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BU shows off proposed new tower; says it will have stately views from both sides of the Charles

By adamg on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:33pm
Architect's rendering of new BU building - with birds

Architect's rendering with obligatory birds.

Boston University has filed plans with the BPDA for its proposed 19-story data-sciences building, to house the school's computer sciences and mathematics and statistics departments, along with an interdisciplinary center that combines the two.

The building, which would go up on what is now a parking lot on Commonwealth Avenue at Granby Street, was designed to foster fields of study that now permeate pretty much everything the university now teaches, BU says:

Collectively, the data sciences permeate all aspects of contemporary academic life, as advances within them open doors to progress in many other disciplines. This new, iconic building will provide a centralized location for existing departments to come together in a truly collaborative and innovative structure.

And BU declares the new tower will be a welcome addition to the Boston skyline:

The Charles River Esplanade and Charles River will afford some of the stateliest views of the Project from both banks of the River, with the geometric tower levels rising unobstructed above the brownstones situated along Storrow Drive and Bay State Road. Approximately 70 feet taller than the next highest building in the immediate vicinity, the cantilevers and material changes will create a dynamic form that engages with the skyline, integrating the Project into the existing urban fabric.

Look at that view from the river - and those birds:

Proposed BU tower

The proposed view from Kenmore Square:

Proposed BU tower

The proposed view from the west:

Proposed BU tower

The building is not the first one proposed for Boston with an unusual stacked-boxes look. Last year, the BPDA approved a new complex at and above Back Bay station that includes the same sort of design.

Boston University Data Science Center project notification form (39M PDF).

Neighborhoods: 
Fenway
Topics: 
Development
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Boston University
Commonwealth Avenue
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Comments

By East Boston Resident on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:38pm.

It looks like City Hall and the brick plaza all jumbled up and turned on its side.

By Stevil on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 5:47pm.

I built that out of blocks when I was 4 years old.

By Frank Rizzo on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:40pm.

someone really likes Tetris

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:57pm.

But most people don't play Tetris with red IKEA ringhult cabinets.

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:41pm.

Looks like a building constructed of Jenga blocks about to topple over onto unsuspecting debt-ridden students below.

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:43pm.

Kids born in the not so distant future might need to see what a stack of paper books looked like.

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:47pm.

Like the laminate fronted drawers in the kitchen area.

By roadman on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 11:19am.

in the late 1970s.

By BostonDog on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:51pm.

I don't love it, but at least it's different. That part of the city has a lot of boring buildings so it wouldn't hurt to get something somewhat unique.

Makes me want to squeeze them into a neat stack.

By Rob on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:52pm.

Stacked boxes and twisting are the two current tropes in architecture today.

By geep9 on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:57pm.

cantilevering is the thing. hopefully it will pass
is the back bay station proposal still on?

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 3:22pm.

Palladian Windows!

IMAGE(http://www.architects.org/sites/default/files/ABFall15_09_F3_GRIMLEY-1_0.jpg)

By UHub-fan on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 4:35pm.

preferable to anything by comparison, but here we are.

By cybah on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 8:46pm.

Every time I see those windows.. its like

Did Grossman's have a sale of those in 1986 ? I mean those are totally 80s..

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:53pm.

That design is straight out of Monsters Ate My Condo (look it up, it's a mobile game).

I wonder how much the architects have played that game.

By SwirlyGrrl on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 8:56pm.

Don't know whether to curse you or thank you!

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 1:56pm.

.

By J on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:00pm.

Quite possibly the worst proposal of all time

By lbb on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 9:14am.

I'm no architect nor yet in building trades, but it strikes me that this is at the unhappy intersection of aesthetically awful and highly impractical. It seems like it'll be not only a nightmare to build, but it will have constant problems due to leaking. Awful all around.

By East Boston Resident on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:09pm.

It would be a shame to erect that monstrosity next to all the elegant looking BU buildings on Comm. Ave across Granby Street. Granted, there was a burger King there for manyy ears, but it didn't stick up so many stories into the sky.

By DTP on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 8:47am.

next to elegant looking BU buildings

This thing will be across the street from Warren Towers, one of the ugliest buildings in the city. It will be an improvement!

By 02125 on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:15pm.

Absolutely ugly.

By Gary C on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:17pm.

I usually like funky designs, but I'm not sure about this. Seems too big for that area. Not that's it's too tall (tall is good) but it's like one of those inflatable blowing things that says, "Hey loook at meeee!"

(BU grad)

By UHub-fan on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 3:34pm.

you just wait a few years until they put up a bunch of other ugly monstrosities around it and voila, it fits right in with the rest of the neighborhood!

By Sock_Puppet on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:19pm.

The Stack

The top floor elevator button should say PEEK.

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:33pm.

Mathematically speaking I rate it a zero.

By Hugo on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:35pm.

Looks like a stack of pizza boxes. I wonder if the building will drip grease on to passersby?

By mg on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:39pm.

.

By roadman on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:42pm.

based on aesthetic merit - especially when the building is replacing a parking lot. But this mess is truly UGLY. Looks like something a four year old would build with LEGOs.

By Luke Warm on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 2:56pm.

blocks are one step up from the pure square bullshit we usually get. it's a big step up, but it's just one fucking move.

someone has got to break out of this nonsense and really fucking design something.

By The Frying Pan of Reality on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 3:06pm.

Clunky. Why can't architects come up with something well-built and practical, yet timeless and elegant? Is that too much to ask?*

*The Fine Print: BU alumna here

By UHub-fan on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 3:30pm.

but if that thing disgraces our skyline an architect is gonna get punched really hard.

By Oscar Worthy on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 6:44pm.

Nobody deserves it more.

By Cedric on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 3:32pm.

People complain that every new building in Boston is either a brick and panel clad “luxury” apartment building or an all glass office tower. Here’s something different and we’re still upset. What do the complainers want it to look like?

By UHub-fan on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 4:34pm.

(n/t)

We built buildings in the 19th century that were beautiful, that were balanced, that had rhythm, that harmonized with their surroundings. We can figure out how to do it again without just building old buildings. It just take a change in the value system. And part of the value system that needs to change is that "different" equals "good" and that's enough.

By roadman on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 5:57pm.

over in a stiff gale.

By Anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 8:39pm.

Part of the original master plan for BU’s campus was the Alexander Graham Bell Tower. Unfortunately, it was never built. You can see the renderings here:

http://buquad.com/2012/04/30/the-campus-that-could-have-been/

I say we start with that and slowly work on a cohesive building design based on the core 1930s-1940s buildings which are timelessly elegant.

Also, it would provide us with much-needed Batman habitat.

By Lecil on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 3:55pm.

The Stata Center will cease being the ugliest building around...

By JP Citizen on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 4:02pm.

... an uglier building can be designed...

By Mark on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 5:12pm.

The leaders of BU should ride the MBTA Green Line to Lake Street. They will find many beautiful buildings on the campus of BC.

By roadman on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 12:40pm.

if someone hadn't decided to put it into a giant microwave oven for 60 seconds.

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 4:05pm.

The Boston City Hall of 2030.

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 5:27pm.

but I like the architectural style of BU's more recent academic buildings. Then again, I like it when a campus has a palette for look and feel.

Now sure, maybe tough for BU to build a brick facade building that tall... but without the wasted space of cantilevers, they could lose a floor or two without losing any square feet.

Yip, not a fan.

By Roslindaler on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 6:09pm.

Boston needs more buildings that don't look like all the old buildings.

By That chick on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 6:09pm.

It is funky but not out of place on a campus area.

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 6:19pm.

why is it that BU can only building ugly buildings?

have some pity upon our city!

this is truly hideous, even worse than their law school

By ruthling on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 6:54pm.

All those levels are going to catch precipitation and leak like crazy.

By anon on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 9:08pm.

I think it's a better design than the ususl dull crap.

By anon_wd on Wed, 10/03/2018 - 10:17pm.

The first pic up top makes it look like an oddly-assembled landlocked cruise ship

By cybah on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 9:02am.

This building is totally a rip of the Leonard Street tower in Manhattan. Otherwise known as the Jenga Building.

IMAGE(https://fm.cnbc.com/applications/cnbc.com/resources/img/editorial/2017/10/27/104803260-Exterior-wide-with-freedom-tower.600x400.jpg)

By East Fens on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 10:11am.

yeah it looks a little like Jenga, but the Jengay building actually works architecturally and this BU building is just butt ugly

By Daniel Smith on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 9:12am.

I am so tried of seeing the lackadaisical indecision our urban(e) society is riddled with infecting our art and architecture. Math and science should give us something more beautiful than a stack on the kitchen table I can hear my mother screaming at us to get rid of. We're not NYC, we don't want (I hope!) to be NYC; give us something worthy of a Boston university.

By DMBoston on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 10:06am.

"And BU declares the new tower will be a welcome addition to the Boston skyline"

No....no it won't be. This is possibly the most horrendous looking building that's ever been proposed.

By anon on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 8:40pm.

I want whatever drugs those architects were taking when they designed this

By Anon on Thu, 10/04/2018 - 10:39pm.

And... it’s already won the coveted Eyesore of the Month award

http://kunstler.com/eyesore-of-the-month/october-2018/

By Jongo on Fri, 10/12/2018 - 12:25am.

Any know who the architect is?