James Hook and Company burns down

Link

Photos

Another crane disaster in New York

via Curbed

via Gothamist

via NYT

Safer construction sites? [NYT]

MFA update

    

The new East wing of the museum designed by Richard Rogers and Partners, is well underway with the beginning of the steel frame starting to be erected.  The mock ups reveal a very sleek, modern language for the exterior detailing.

Here is a photo of progress on the new Fenway (north) entry which will, no doubt, cause endless confusion for visitors accustomed to the Huntington Avenue portal.  It is scheduled to open next month.

via Boston Globe

Memorial Day

Peace Monuments

Thursday Linkage

Ella J. Baker house burns, arson? [Herald]  [EJB House Home]

5 contiguous Bromfield Street buildings for sale [BostonRealEstateBlog]

Congresswoman's house is scheduled for foreclosure auction [WSJ]

Home is repossessed over $68 dental bill [Consumerist]

Southie Condos to be remarketed (and redesigned?) as rentals [Herald]

Eric Howeler's PartiWall progress photos [Flickr]

Bathroom on a stick - $20,000  [Gizmodo]

45 Province Street update

  

Construction of this downtown condo building gets topped off and quick tour.  

Great views on all sides (assuming you buy above the 6th-8th floor)!

Architect's rendering

Boston's "greenest" buildings 2008

On the occasion of the 2008 AIA convention hosted in Boston, Mayor Tom Menino joined AIA CEO Christine McEntee in presenting the top twelve "green" buildings, including a mix of new and old, public and private structures, including academic and healthcare buildings and even a Logan Terminal.

"These buildings have been spotlighted because they raise public awareness about reducing energy consumption, which is a critical step in lowering greenhouse gas emissions and combating climate change," AIA CEO Christine McEntee says in a release announcing the list. "Our hope is that existing structures and buildings under new construction follow in the footsteps of Boston’s Greenest."

Link

Filene's demo update

But what happened to Chacarero's?

via BBJ

via Daily Free Press

rendering

Finally, help for Dudley Square?

Is there finally enough momentum to do something to redevelop Dudley Square? 

via Bostonist

Design competition

The Dainty Dot building is historic, history

The winding road that is the BRA project approval process has compromised another historic city block.  The Dainty Dot building, so named for the former hosiery manufacturing company whose iconic deco modern lettering still adorns the first floor frieze, will be razed for a new apartment tower.

While agreeing to a height reduction from 300 to 265 feet, the developer has traded the requirement to preserve the facade of the elegant 19th century loft building for the neighborhood activists' call for building height reduction.  Is the loss of this beloved artifact worth a minor, less than significant height reduction?  No.

Could the construction quality of an entirely new structure come close to the robust, beautifully proportioned Dainty Dot?  

Link

Previous agreement to preserve facades

via Chinatown Blog

a+sl studios in Las Vegas

A new FORM magazine article describes the unique way sustainable woods are used at the new WOO Restaurant, on the Las Vegas strip, by Boston architects a+sl studios.  Using translucent glass panels fabricated by Vermont Wildwoods and unusual "slats" produced from bamboo plywood supplied by Smith and Fong Plyboo, the architects created an ironically virtuous presence in "sin city."

Link

Greenway pedestrian bridge sucks

The saga of The Boston Museum, after deciding to relocate its site and fire their original architect, Moshe Safdie, to reduce construction complexity and, in turn, project costs, has responded to its commitment to the original site with a suspension bridge for pedestrians.

Although an elegantly structured and curved bridge may be a solution for crossing the vehicle access ramps, don't the opaque side walls of the span simply re-create the dangerous and foreboding tunnels and walkways that street-wise Bostonians have wanted to get rid of for decades?  This history museum apparently has no memory of the pre-Greenway Artery and its crossings.

The combination of the solid walls and the curve make it an uncomfortable, blind journey.  Does the end of the bridge lead to the museum entrance (certainly a good way to increase attendance), or does it link the Greenway's open spaces as it should?  This solution does nothing to cover and use the space above the ramps as was the intention of the Artery authorities as a condition for granting the Museum prime downtown real estate.

A building on this site would do a far better job of reweaving the city fabric and, as required by the Big Dig permits, of mitigating the surface presence of the tunnel ramps.  There is a good reason that the parcels with highway ramps were allocated to public buildings, (the New Center for Arts and Culture on parcel 11, the YMCA on parcel 6, and the Boston Museum on parcel 12): to best conceal the vehicle ramps, with the added benefit of stitching the divided neighborhoods back together.  To do otherwise is a bad compromise.

Link

Proposed Financial District tower "too tall"

The FAA has ruled that the Renzo Piano Tower proposed by Trans National Properties is too tall for its location near Logan Airport.  The pet project of Mayor Tom Menino has been enmeshed in controversy since its introduction: with preservationists because of its height, and with its architect because of the required total bulk and resulting shape.  Piano has since removed himself from the job.

Link

Piano quits tower project

Tower Announced

Boston Towers compared

Painting Green

This interesting article explores not just the color trends in interior paint but the technology behind making low-VOC and otherwise ecologically friendly paint products.

Link

AIA Convention Invades Boston

The American Insitute of Architects convention hits the BCEC in Southie this week.  Welcome fellow Architects from around the country!