mostly mechanical space. The bunkerish look of the western end of Yawkey is in context with the MATEP plant it abuts. Considering some of the other schemes I saw in the run-up to this project, this is the best.

Also, designs of 22 and 17 floors were considered, but city officials were concerned about shadows on Longwood Park. (no shit)
 
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The bunkerish look of the western end of Yawkey is in context with the MATEP plant it abuts.
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But, uh, is this really the sort of context it should have been sensitive to?
 
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I don't think sensitivity to context played a role in these design decisions. It represents an acceptable nod to the status quo. Past 450 Brookline Ave (Yawkey's address) there's MATEP, a parking garage, and a fenced lot.
 
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not as bad as i originally thought.
 
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