21–30 of 122 posts
Anything built within the last ten years is, of course, LEED-chic - the building is a glass box.
Its truly hideous. Old City Hall is beautiful. Why can't we build nice things anymore?
Most relevant: https://worksinprogress.co/issue/making-architecture-easy/
The big idea is that some art styles are easy to appreciate without training and some aren't, and we probably shouldn't be making public architecture that's hard for members of the public to appreciate. Similarly atonal music isn't objectively bad, I often like it, but I recognize that it isn't appropriate to use in civic functions.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
> Why can't we build nice things anymore? Well.. first start by defining "beautiful", we're waiting. Also, it's a 50 year old structure.. we stopped building "nice" things after WW2 mostly because costs were astronomical and new materials and engineering opened up all kinds of avenues for more modern construction. I've spent decent amount of time in and around Boston City Hall, the biggest problem with the building a…
Older structures cost more because they lasted longer and were more maintainable. Growth was given priority over tradition - and we've had to deal with the tradeoffs.
There was a feeling that it was time to discard the old and do something different.
Its truly hideous. Old City Hall is beautiful. Why can't we build nice things anymore?
> Why can't we build nice things anymore? Well.. first start by defining "beautiful", we're waiting. Also, it's a 50 year old structure.. we stopped building "nice" things after WW2 mostly because costs were astronomical and new materials and engineering opened up all kinds of avenues for more modern construction. I've spent decent amount of time in and around Boston City Hall, the biggest problem with the building a…
I despise architecture as a field. This is widely reviled building. I work in a similar building that is extremely user hostile but beloved by architects; every single day, multiple times per day, we run into stupid limitations of the building. And it's particularly nasty for people with disabilities.
In engineering we care so much about the end user experience. In everything from building fridges, to roads, to HVAC systems, etc.
That these two people see this as a work of art, instead of a practical thing that humans need to interface with, and that the artistic nature of the building is more important than the people, is incredibly selfish.
Selfish and shameful.
> In the 50 years since, architects worldwide have declared Kallmann and McKinnell’s City Hall one of the greatest buildings of the 20th century I despise architecture as a field. This is widely reviled building. I work in a similar building that is extremely user hostile but beloved by architects; every single day, multiple times per day, we run into stupid limitations of the building. And it's particularly nasty fo…
If you want a well-designed building that works for the users, you can find architects to design that. It just won't be as well known because it'll work and do what it needs to do without pissing people off.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
1. They remodeled City Hall Plaza in 2022 [1], unfortunately not a street grid, but less of a cold wasteland than before. 2. Agreed regarding the Congress St side, though the added playground from [1] adds some interest to that side (before the solid brick wall part). 3. Agreed with the interior. Something like just changing the flooring or interesting lighting would make it feel less cold. The floor is either brick…
Aware of the remodel and it is indeed an improvement in nice weather months but it's still pretty lacking and absolutely awful Nov to April which is.. close to half a year.
There are nice parks in the area but they're not exactly delightful in the cold weather months either.
Architecturally, the city of Boston has changed many times. You can more or less pinpoint when a building was built by its appearance. City Hall's architecture is mirrored in most of the transit stops from the 1970s-era expansion. Some of them (e.g. Wollaston, Harvard) have since been rebuilt; others (e.g. Quincy Adams, Malden Center) are still concrete behemoths like City Hall. Anything built within the last ten yea…