Fenway Park

Fenway Park, home to the World Champions of 2007 the Boston Red Sox, is located in the dense fabric of Boston. Fenway Park is just as much a part of the history of Boston as any other building or park. At first glance, it doesn't seem that there would be a stadium within the brick walls. An outer structure of brick houses all of the spaces from offices to locker rooms. This blends the stadium in with the surrounding site. It is the only stadium in the country that fits within the city grid and fabric. Seen in plan, the streets form the shape of the stadium and in one place actually cuts through where the field would be. At this spot, the “Green Monster” was placed; a high wall that makes up for what would be more depth to the field. Seats were recently added to the top of the “Green Monster” which hang over the street that cuts through. Making your way around the site, the stadium is somewhat revealed. The high spotlights, scoreboard, and the green steel structure that is revealed begins to bring to attention that there may be something more to the building than what it seems.

Tent City

Tent City sits in an area where to one side is the dense fabric of residential units and the other side is an area of historic importance to the city of Boston. One would wonder how to meet such diverse sites. The apartments at Tent City is a good example of how to accomplish this through architectural design. Standing at the main entrance is a large curved building, in which to either side the building decreases in height as it steps down the further it goes. Behind this main building is a courtyard space in which the people who live in the apartments are able to use at their leisure. Towards the ends of the building, the height levels off to fit into the fabric of the rest of the residential units. Standing in the neighborhood, one can see the stepping of the building which gets larger as it gets to the side of historic and larger scale buildings.

Adam Sq.

Roslindale’s Adam Sq. was placed in the center of a very communal area. Many of the people that inhabit this historic village outside of Boston are able to enjoy its presence. Looking down the hill, the park leads to what looks like a very important area of the village, with its church and much larger scale buildings. Just up the hill, the park leads to an area of small scale shops. Just beyond the shops begin the residential neighborhoods of Roslindale Village. The park acts as the connection between small scale shops and residential neighborhoods to the larger scale, more important buildings of the village. This explains why many people are found in the park or around the park throughout the day. Looking at the section of the site, one could relate the site to an auditorium space. The park itself would be the seating, as it slopes down the hill to the stage, which would be the more historic part of Roslindale Village.

Northeastern Courtyard

This courtyard in the Northeastern campus almost acts as the central nucleus of this section of the campus. Providing pathways in every direction and for every desired destination, students continuously enter and exit the courtyard as they travel through campus. The dormitories that immediately surround the courtyard form their shape around the courtyard, creating a more indulged relationship with the site in which it sits. Large amounts of windows and glass also allow the students to have a relationship with the courtyard. Large openings are cut out of the buildings to allow passage to and from the courtyard.

ICA

Sitting on the edge of the historical Boston harbor, the ICA remains very much interacted with the harbor. The view of the harbor from the site is very intriguing. The architect of the ICA building, seems to use this to his advantage. With an outdoor cafe, outdoor auditorium seating, and the large viewing hall on the top floor all facing the harbor, the building seems to frame the harbor creating different views that are continuously changing. Not only does the building capture different views of the harbor, but looking at the building in section one can notice a similarity in shape to the overall site in which it inhabits. It seems as if the harbor actually continues through the building. Whether or not this was the intention of the architect, this is the feeling I experienced when at the site.

Christian Science Center

Walking into the site, I recognized the importance of the center building. Both buildings, to the front and to the side are very orthogonal and because of this, very directional. But looking at the central building and its semi-circular entrance, large dome, and smaller domes sitting on the polygonal wings of the building, a sense of direction did not come to me.

It kept my attention focused solely on that building and how it sits in the site. Looking further at the site and the openness to the side, I felt a sort of direction toward the pool on the side. This focuses most of the attention on the central building and its relationship with large reflecting pool. Another thing I noticed, was that if you stood looking at the corner of the central building where it is open to the front and to the side where the pool is, the pool on the side and the large area of grass almost create an axis of symmetry at that corner.

Back Bay Fens

Back Bay Fens has become an area used to escape the busy city life. Originally designed by Olmstead to relieve the Charles River of over flooding during storms, the topography levels change drastically along the banks of the river. By adding recreational elements such as walking paths, basketball courts, baseball fields, and gardens, the original design for the space mainly goes unnoticed. Surrounding buildings form along the curves of the park, creating a direct relationship between the residents and the park. The buildings also act as some sort of wall or enclosure, framing the Fens within the city of Boston. Although the Fens was originally designed to deal with flood waters, the original design remains masked by its use of recreation and urban escape.