Your opinion on the State Street building

J

JSic

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Share you thoughts on this building. People seem to like it or hate it.

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It's a lot more awe-inspiring when you're on 93N about to descend into the tunnel and that top is the last thing you see and remember when taking the plunge. Can't put a price on that view.

But vantage point matters. It doesn't look nearly as good standing next to it on-street looking straight up at the cladding. And aerial shots vary from very nice to meh by viewing angle.
 
All in all, I'm glad it's there. The crown with its mini spires is a good addition to the downtown skyline. However, I think if it had a higher FAR or slightly different signage, it would look considerably better.

How the glass interfaces with the masonry also strikes me as a little awkward, but I don't know how one would fix that.
 
I love it. Boston is light on art deco in general this might be the only skyscraper with appreciable deco DNA. I could lose the sign, but I don't really like signs/names/words up that high (e.g. Converse is excellent where it is).

I personally like the slight awkwardness of the glass/stone transition. It creates enough tension to make you really look at the building without ever tipping over into a cringe.

The white/blue combo is A+
 
I've always liked it. It adds variety to the skyline and the sign projects Boston's economic power.

I don't expect much of the ground floor of a tower.
 
Hasn't been mentioned yet but the blue lights look great at night. Solid piece of filler and a nice book-end when driving down Devonshire.
 
Loves the lights at night.
Don't like the proportions. Too much girth for its height.
If proportions were better I might love it from a distance.
Corporate lobby and bollards will always limit the love as well.
It's a sign of the times. The times before Boston finally started to re-embrace height, and the introduction of slim towers to the hub.
 
DZH22 said:
Hasn't been mentioned yet but the blue lights look great at night. Solid piece of filler and a nice book-end when driving down Devonshire.
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:confused: How can you describe this building as filler?? It is one of the most eye-catching, distinctive, and memorable buildings in the entire city. Love it or hate it, it isn't filler.
 
I've always liked it, maybe would have looked better with better cladding, but overall its a quality tower. What is the material used it looks like concrete? Ive never walked up to it and touched it. In a city of 1970s office boxes its a nice change up to have some set backs and an art-deco inspired crown. I can see why people would say its fat, but its not bad at all. Definitely with more height the proportions would have looked much better, but Im much happier to have it than not.
 
According to wikipedia the base is actual granite for the first two floors and then transitions to precast concrete panels. I don't know how accurate that is though.
 
citylover94 said:
According to wikipedia the base is actual granite for the first two floors and then transitions to precast concrete panels. I don't know how accurate that is though.
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Yep, granite at ground level and precast made to match that granite above. Very nice precast work.

I tend to be of two minds:
1 - it's a behemoth with not much happening at ground level to animate the street. The massive walls of precast can at times, despite the fine precast material, look pretty boring.
2 - the view at sunrise from Castle Island or from the top of Belview Hill on Washington St in Rozzie makes the building look pretty amazing.
 
Love it. It slim on one side, slightly fat on the other side but honestly, this is an office tower, not a residential tower. An office tower needs large floor plates to accommodate the business environment.
 
One of my favorites /all glass and 10 stories taller wd have been awesome, but glad it finally got built!
 
I love it. It's quite literally a representation of the Post Modern era shifting to Contemporary, with the Contemporary glass volume rising triumphantly out of the PoMo mass. Would it be better if it was a sharp glass tower all the way down? Most likely (honestly, I think it would be pretty epic), but I find this building to be a fascinating example of the transition between two architectural periods.
 
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