One Congress Street - Boston, USA (Gensler)

[khris]

Designing a better environment for people to live, work, and enjoy

The Boston planning firm of Chan Krieger Sieniewicz was hired by the client team to create a Master Plan and concept design for a large, multi block parcel of land in downtown Boston currently occupied by the 1970’s vintage Government Center Parking Garage. The program of uses, areas, and massing were set during the Master Plan study. The Client Development team then invited 5 architectural firms to enter a competition to develop ideas for the architecture for the given massing. During the 3 weeks of the competition, the Gensler team re-thought the project from scratch, and proposed a completely different solution.

The Government Center Parking Structure is a large, bulky mass located between the Bulfinch Triangle and Downtown Boston at the northern end of the new Rose Kennedy Greenway. The building spans over Congress Street, dividing the two districts visually and spatially, interrupting the urban fabric of the City. The project aims to demolish the garage, replace the lost parking below grade, and add 3.3 million SF of mixed use development above to serve as the northern anchor of the Rose Kennedy Greenway.

The scope and breadth of the One Congress Street project represents an opportunity to demand a better environment for people to live, work, and enjoy. There exists now, in this moment, an opportunity to set a new benchmark for mixed-use development that is a true exemplar of sustainability in the broadest sense – environmental, social, and economic.

Source with more photos.

 

[Jayomatic]

Looks great. We could definitely use some curves like that here.

 

[khris]

I'd love to see stuff like that in our East Bayfront.

 

[golodhendil]

This is the actual winning design for the One Congress Street project:

However, like most projects in Boston, it will most likely get cheapened, cut in half, delayed for 2 decades, and end up being a hole in the ground for a few years before a stub get built..
.. if the developer doesn't end up just keeping the garage, which they have stated is still one of the options they're keeping open.
FYI, here's the garage as it is today:

 

[adma]

...and (at least if you factor out the upper two levels) it's one of the more architecturally robust garages of its day. Though in a city where the rabble loathes its Brutalist City Hall, don't expect them to embrace the garage which serves it...

 

[Edward]

Now if Bay Adelaide looked something like this.

 

[golodhendil]

...and (at least if you factor out the upper two levels) it's one of the more architecturally robust garages of its day. Though in a city where the rabble loathes its Brutalist City Hall, don't expect them to embrace the garage which serves it...

Architecturally I would say it's fine (especially the part facing the old Artery / now Greenway). People's main qualms with it is its deadening effect on that large swath of downtown. (Likewise, I would say the bigger concern with City Hall is the barren brick desert around it rather than the building itself)

 

[Tewder]

In a North American context we can probably excuse beantown rabble for being a little biased.

As a public space/civic building take your choice. This:

or this:

or this:

 

[adma]

Why not all of them? It's richer that way.

 

[unimaginative2]

...and (at least if you factor out the upper two levels) it's one of the more architecturally robust garages of its day. Though in a city where the rabble loathes its Brutalist City Hall, don't expect them to embrace the garage which serves it...

But that's a big "at least if you factor out."

 

[kettal]

It would look very out of place in Toronto. Like the King Holiday Inn.