691 Mass Ave

[vanshnookenraggen]

If they used quality materials, like they did with 25 Bond, I would love this new building. It's not like this is a quiet side street in the South End, this is busy and ugly Mass Ave. This would go a long way to make it a more interesting area.

[cca]

And all of those referential to this project by Rapheal Moneo.

[Ron Newman]

Is that a finished building?

[cca]

1998 ...

[PaulC]

More on mass ave. From what I remember hearing the sidewalks will be wire cut brick except near the hospital where they will be concrete with a brick apron at the curb( handicap access). I think the hospital will also be paying and maintaining hanging planters at it's end.

Latest news:
http://www.dotnews.com/2009/mass-ave...future-looking

Mass. Ave. bike lane future is looking up

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Reply Print Send to friend By Pete Stidman, News Editor
May. 14, 2009

Bike lane advocates took a hit last week when a lawsuit meant to force the city to paint lanes on Mass Avenue was dismissed by Justice of the Superior Court Geraldine Hines. In the process, however, the bicyclists may have won a larger battle.

Responding to both the lawsuit and a new policy to add bike lanes wherever possible, the city of Boston has submitted a new plan for Mass Ave. to Mass Highway. If accepted by state and federal agencies, the new street plan will retain a median the neighborhood has been clamoring for, and add bike lanes.

?If we had to change the position of the street and the median [in the plan], we might have forfeited the money,? said Boston Transportation Department commissioner Tom Tinlin. ?We looked at the width of the street and we feel we have a plan that works and addresses all the needs along the corridor.?

Notably, the city is narrowing the inside car lane in each direction to 10 feet to squeeze in the bike lane, a precedent setting move as BTD has long held on to an 11-foot-wide standard for car lanes. The outside car lanes on both sides of Mass Ave. will fit that 11-foot standard, to accommodate buses and trucks, and the bike lane will be five feet wide?wide enough for cyclist to effectively avoid the ?door zone? presented by parked cars.

Another encouraging sign for advocates is the participation of the Toole Design Group in both the new plan for Mass Ave. and a much wider effort to assess the possibility of bike lanes on around 80 streets throughout the city that are eligible for repaving and striping via $21 million in federal stimulus funds.

Senior planner Nick Jackson of TDG grew up in Boston, but spent a good part of his career in Chicago working with mayor Richard M. Daley?s administration on that city?s bicycle accommodations. TDG helped create the Bike 2015 Plan, which has garnered Chicago national attention among bike advocates.

As for the lawsuit, attorney for the advocates Andrew Fischer has held open the possibility for an appeal to the judge?s decision. His argument rests on a law that orders the commissioner to make ?all reasonable provisions? for the accommodation of bicyclists in roadway designs. Justice Hines?s decision, however, states that individuals are not given a right to accommodation by the law, and thus they cannot sue the state for a breach of it.

?To establish standing, a plaintiff must show that there was a breach of a duty owed to him by the defendant and that he suffered an actual injury that was a ?direct and ascertainable consequence? of the defendant?s actions,? wrote Justice Hines. ?The statute does not purport to establish any rights and does not specify any class of persons intended to benefit for the statute, thus there is no private right of action??

The main plaintiff in the case, South End resident Ken Kruckemeyer, is out of country at the moment and couldn?t be reached for comment.

[disturbanist]

Originally Posted by cca

And all of those referential to this project by Rapheal Moneo.

Which itself hearkens back to this:




Casa del Fascio by Tarragni

[czsz]

No one is original! Hooray!

I would be more on board with this if not for the excessive horizontal emphasis. I think it breaks too much with the scale and flow of the streetscape, which is boring and repetitive but does have a grammar. 25 Bond works better because the street is more polyglot anyway, and the Moneo for its dramatic contrast. This doesn't really pull off either.

[vanshnookenraggen]

Seriously, all they need to do is split it up visually with some paint and it would get rid of the "landscraper" effect.

[cca]

Originally Posted by disturbanist

Which itself hearkens back to this:

Casa del Fascio by Tarragni

I will take them both ...

cca

[PaulC]

The developer presented to my neighborhood a few weeks ago, mostly to see if we were ok with a modern building, we are. One idea is to match the color of the last column of the Italianate block(closet to the building site). We voted in favor of a moderrn building and nothing else because everything else is a work in process.

[kennedy]

And, of course, Casa del Fascio obviously originated from this:

[tobyjug]

I like Van's idea, but turn his dark painted masonry into glass and turn the windows into rough limestone.

(House of Facism? I have to look that one up. Thanks!)

[kennedy]

I was just thinking, wouldn't it look good if the base of that Aquarium tower was done in a style similar to this, perhaps with different materials, and then covered in vines like a huge trellis?

[PaulC]

The plan presented had the back of the building, facing a victory garden covered with plants, possibly on a trellis.

[cca]

Originally Posted by kennedy

And, of course, Casa del Fascio obviously originated from this:

I will take that as a "tongue in cheek" joke.

[kennedy]

Or all of those buildings just really look like games of Jenga.

[palindrome]

This building was approved last night with an increased parking of 30 spaces as opposed to the original 12.

Claims to have full funding in line.


http://boston.bizjournals.com/boston...6/daily23.html

[AmericanFolkLegend]

Anyone know if the final design varied much from the original rendering.

[statler]

While the estimated $14 million project ultimately won unanimous approval from the authority's board, BRA Chairman Clarence J. Jones questioned why the first foor Is at street level instead of at the top of a flight of stares as with many older South End buildings.

Zahedi said in response that laws governing handicapped access prohibited the retro design.

ablarc's old pet peeve...

[cden4]

Zahedi said in response that laws governing handicapped access prohibited the retro design.

Is this really the case or is this just a cop-out? Couldn't you just put one entrance at ground level with access to an elevator?