Going Green Final Project
View more presentations from Hans Mundahl.
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Back at NHS
After arriving in New Hampton around 8 p.m. last night, our group dispersed and returned to dorms and houses. We tiredly attended classes this morning, and then met at 1:00 to go over what we had experienced, as well as construct our findings into a project to share. Our group is currently working on a slide show, highlighting the visits to the Seaport Hotel, the L.E.E.D certified Art for Humanities building, and street/business interviews. Overall, the trip proved to be an enlightening experience for us all, as well as a chance to learn more about the "green" movement. Despite the fun we had, it was quite exhausting.
Newbury Street
After finishing up in Harvard Square, we journeyed to Newbury Street to conduct some more street surveys in a different setting hoping to get some differing opinions. We ran into a few other JUA groups on the street and also had a chance to shop and explore. Around 5:00, we started to head back to the hotel, to grab a quick dinner and then load the buses and head home.
Harvard Square
Following the Arts for Humanities visit, we headed to Harvard Square to grab some lunch and conduct street and business interviews. Along with shopping a bit, we surveyed store clerks, managers, customers and bystanders on the street. We focused on the following questions to get a better understanding of "green" awareness and action.
Business Questions
- Is your bagging recycled?
- Are your products purchased locally or foreign?
- Does your business place focus on being eco-friendly? If so, what steps have you taken to be more sustainable?
- What are your personal environmental practices, and if any, how do you tie those into your business practices?
- Does your company encourage employees to follow green lifestyles in and out of work?
Customer Questions
- Do you consciously think about what you’re buying before you purchase it?
- Do you shop based on personal desire or want rather than need and eco-friendliness?
- Are you environmentally aware?
Business Questions
- Is your bagging recycled?
- Are your products purchased locally or foreign?
- Does your business place focus on being eco-friendly? If so, what steps have you taken to be more sustainable?
- What are your personal environmental practices, and if any, how do you tie those into your business practices?
- Does your company encourage employees to follow green lifestyles in and out of work?
Customer Questions
- Do you consciously think about what you’re buying before you purchase it?
- Do you shop based on personal desire or want rather than need and eco-friendliness?
- Are you environmentally aware?
Artists for Humanity
The second day of JUA brought some much-appreciated sunshine. After quickly grabbing bagels and coffee at a small café, we headed to the Arts for Humanities building in South Boston. This building was the 11th nationally ranked to have been L.E.E.D. platinum. L.E.E.D. stands for "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design". We were given a tour around the building and shown the different “green” aspects built in to make it more sustainable. These include: solar panel roofing, a garage door to increase the amount of sunlight and decrease the amount of electricity needed, a large vent throughout the building and two fans on the roof used to moderate the temperature in place of air condition, along with conscious thinking of the materials used to build.
If you want to learn more about the program “Arts for Humanities” in Boston, click on the link given.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlmQQv05q1s
If you want to learn more about the program “Arts for Humanities” in Boston, click on the link given.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlmQQv05q1s
Prudential Center
After our hotel trip, the going green group spent time at the Prudential Center. Rushing in order to catch the film “Milk” we were disappointed to find that there never was a movie theatre at the mall. We meandered around for a while, ate dinner in the food court and hung out with other groups. We also made a stop at “Trader Joe’s” for some healthy snacks.
Monday, March 09, 2009
Being Green?
Today we had about an hour to get together as a group and talk about what we had done so far and what we will do tomorrow. We each shared our favorite part about our Seaport Boston tour as well as what we thought "Being Green" meant.
Click on the comments section to read what each of the group members said about what they feel like "being green" means.
Click on the comments section to read what each of the group members said about what they feel like "being green" means.
Seaport Boston Hotel
After a long and delayed bus ride,we finally reached our hotel, the Le Meridien in Boston. We quickly took care of our belongings, and set out for our first appointment. We walked briskly through the rain, to find the closest T station. After a short ride on the subway, we reached the Seaport area of Boston and made our way to the Seaport hotel. As the “Going Green” group, our goal was to find businesses that are globally aware and going in an environmentally friendly direction. We learned that the Seaport Hotel is the most eco-friendly hotel in all of New England, and nationally ranked for its movement forward concerning global climate. We were given a presentation by the “green” coordinator of the hotel, Matt Moore, and learned how their business has gone about being more sustainable, as well as what they hope to do in the future. Some of their big “green” actions include: self-recycling, electrolyzed water, composting through a Bio-EZ machine, and providing complimentary bikes to guests to use instead of motor vehicles.
Sunday, March 08, 2009
It's Not Easy Being Green
Greetings! And welcome to 2009's "Going Green" JUA group Blog.
We are just hours away from heading to Boston to begin our epic adventure of exploring being green from multiple perspectives. As we think about our place in this world, and how we contribute to the environment both positively and negatively, I urge you to think about the choices you make on a regular basis, and whether or not you care about the impact your choices have. Our group is focused on exploring the broad theme of what it means to live a "green" and sustainable lifestyle from multiple viewpoints. Some of these viewpoints are:
1. "I care about the environment and how my choices effect our environment."
2. "I don't care about my choices, if something was really that bad for the environment it wouldn't be an option for me."
3. "We should be more conscious and take an active role in helping to contribute to the environment in a positive manner so that we can help put a stop to global warming."
Our hope is to explore how acceptable or (un)acceptable our actions and choices are in regards to the environment. We will do this by visiting such venues as SeaPort Boston (an eco-friendly hotel in Boston), Arts for Humanity in Boston (a LEED certified building), as well as investigating eco-friendly consumer options in the Boston area, and conducting street interviews to survey the general population about how they feel about "being green."
Keep checking back for updates and how we investigate these questions as we embark on our Junior Urban Adventure!
Monday, January 15, 2007
oops THIS is Kyle's Essay
JUA
By Kyle Raynor
Architecture is mare than just buildings. It’s a problem, because you have to put into consideration the roads, traffic, and the placing of the buildings to make the structure look presentable. How do you take all of these aspects and put them together to make a productive building.
Are group spend two days traveling about Boston meeting with 3 different people to learn more about urban infrastructure.
I learned all the different steps that are involved in building a structure. First the person has to go find an architect and get his vision down into plans. The architect gathers ideas from the person and try’s to imagine what the buyer wants. The architect then has to look at making the building safe and how it could be build in the area that they want to build it. The person that wants this building then goes in front of city hall and the people of the city. City Hall will then tell the person if they want this building in there city. If there is a yes the person as to go area and find a area for the building to be build and see if his plans that he has now will allow it to be build there. After all this is done the person and the architect have another meeting to talk about how much this project would cost. The person who is building the building then has to go to the bank to see if he can finance this project. If he can he goes back to city hall and they have meeting about the function of the
building and how it was help the city and will the building be environmentally safe. If the city passes the building then the person as the right to start building the building whenever he wants. The plans then go back to the architect so he can finish doing all the final steps. The architect just does not design the building he has to also tie in the side walks and make all the streets tie into each other and make traffic flow good. There are also talks about with a new building where does all the parking go. The traffic problem is one of the cities biggest threats. After this is all done they can finally start to hire a building crew and start construction. On the building site there is one person who supervises everything and they are the general contractor. Everyone that works on the job site reports to the general contractor and then he reports to the owner of the building. The General contractor has to budget the building and make sure it stays inside of there price limit and has to report to
the city. There are target dates set and its on the contractor if the date in not met. One of the problems the general contractor told us about the working in a city with building a building is the high wind danger. The wind comes in form all directions from hitting buildings and coming up there streets. This can cause big delays with the building because of lifting items up to the higher levels.
By Kyle Raynor
Architecture is mare than just buildings. It’s a problem, because you have to put into consideration the roads, traffic, and the placing of the buildings to make the structure look presentable. How do you take all of these aspects and put them together to make a productive building.
Are group spend two days traveling about Boston meeting with 3 different people to learn more about urban infrastructure.
I learned all the different steps that are involved in building a structure. First the person has to go find an architect and get his vision down into plans. The architect gathers ideas from the person and try’s to imagine what the buyer wants. The architect then has to look at making the building safe and how it could be build in the area that they want to build it. The person that wants this building then goes in front of city hall and the people of the city. City Hall will then tell the person if they want this building in there city. If there is a yes the person as to go area and find a area for the building to be build and see if his plans that he has now will allow it to be build there. After all this is done the person and the architect have another meeting to talk about how much this project would cost. The person who is building the building then has to go to the bank to see if he can finance this project. If he can he goes back to city hall and they have meeting about the function of the
building and how it was help the city and will the building be environmentally safe. If the city passes the building then the person as the right to start building the building whenever he wants. The plans then go back to the architect so he can finish doing all the final steps. The architect just does not design the building he has to also tie in the side walks and make all the streets tie into each other and make traffic flow good. There are also talks about with a new building where does all the parking go. The traffic problem is one of the cities biggest threats. After this is all done they can finally start to hire a building crew and start construction. On the building site there is one person who supervises everything and they are the general contractor. Everyone that works on the job site reports to the general contractor and then he reports to the owner of the building. The General contractor has to budget the building and make sure it stays inside of there price limit and has to report to
the city. There are target dates set and its on the contractor if the date in not met. One of the problems the general contractor told us about the working in a city with building a building is the high wind danger. The wind comes in form all directions from hitting buildings and coming up there streets. This can cause big delays with the building because of lifting items up to the higher levels.
Kyle's Essay
JUA Report JD Weissman
My Junior Urban Adventure group was the urban infrastructure. We met with Don Levine who is a contractor, the CBT architects, and the city hall worker, Mr. Prataap. We asked them many questions. We were in Boston for two days and stayed at a hostel. We woke up at 4:30 and went on the busses to Boston. My essential question is there are many factors of making and placement of new buildings in the city. What are there factors? There are many factors. On our first day we met with Don Levine. Don Levine is Mike Levine’s father. He is a contractor in the Suffolk Construction. They are building a building on Bolyston Street called Mandarin Oriental. The Mandarin Oriental is the most complex and more expensive project in Boston’s history. It is a hotel and it also has apartments, condos, and retail space. They have a sample of a hotel room and it is an expensive. He told us how he oversees and makes sure everything in the project site is going ok. His office is right next to the construction site so he can monitor
and watch the process and fix problems when needed. The architects make blueprints and concept art for buildings. The importance of these are that they help plan the building interior and outside. Computers are used to show the building results and they show the clients what it looks like. The hardest part of being an architect is coordinating all the parts of the building. The architect will compress the size of the buildings to fit and use space effectively. In city hall they have a balsa wood model of Boston. In the model they place models where they would be and see how it looks. They do many tests with it. When my Junior Urban Adventure group went there, they were testing a concept building and also a concept park program. It is called the Greenway which is parks in a line going throughout the city. It is seventy percent done. The city hall members say that they want more pedestrians. They want less cars and pollution. After we saw the city hall, we walked on Newbury Street and observed the buildings a
nd their structure. We learned a lot in the Junior Urban Adventure. I learned a lot about the city of Boston and know how it functions. We learned how the city planner test concept buildings, like the new solar powered building. We also learned how the big dig made people leave Boston instead of people coming into Boston. This trip was very intriguing. All the factors of building a building and placing it is very important. Without any of them, the process will be much more difficult. They are all essential in the process. My Junior Urban Adventure experience was a good one. I learned many things and still had a fun time, like when we went to Fanueil Hall. The only problem was that we had to wake up too early.
My Junior Urban Adventure group was the urban infrastructure. We met with Don Levine who is a contractor, the CBT architects, and the city hall worker, Mr. Prataap. We asked them many questions. We were in Boston for two days and stayed at a hostel. We woke up at 4:30 and went on the busses to Boston. My essential question is there are many factors of making and placement of new buildings in the city. What are there factors? There are many factors. On our first day we met with Don Levine. Don Levine is Mike Levine’s father. He is a contractor in the Suffolk Construction. They are building a building on Bolyston Street called Mandarin Oriental. The Mandarin Oriental is the most complex and more expensive project in Boston’s history. It is a hotel and it also has apartments, condos, and retail space. They have a sample of a hotel room and it is an expensive. He told us how he oversees and makes sure everything in the project site is going ok. His office is right next to the construction site so he can monitor
and watch the process and fix problems when needed. The architects make blueprints and concept art for buildings. The importance of these are that they help plan the building interior and outside. Computers are used to show the building results and they show the clients what it looks like. The hardest part of being an architect is coordinating all the parts of the building. The architect will compress the size of the buildings to fit and use space effectively. In city hall they have a balsa wood model of Boston. In the model they place models where they would be and see how it looks. They do many tests with it. When my Junior Urban Adventure group went there, they were testing a concept building and also a concept park program. It is called the Greenway which is parks in a line going throughout the city. It is seventy percent done. The city hall members say that they want more pedestrians. They want less cars and pollution. After we saw the city hall, we walked on Newbury Street and observed the buildings a
nd their structure. We learned a lot in the Junior Urban Adventure. I learned a lot about the city of Boston and know how it functions. We learned how the city planner test concept buildings, like the new solar powered building. We also learned how the big dig made people leave Boston instead of people coming into Boston. This trip was very intriguing. All the factors of building a building and placing it is very important. Without any of them, the process will be much more difficult. They are all essential in the process. My Junior Urban Adventure experience was a good one. I learned many things and still had a fun time, like when we went to Fanueil Hall. The only problem was that we had to wake up too early.
JD's Essay
JUA Report JD Weissman
My Junior Urban Adventure group was the urban infrastructure. We met with Don Levine who is a contractor, the CBT architects, and the city hall worker, Mr. Prataap. We asked them many questions. We were in Boston for two days and stayed at a hostel. We woke up at 4:30 and went on the busses to Boston. My essential question is there are many factors of making and placement of new buildings in the city. What are there factors? There are many factors. On our first day we met with Don Levine. Don Levine is Mike Levine’s father. He is a contractor in the Suffolk Construction. They are building a building on Bolyston Street called Mandarin Oriental. The Mandarin Oriental is the most complex and more expensive project in Boston’s history. It is a hotel and it also has apartments, condos, and retail space. They have a sample of a hotel room and it is an expensive. He told us how he oversees and makes sure everything in the project site is going ok. His office is right next to the construction site so he can monitor
and watch the process and fix problems when needed. The architects make blueprints and concept art for buildings. The importance of these are that they help plan the building interior and outside. Computers are used to show the building results and they show the clients what it looks like. The hardest part of being an architect is coordinating all the parts of the building. The architect will compress the size of the buildings to fit and use space effectively. In city hall they have a balsa wood model of Boston. In the model they place models where they would be and see how it looks. They do many tests with it. When my Junior Urban Adventure group went there, they were testing a concept building and also a concept park program. It is called the Greenway which is parks in a line going throughout the city. It is seventy percent done. The city hall members say that they want more pedestrians. They want less cars and pollution. After we saw the city hall, we walked on Newbury Street and observed the buildings a
nd their structure. We learned a lot in the Junior Urban Adventure. I learned a lot about the city of Boston and know how it functions. We learned how the city planner test concept buildings, like the new solar powered building. We also learned how the big dig made people leave Boston instead of people coming into Boston. This trip was very intriguing. All the factors of building a building and placing it is very important. Without any of them, the process will be much more difficult. They are all essential in the process. My Junior Urban Adventure experience was a good one. I learned many things and still had a fun time, like when we went to Fanueil Hall. The only problem was that we had to wake up too early.
My Junior Urban Adventure group was the urban infrastructure. We met with Don Levine who is a contractor, the CBT architects, and the city hall worker, Mr. Prataap. We asked them many questions. We were in Boston for two days and stayed at a hostel. We woke up at 4:30 and went on the busses to Boston. My essential question is there are many factors of making and placement of new buildings in the city. What are there factors? There are many factors. On our first day we met with Don Levine. Don Levine is Mike Levine’s father. He is a contractor in the Suffolk Construction. They are building a building on Bolyston Street called Mandarin Oriental. The Mandarin Oriental is the most complex and more expensive project in Boston’s history. It is a hotel and it also has apartments, condos, and retail space. They have a sample of a hotel room and it is an expensive. He told us how he oversees and makes sure everything in the project site is going ok. His office is right next to the construction site so he can monitor
and watch the process and fix problems when needed. The architects make blueprints and concept art for buildings. The importance of these are that they help plan the building interior and outside. Computers are used to show the building results and they show the clients what it looks like. The hardest part of being an architect is coordinating all the parts of the building. The architect will compress the size of the buildings to fit and use space effectively. In city hall they have a balsa wood model of Boston. In the model they place models where they would be and see how it looks. They do many tests with it. When my Junior Urban Adventure group went there, they were testing a concept building and also a concept park program. It is called the Greenway which is parks in a line going throughout the city. It is seventy percent done. The city hall members say that they want more pedestrians. They want less cars and pollution. After we saw the city hall, we walked on Newbury Street and observed the buildings a
nd their structure. We learned a lot in the Junior Urban Adventure. I learned a lot about the city of Boston and know how it functions. We learned how the city planner test concept buildings, like the new solar powered building. We also learned how the big dig made people leave Boston instead of people coming into Boston. This trip was very intriguing. All the factors of building a building and placing it is very important. Without any of them, the process will be much more difficult. They are all essential in the process. My Junior Urban Adventure experience was a good one. I learned many things and still had a fun time, like when we went to Fanueil Hall. The only problem was that we had to wake up too early.
Kali's Essay
Kali Brennick
URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE!!!
When I went down to Boston, I had an essential question that I needed to
answer. My question was, money, time, and resources are a big part in
making a building. One of the big problems in cities is pollution. Is
there a way to be a positive contributor to helping the pollution problem
within the city, while constructing the building within the time, money,
and resources boundaries? To answer all our questions, we went to
different places in Boston and got lectured and showed different things.
The first person we went to see was Don Levine. He is a developer and he
has been working on a job in Boston for a while. So we were lucky enough
to hear from him what his job is like and what he does. I was able to ask
him my essential question, and he answered it exactly the way I wished he
would. He told me that they usually try their best to buy materials that
are recycled and environmentally safe. He told me about how they use
energy saving heating and stuff like that. The thing is, they have energy
savi
ng laws that they have to fallow. So as much as he made it seem like he
really cares, I kind of feel like him and others really only fallow the
laws, so they don’t get in trouble.
The next place we went to was an architecture design place. We had three
people tell us about what they do, and some of the places in and around
Boston that they designed. It was really cool and interesting what steps
they have to go through in just designing it. I once again was able to
ask them my essential question. And all three of them seemed pro
environmentally safe materials. They told me how they love using recycled
materials, but sometimes its hard. Its hard because they have to comply
to what their customer wants, and not always is recycled materials, what
they want or find attractive. As far as how much environmentally giving
materials cost, they said it sometimes is actually cheaper than other
materials. They also told us about how they like to do school designs,
because usually the customers are more than willing to pay for the
recycled materials. This I think is awesome, because it doesn’t only
affect the environment positively, it also affects the students. Because
it influences recy
cling and trying to save the environment. I was impressed by what each of
them had to say.
The final place we went to was City Hall. There we were able to see a
huge, to scale, model of Boston. We first got lectured by this guy, who
to tell you the truth I didn’t listen to a word he said. And I didn’t ask
any questions. He talked about things that weren’t really relevant to
what were learning about. But the guy who we went to see then came in,
Patrapp. This man was very interesting to me. He told us about the green
space that they wanted to produce. He also told us about how when they
propose a new building to be built, they have to think of as many ways
possible to make it productive, so they get the most money and use out of
it. The biggest thing that I felt was very important was what he wanted
Boston to turn into. He wants Boston to be more of a walking city, rather
than a driving city. He wants people to enjoy walking around Boston, to
have parks to go to, and to have buildings that look nice and fitted to
where they are. By making it a more of a walking city, this will help trem
endously with traffic and pollution of Boston. Even though I wasn’t able
to ask him my essential question, got some good information from him.
Overall what I got out of this trip was that overall the people of Boston
care about the environment, and that its going to take the whole of Boston
to make a difference. And that it might cost more, or it might not cost
as much, but it all depends on weather or not the people, developers, and
architects to want to help to change.
URBAN INFRASTRUCTURE!!!
When I went down to Boston, I had an essential question that I needed to
answer. My question was, money, time, and resources are a big part in
making a building. One of the big problems in cities is pollution. Is
there a way to be a positive contributor to helping the pollution problem
within the city, while constructing the building within the time, money,
and resources boundaries? To answer all our questions, we went to
different places in Boston and got lectured and showed different things.
The first person we went to see was Don Levine. He is a developer and he
has been working on a job in Boston for a while. So we were lucky enough
to hear from him what his job is like and what he does. I was able to ask
him my essential question, and he answered it exactly the way I wished he
would. He told me that they usually try their best to buy materials that
are recycled and environmentally safe. He told me about how they use
energy saving heating and stuff like that. The thing is, they have energy
savi
ng laws that they have to fallow. So as much as he made it seem like he
really cares, I kind of feel like him and others really only fallow the
laws, so they don’t get in trouble.
The next place we went to was an architecture design place. We had three
people tell us about what they do, and some of the places in and around
Boston that they designed. It was really cool and interesting what steps
they have to go through in just designing it. I once again was able to
ask them my essential question. And all three of them seemed pro
environmentally safe materials. They told me how they love using recycled
materials, but sometimes its hard. Its hard because they have to comply
to what their customer wants, and not always is recycled materials, what
they want or find attractive. As far as how much environmentally giving
materials cost, they said it sometimes is actually cheaper than other
materials. They also told us about how they like to do school designs,
because usually the customers are more than willing to pay for the
recycled materials. This I think is awesome, because it doesn’t only
affect the environment positively, it also affects the students. Because
it influences recy
cling and trying to save the environment. I was impressed by what each of
them had to say.
The final place we went to was City Hall. There we were able to see a
huge, to scale, model of Boston. We first got lectured by this guy, who
to tell you the truth I didn’t listen to a word he said. And I didn’t ask
any questions. He talked about things that weren’t really relevant to
what were learning about. But the guy who we went to see then came in,
Patrapp. This man was very interesting to me. He told us about the green
space that they wanted to produce. He also told us about how when they
propose a new building to be built, they have to think of as many ways
possible to make it productive, so they get the most money and use out of
it. The biggest thing that I felt was very important was what he wanted
Boston to turn into. He wants Boston to be more of a walking city, rather
than a driving city. He wants people to enjoy walking around Boston, to
have parks to go to, and to have buildings that look nice and fitted to
where they are. By making it a more of a walking city, this will help trem
endously with traffic and pollution of Boston. Even though I wasn’t able
to ask him my essential question, got some good information from him.
Overall what I got out of this trip was that overall the people of Boston
care about the environment, and that its going to take the whole of Boston
to make a difference. And that it might cost more, or it might not cost
as much, but it all depends on weather or not the people, developers, and
architects to want to help to change.
Thursday, January 11, 2007
Matt's Essay
Matt Hamel JUA 1/07/07
My essential question for JUA was a cities layout is constantly changing, space is a valuable and key aspect of/in a city, how is the city/architects changing the layout to conserve/efficiently use the cities space. During my JUA experience, I do not get a single simple answer, but gained many perspectives and factors that contributed to my overall answer. Urban infrastructure involves many people of many professions. All work to make the city and its buildings efficiently used and laid out. In doing this, each profession has a different definition of efficiency, and how the space should be used. Through learning of these different definitions I was able to further my understanding of those terms myself. To this city of Boston, space usage and management revolved around people. Example in prime developmental land being made in The Greenway Park system that pedestrians can walk threw in the hart of the city. The roads withe an the amount of parking, are restricted in the city to give the people the ability to walk throughout the entirety of it. I learned from the CBT architects that the efficient use of land meant building the biggest building possible. This joined with this city officials want to make the city of Boston a lively and people friendly place in the endorsement of multiuse buildings such as the Mandarin Oriental building, which has apartments and condos for people to live in and Street level shops for them to use all revolving around a six-Star hotel for economic prosperity. Hearing each groups, different answer about layout and efficiency melding their ideas and thoughts in actual buildings, like the Mandarin Oriental and developmental ideas such as one we saw at City Hall, which was a tall office tower, but with a solar mirror at that would reflect down on the street the sunlight to make it a more pleasant place to be. The city officals wanting the layout of the city of Boston for the efficiency of people was something very surprising to me and to see the innovative designs and uses of the city’s buildings and resources allowed each side to get what it needed to keep the Boston’s economics prosperity going and still be a people friendly city led me to believe that many new and innovative engineering and architectural feats will be coming, and Boston and keeping the life and culture of the city alive.
My essential question for JUA was a cities layout is constantly changing, space is a valuable and key aspect of/in a city, how is the city/architects changing the layout to conserve/efficiently use the cities space. During my JUA experience, I do not get a single simple answer, but gained many perspectives and factors that contributed to my overall answer. Urban infrastructure involves many people of many professions. All work to make the city and its buildings efficiently used and laid out. In doing this, each profession has a different definition of efficiency, and how the space should be used. Through learning of these different definitions I was able to further my understanding of those terms myself. To this city of Boston, space usage and management revolved around people. Example in prime developmental land being made in The Greenway Park system that pedestrians can walk threw in the hart of the city. The roads withe an the amount of parking, are restricted in the city to give the people the ability to walk throughout the entirety of it. I learned from the CBT architects that the efficient use of land meant building the biggest building possible. This joined with this city officials want to make the city of Boston a lively and people friendly place in the endorsement of multiuse buildings such as the Mandarin Oriental building, which has apartments and condos for people to live in and Street level shops for them to use all revolving around a six-Star hotel for economic prosperity. Hearing each groups, different answer about layout and efficiency melding their ideas and thoughts in actual buildings, like the Mandarin Oriental and developmental ideas such as one we saw at City Hall, which was a tall office tower, but with a solar mirror at that would reflect down on the street the sunlight to make it a more pleasant place to be. The city officals wanting the layout of the city of Boston for the efficiency of people was something very surprising to me and to see the innovative designs and uses of the city’s buildings and resources allowed each side to get what it needed to keep the Boston’s economics prosperity going and still be a people friendly city led me to believe that many new and innovative engineering and architectural feats will be coming, and Boston and keeping the life and culture of the city alive.
Kirsten's Essay
JUA ESSAY 500 WORDS
Kirsten Nilsson
January 7, 2007
QUESTION: Architects have been trying to create the ultimate human habitat for many years, and will continue to do so for many years to come. To create, maintain, and run a huge city large amounts of energy are required. How much time to architects spend on calculating the most energy efficient way to lay out a city? In what ways can architects reduce the amount of wasted energy to preserve our resources? How effective and beneficial can alternative energy sources be even on the large scale of a city such as Boston?
On the JUA trip I was disappointed with the response towards my essential question. Or anything having to do with it, in which I asked to those whom I had an appointment with. To me it seems like a lot of architects and builders are not as concerned as I think that they should be about conserving energy. The most concern put into saving energy is most likely during the building process. Such as when they are working in the cold, in a building that is unfinished. During the building they wrap the building in plastic to avoid wasting heat. When architects plan out a city layout they cater more towards having an astatically pleasing layout, instead of a way that will save energy. In my opinion a lot of buildings have unnecessary features. For example when I went and met with Prataap I viewed a model of a building with what I at first thought were solar panels. I soon found out that the panels we not for capturing solar energy but for reflecting light down into the city. I'm sure this is needed, but what I want to know is why they didn’t just put solar panels in as well. Unfortunately a lot of my questions stumped the people I interviewed.
I got the impression that using alternative energy is very strenuous for a city such as Boston. I asked a question as to what they will do in the future to fuel the city, and there seemed to be no concern, as if they have never been asked this question. Obviously it takes an extreme amount of energy to build a city, as well as run it in the present. But what about running the city in the future. When the city gets larger and larger, and our recourses become less and less available? I got no answer. In fact it seemed to be that Prataap was embarrassed when he had no answer. The real answer is that if there is not enough energy the city will suffer. Imagine the city of Boston just sitting because it was overbuilt and there was not enough energy left to fuel the monster that was already created. What will happen?
In the mean time the builders of the city will continue to build the city larger and larger. There are defiantly building control laws. Once again these laws are more for the people. Such as having buildings that do not block other homeowner or business owners views. To me, I do not understand why this is a bigger current concern than saving energy. The response to this was that right now they need to please the people, to get money. I feel a sense of greed from the architects. I also asked what kind of laws there were about energy waste. Fortunately for the sake of the earth there are lots of regulations. A larger question I asked to all the people I met with was weather or not they followed these regulations because they had to, or because they felt it was right. The answers varied. But it seems that the majority of their focus went to passing the bar and only being happy about it when the regulations result in them saving money.
In result of this Trip firstly I realized that I have no interest in architecture. I also realized that they lacked in planning for the future. Luckily there are regulations otherwise the city would most likely waste 100% more energy. If there were more people out there that were less focused on money and more focused on the greater good there would be less energy wasted, and a healthier city. Perhaps somewhere else there are more people with concerns. But none of which I met. This was a good learning experience, and I look forward to seeing where Boston goes in the future.
Kirsten Nilsson
January 7, 2007
QUESTION: Architects have been trying to create the ultimate human habitat for many years, and will continue to do so for many years to come. To create, maintain, and run a huge city large amounts of energy are required. How much time to architects spend on calculating the most energy efficient way to lay out a city? In what ways can architects reduce the amount of wasted energy to preserve our resources? How effective and beneficial can alternative energy sources be even on the large scale of a city such as Boston?
On the JUA trip I was disappointed with the response towards my essential question. Or anything having to do with it, in which I asked to those whom I had an appointment with. To me it seems like a lot of architects and builders are not as concerned as I think that they should be about conserving energy. The most concern put into saving energy is most likely during the building process. Such as when they are working in the cold, in a building that is unfinished. During the building they wrap the building in plastic to avoid wasting heat. When architects plan out a city layout they cater more towards having an astatically pleasing layout, instead of a way that will save energy. In my opinion a lot of buildings have unnecessary features. For example when I went and met with Prataap I viewed a model of a building with what I at first thought were solar panels. I soon found out that the panels we not for capturing solar energy but for reflecting light down into the city. I'm sure this is needed, but what I want to know is why they didn’t just put solar panels in as well. Unfortunately a lot of my questions stumped the people I interviewed.
I got the impression that using alternative energy is very strenuous for a city such as Boston. I asked a question as to what they will do in the future to fuel the city, and there seemed to be no concern, as if they have never been asked this question. Obviously it takes an extreme amount of energy to build a city, as well as run it in the present. But what about running the city in the future. When the city gets larger and larger, and our recourses become less and less available? I got no answer. In fact it seemed to be that Prataap was embarrassed when he had no answer. The real answer is that if there is not enough energy the city will suffer. Imagine the city of Boston just sitting because it was overbuilt and there was not enough energy left to fuel the monster that was already created. What will happen?
In the mean time the builders of the city will continue to build the city larger and larger. There are defiantly building control laws. Once again these laws are more for the people. Such as having buildings that do not block other homeowner or business owners views. To me, I do not understand why this is a bigger current concern than saving energy. The response to this was that right now they need to please the people, to get money. I feel a sense of greed from the architects. I also asked what kind of laws there were about energy waste. Fortunately for the sake of the earth there are lots of regulations. A larger question I asked to all the people I met with was weather or not they followed these regulations because they had to, or because they felt it was right. The answers varied. But it seems that the majority of their focus went to passing the bar and only being happy about it when the regulations result in them saving money.
In result of this Trip firstly I realized that I have no interest in architecture. I also realized that they lacked in planning for the future. Luckily there are regulations otherwise the city would most likely waste 100% more energy. If there were more people out there that were less focused on money and more focused on the greater good there would be less energy wasted, and a healthier city. Perhaps somewhere else there are more people with concerns. But none of which I met. This was a good learning experience, and I look forward to seeing where Boston goes in the future.
Nick C's Essay
JUA paper
Nick Caruso
1/6/06
While I was on JUA I leaned a lot about the infer structure in Boston and how it is changing. My group meet with three different people. The first person that we met with was Mr. Levine and he was the project manager for the Mandolin Oriental Hotel in Boston. He told us what it takes to get a project like that completed. He gave us all the steps form start to finish. The second group of people that we met with worked for CBT architects. Their presentation was very informative because they told us the beginning stages of large building projects. The third person that we me with worked for City Hall. He told us how Boston has been changing in the resent years.
When we were meeting with these people I asked them my essential question and got a slightly different answer out of all of them. When I asked Mr. Levine what he thought, he said that the new infer structure in Boston is for the better of the city but could have been done in a better way. He that the project as a whole was very miss managed. He said that the project had taken too long and has cost too much money. Over all he said that the new changes in Boston would make it a better city.
The people at CBT thought that the new, different styles of architecture will help attract people to the city. One example that they gave was the new convention center. The new convention center is an enormous building that has attracted people to Boston since it was built. This is one example of new architecture that has helped the City of Boston.
The people that we met with in city hall used the big dig as their example. They said that the big dig will help the city of Boston tremendously. It will make the city of Boston unique to all other cities because all of the major highways now run under the city. With the big digs problems it has attracted a lot of attention. When people see the big dig on TV it gets them interested so that they will come check it out for themselves.
After I talk to all of these people and took in all of their opions I was able to form my own. I think that the infrastructure in Boston has been changing very rapidly threw out the resent years. Each major project has had its ups and downs, but have all had a positive impact on the city. The City of Boston is much more unique because of the things that have changed recently. For example, the big dig is the world’s largest and most expensive road way project ever. This attracts a lot of people because it is something that they have never seen before. I believe that Boston is heading in the right direction with all of these new projects.
Question: In the last 10 years infer structure in Boston has change greatly. There have been many new projects going on. Do you thing that all of these changes are for the better of are they detracting from the city.
Nick Caruso
1/6/06
While I was on JUA I leaned a lot about the infer structure in Boston and how it is changing. My group meet with three different people. The first person that we met with was Mr. Levine and he was the project manager for the Mandolin Oriental Hotel in Boston. He told us what it takes to get a project like that completed. He gave us all the steps form start to finish. The second group of people that we met with worked for CBT architects. Their presentation was very informative because they told us the beginning stages of large building projects. The third person that we me with worked for City Hall. He told us how Boston has been changing in the resent years.
When we were meeting with these people I asked them my essential question and got a slightly different answer out of all of them. When I asked Mr. Levine what he thought, he said that the new infer structure in Boston is for the better of the city but could have been done in a better way. He that the project as a whole was very miss managed. He said that the project had taken too long and has cost too much money. Over all he said that the new changes in Boston would make it a better city.
The people at CBT thought that the new, different styles of architecture will help attract people to the city. One example that they gave was the new convention center. The new convention center is an enormous building that has attracted people to Boston since it was built. This is one example of new architecture that has helped the City of Boston.
The people that we met with in city hall used the big dig as their example. They said that the big dig will help the city of Boston tremendously. It will make the city of Boston unique to all other cities because all of the major highways now run under the city. With the big digs problems it has attracted a lot of attention. When people see the big dig on TV it gets them interested so that they will come check it out for themselves.
After I talk to all of these people and took in all of their opions I was able to form my own. I think that the infrastructure in Boston has been changing very rapidly threw out the resent years. Each major project has had its ups and downs, but have all had a positive impact on the city. The City of Boston is much more unique because of the things that have changed recently. For example, the big dig is the world’s largest and most expensive road way project ever. This attracts a lot of people because it is something that they have never seen before. I believe that Boston is heading in the right direction with all of these new projects.
Question: In the last 10 years infer structure in Boston has change greatly. There have been many new projects going on. Do you thing that all of these changes are for the better of are they detracting from the city.
Bruce's Essay
JUA
My Junior Urban Adventure project is about Urban Infrastructure in Boston City. Before we went to the Boston, we made an essential question about the problem in the Boston. My essential question is “How can we make more buildings and decrease the pollution at the same time?” I made this question, because there are more and more buildings and more traffics in the Boston City now, so the Boston became more convenience, but the buildings and traffics also cause a lot of pollutions. When I got to Boston, I saw so much smoke, traffic, noise around all the place. Boston is not like before anymore, and I think the problem of the pollutions is not the problem in Boston only, it is the problems in all world, it is everyone’s problems. For this reason we need to find the way that can decrease those pollution.
I also asked my essential question to Mr. Levine who is the leader of the new hotel project of the CBT architect. He said now the technology is much higher than before, so they used a machine that can recycle the energy, so it can save a lot of the energy, and it also would not cause a lot of the heat pollution. And I also heard about that the government made some laws about the pollution, so I made some research on it. That institution is called Air Pollution Control Commission (APCC). They control the emission of air contaminants, such as the air that cause people feel bad, make people sick, get disease, or die, unreasonably interfere with people comfortable, people’s life, people’s property, or people’s business. The Air Pollution Control Commission made a law about the limit of pollution air and noise can make when people build a building. When those architects get limit for the smoke or the noise, they would not cause too much pollution.
I also asked the random people who live in Boston about the pollution problems in Boston City now. They said the Boston looks very different than before, more cars more buildings, more smoke, more noise. Those factors cause a lot of air pollution, and noise pollution, and they also take a lot of energy away. They think that if more people takes subway or others public transportation instead drive their own car, then it can make less pollution, or government should trying to build more parks. Those methods may help decreasing the pollution problems. They all hope the government can make more programs to help decreasing the pollution in Boston City. Of course no body wants to live in pollution city.
After this Junior Urban Adventure, I learned a lot of things about the relative between a building and pollution. But after I think a while, I think that if people really want to decrease those pollutions we have now, they can not just try depend on government. People should find someway together and do it, because the pollution is everyone’s problem not just government’s problems.
My Junior Urban Adventure project is about Urban Infrastructure in Boston City. Before we went to the Boston, we made an essential question about the problem in the Boston. My essential question is “How can we make more buildings and decrease the pollution at the same time?” I made this question, because there are more and more buildings and more traffics in the Boston City now, so the Boston became more convenience, but the buildings and traffics also cause a lot of pollutions. When I got to Boston, I saw so much smoke, traffic, noise around all the place. Boston is not like before anymore, and I think the problem of the pollutions is not the problem in Boston only, it is the problems in all world, it is everyone’s problems. For this reason we need to find the way that can decrease those pollution.
I also asked my essential question to Mr. Levine who is the leader of the new hotel project of the CBT architect. He said now the technology is much higher than before, so they used a machine that can recycle the energy, so it can save a lot of the energy, and it also would not cause a lot of the heat pollution. And I also heard about that the government made some laws about the pollution, so I made some research on it. That institution is called Air Pollution Control Commission (APCC). They control the emission of air contaminants, such as the air that cause people feel bad, make people sick, get disease, or die, unreasonably interfere with people comfortable, people’s life, people’s property, or people’s business. The Air Pollution Control Commission made a law about the limit of pollution air and noise can make when people build a building. When those architects get limit for the smoke or the noise, they would not cause too much pollution.
I also asked the random people who live in Boston about the pollution problems in Boston City now. They said the Boston looks very different than before, more cars more buildings, more smoke, more noise. Those factors cause a lot of air pollution, and noise pollution, and they also take a lot of energy away. They think that if more people takes subway or others public transportation instead drive their own car, then it can make less pollution, or government should trying to build more parks. Those methods may help decreasing the pollution problems. They all hope the government can make more programs to help decreasing the pollution in Boston City. Of course no body wants to live in pollution city.
After this Junior Urban Adventure, I learned a lot of things about the relative between a building and pollution. But after I think a while, I think that if people really want to decrease those pollutions we have now, they can not just try depend on government. People should find someway together and do it, because the pollution is everyone’s problem not just government’s problems.
Paul's Essay
Paul Evans
Boston and its Traffic Problems Solved
The question I set out to answer during JUA was, “Architecture in an urban environment can help to solve many problems. One such problem in an urban space is traffic. How might Boston design and build future structures to help traffic problems?”
We departed New Hampton School at 5:00 AM, embarking on a field trip like no other. After a lengthy drive, we arrived at a youth hostel and dragged our luggage (and our feet) to a storage room. We ate breakfast quickly, and set off to a construction site several blocks away. There, we met with our senior leader’s father, Don Levine of CWB. CWB is a contractor firm that was chosen to build the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, a new addition to the Prudential Center.
Mr. Levine took us to see a mock-up of the base room that will be in the hotel, supposedly running at $600 a night. The room reflected the price tag – it was stunning. The bathroom was made from several types of granite from exotic countries, a 42” LCD TV is standard issue, and the bed was more than satisfying. Levine also took us outside to point out the unique circumstances of which the structure was being built. I noted that the construction occupied a lane of Boylston Street. Mr. Levine mentioned that the lane was being rented from the city and pointed out a service entrance which was required to be open indefinitely throughout the project to supply the Prudential Center. He told us assuredly that traffic was not going to be an issue with the throughput of the hotel, because they had designed the building in a way that would not adversely affect traffic. This information was reinforced by a lecture in our next visit, CBT Architecture. CBT is responsible for several current and future buildings in Boston. They sat us down in a stately conference room, showed us a PowerPoint presentation on how they design buildings. They showed us how the building we visited earlier had gone through that process, showing us early sketches and designs, as well as some of the proposed materials for the building. We also got a thorough tour of their building. They had each floor divided between 2 or 3 projects, usually with massive sample rooms in the middle, holding everything from miles of curtain fabric to scores of glass and brick tiles. That night we ate dinner in the Prudential Center’s food court, and later went out to see Borat in the movie theater.
The next morning, we ate brekky in the hostel and went to our third and final stop, City Hall. We were taken to a room with a massive model of Boston, and got a thorough overview of how the model was used to simulate the effect of new proposed buildings. David Carlton and Prataap Patrose answered our questions diligently. Patrose expressed that the Big Dig, Boston’s ongoing traffic solution gone awry, was the mistake of sparse supervision by the city, and was not to be repeated. We ate lunch at nearby Faneuil Hall, and asked the public questions to help support our essential question. Most people blew us off, but the answers I did receive mostly pointed toward traffic being a major problem in Boston, and another project like the Big Dig would be appreciated if the headaches could be minimized. By the time we left that evening, we all were exhausted from walking everywhere, and looked forward to relaxing back in our own beds.
Boston and its Traffic Problems Solved
The question I set out to answer during JUA was, “Architecture in an urban environment can help to solve many problems. One such problem in an urban space is traffic. How might Boston design and build future structures to help traffic problems?”
We departed New Hampton School at 5:00 AM, embarking on a field trip like no other. After a lengthy drive, we arrived at a youth hostel and dragged our luggage (and our feet) to a storage room. We ate breakfast quickly, and set off to a construction site several blocks away. There, we met with our senior leader’s father, Don Levine of CWB. CWB is a contractor firm that was chosen to build the Mandarin Oriental Hotel, a new addition to the Prudential Center.
Mr. Levine took us to see a mock-up of the base room that will be in the hotel, supposedly running at $600 a night. The room reflected the price tag – it was stunning. The bathroom was made from several types of granite from exotic countries, a 42” LCD TV is standard issue, and the bed was more than satisfying. Levine also took us outside to point out the unique circumstances of which the structure was being built. I noted that the construction occupied a lane of Boylston Street. Mr. Levine mentioned that the lane was being rented from the city and pointed out a service entrance which was required to be open indefinitely throughout the project to supply the Prudential Center. He told us assuredly that traffic was not going to be an issue with the throughput of the hotel, because they had designed the building in a way that would not adversely affect traffic. This information was reinforced by a lecture in our next visit, CBT Architecture. CBT is responsible for several current and future buildings in Boston. They sat us down in a stately conference room, showed us a PowerPoint presentation on how they design buildings. They showed us how the building we visited earlier had gone through that process, showing us early sketches and designs, as well as some of the proposed materials for the building. We also got a thorough tour of their building. They had each floor divided between 2 or 3 projects, usually with massive sample rooms in the middle, holding everything from miles of curtain fabric to scores of glass and brick tiles. That night we ate dinner in the Prudential Center’s food court, and later went out to see Borat in the movie theater.
The next morning, we ate brekky in the hostel and went to our third and final stop, City Hall. We were taken to a room with a massive model of Boston, and got a thorough overview of how the model was used to simulate the effect of new proposed buildings. David Carlton and Prataap Patrose answered our questions diligently. Patrose expressed that the Big Dig, Boston’s ongoing traffic solution gone awry, was the mistake of sparse supervision by the city, and was not to be repeated. We ate lunch at nearby Faneuil Hall, and asked the public questions to help support our essential question. Most people blew us off, but the answers I did receive mostly pointed toward traffic being a major problem in Boston, and another project like the Big Dig would be appreciated if the headaches could be minimized. By the time we left that evening, we all were exhausted from walking everywhere, and looked forward to relaxing back in our own beds.
Andrew's Essay
Andrew Spalt
1/8/07
Urban Infostructure
On the JUA experience I learned a great amount about the city’s info structure and how the city is built around the needs of the people. At the city hall in Boston we talked to one of the higher ups in the office. He talked to us about the city’s future plan, how the city’s office buildings and residential buildings are managed to best benefit the city, and he also talked to us about where the city hall might be moved to. He said the city is trying to benefit the fresh out of college business kid, or big business firms, and push away from the residential regular old housing. They are also talking about building a new skyscraper. This skyscraper is going to benefit the city immensely. The design of the building is really unique. The building is going to have built on sun reflectors that are going to redirect the suns light down into the city so it is not as dark and dingy. This proposal would be a great addition to the city because it would brighten up the whole atmosphere around the city and make people want to be around the now more dark areas of the city.
Another place we went was to the mandarin oriental building that is being built in Boston. Mike Lavenes father is the project manager/like partner. He showed us the outer structure of the building and we got to see the workers working on the building. His father talked about what he does and how h has to keep everything on schedule and how important it is to keep everything under control and make shore you know exactly what is going on at all times or things will get all messed up and he’d probably loose his position as project manager. Mr. Lavene showed us the cite plans and what they had to do to when they were building the foundation of the building. They had to relocate all the wires and pipes under ground. Mr. Lavene said that that was one of the toughest parts of the project so far because they had to take up a who lane of the road in Boston to move the utilities. Now that there is only two lanes on the street rather than three all the drop offs are really difficult due to the traffic.
My essential question was not one of the most complicated questions. I asked Mr. Lavene what usually happens when people get hurt on the job. He said it doesn’t usually happen that often but when it does happen the company is covered by the insurance. He said they’ve had a broken leg, cut off finger, busted wrist, and a few other miner injuries like that.
The best experience of the trip was defiantly when we got to meet Mr. Lavene and get a tour of the job site. Also a part of our job in the group was to go around a part of the city and ask random people what they thought of the way the city is being managed, managed as in traffic, new buildings, and overall city development. The Urban info structure group was a great group and I learned a lot from it.
1/8/07
Urban Infostructure
On the JUA experience I learned a great amount about the city’s info structure and how the city is built around the needs of the people. At the city hall in Boston we talked to one of the higher ups in the office. He talked to us about the city’s future plan, how the city’s office buildings and residential buildings are managed to best benefit the city, and he also talked to us about where the city hall might be moved to. He said the city is trying to benefit the fresh out of college business kid, or big business firms, and push away from the residential regular old housing. They are also talking about building a new skyscraper. This skyscraper is going to benefit the city immensely. The design of the building is really unique. The building is going to have built on sun reflectors that are going to redirect the suns light down into the city so it is not as dark and dingy. This proposal would be a great addition to the city because it would brighten up the whole atmosphere around the city and make people want to be around the now more dark areas of the city.
Another place we went was to the mandarin oriental building that is being built in Boston. Mike Lavenes father is the project manager/like partner. He showed us the outer structure of the building and we got to see the workers working on the building. His father talked about what he does and how h has to keep everything on schedule and how important it is to keep everything under control and make shore you know exactly what is going on at all times or things will get all messed up and he’d probably loose his position as project manager. Mr. Lavene showed us the cite plans and what they had to do to when they were building the foundation of the building. They had to relocate all the wires and pipes under ground. Mr. Lavene said that that was one of the toughest parts of the project so far because they had to take up a who lane of the road in Boston to move the utilities. Now that there is only two lanes on the street rather than three all the drop offs are really difficult due to the traffic.
My essential question was not one of the most complicated questions. I asked Mr. Lavene what usually happens when people get hurt on the job. He said it doesn’t usually happen that often but when it does happen the company is covered by the insurance. He said they’ve had a broken leg, cut off finger, busted wrist, and a few other miner injuries like that.
The best experience of the trip was defiantly when we got to meet Mr. Lavene and get a tour of the job site. Also a part of our job in the group was to go around a part of the city and ask random people what they thought of the way the city is being managed, managed as in traffic, new buildings, and overall city development. The Urban info structure group was a great group and I learned a lot from it.
Nick B's Essay
Nick Bregenzer
1/8/07
Urban Infrastructure
Cities are constantly growing, how are architects dealing and helping with the congestion problems of the cities. As In most cites the amount of space is always an issue, due to the large quantity of people living an area. Boston especially has trouble with traffic congestion because the way the city was originally constructed, and was not designed to support its current population. Architects and designers of Boston are constantly trying to find ways to solve traffic problems, construct new buildings, and preserve its historical value, which can be very expensive and time consuming. One project that now is under construction is the “Big Dig,” it is designed to help reduce Boston traffic problem. The Plans for the construction began 12 years ago, and the project was projected to take 10 years but construction is still under way, and is now estimated to take a total of 15 years for completion. This construction is not only very time consuming but also very expensive and the projected budget was far less then the actual expense. Architects are also constructing new space efficient buildings that maximize their use, in smaller areas. They are also making buildings with multi uses, such as combining commercial and residential in the same building to spread the human activity out among the day instead of having it congested at certain parts of the day and lifeless at other parts of the day.
Several citizens of Boston agreed, when they were asked weather they thought that Boston had congestion problems. They explained that it was very time consuming driving to work in the morning, during rush hour and aggravating dealing with the traffic. Some were hopeful that the Big Dig would solve a lot of the over-crowding city’s traffic problems, but some others stated that the Big Dig was a waste of time and money, and would do little to solve the city’s problems.
In the end Boston may never solve their congestion problems, but city planners, architects, and developers are all working together to help reduce the congestion of the city while keeping its historical significance in tact. Although it may be time consuming and expensive, it is necessary in order to keep Boston moving.
1/8/07
Urban Infrastructure
Cities are constantly growing, how are architects dealing and helping with the congestion problems of the cities. As In most cites the amount of space is always an issue, due to the large quantity of people living an area. Boston especially has trouble with traffic congestion because the way the city was originally constructed, and was not designed to support its current population. Architects and designers of Boston are constantly trying to find ways to solve traffic problems, construct new buildings, and preserve its historical value, which can be very expensive and time consuming. One project that now is under construction is the “Big Dig,” it is designed to help reduce Boston traffic problem. The Plans for the construction began 12 years ago, and the project was projected to take 10 years but construction is still under way, and is now estimated to take a total of 15 years for completion. This construction is not only very time consuming but also very expensive and the projected budget was far less then the actual expense. Architects are also constructing new space efficient buildings that maximize their use, in smaller areas. They are also making buildings with multi uses, such as combining commercial and residential in the same building to spread the human activity out among the day instead of having it congested at certain parts of the day and lifeless at other parts of the day.
Several citizens of Boston agreed, when they were asked weather they thought that Boston had congestion problems. They explained that it was very time consuming driving to work in the morning, during rush hour and aggravating dealing with the traffic. Some were hopeful that the Big Dig would solve a lot of the over-crowding city’s traffic problems, but some others stated that the Big Dig was a waste of time and money, and would do little to solve the city’s problems.
In the end Boston may never solve their congestion problems, but city planners, architects, and developers are all working together to help reduce the congestion of the city while keeping its historical significance in tact. Although it may be time consuming and expensive, it is necessary in order to keep Boston moving.
John's Essay
John Cunniff
January 8, 2007
How Does Crime in Boston Affect Urban Infrastructure?
How does crime in Boston effect urban infrastructure? In all of my efforts I look on the Internet and could not find any thing about crime affecting any thing related to urban Infrastructure, and also during the meetings I asked the question and got no answer or just got brushed off but being resident of Boston I can give some of my own thought in the matter. Living in a city is fun but crime can be an issue at times but it all depends on where you are and how aware you are of your surroundings. In my opinion I think that Boston is a safe city but to some on who has never lived in a city it could be a shock because of the poverty and also the strange people. I live in South Boston Southie to the ones that live there it is a mostly Irish Catholic and also safe place to grow up, it is a very proud place and people are getting upset about all of the new housing that being built and which is not affordable to the town locals but affordable for young professionals who want to live close to the city but at the same time live in a quite town. This I a huge problem because they don’t help the community because it id not there permanent residents and don’t really care about the common good of the neighborhood.
I believe that Urban Infrastructure is in a way related to crime in one way, location and that would only be if you put a huge complex in a bad part of Boston. Crime in Boston is always a problem but I believe if the complex had good security it would be fine but then again anything can happen any where for example Newton is a safe area in suburb of Boston and crime happens in that town as well so really you never know what's going to happen.
On Jua we went to Mikes dads work and saw sight and I think the there will be very minimal crime in that area because it is in a pretty safe area of Boston. Crime in Boston is more of an issue in highly populated minority areas and they tend to be living in section 8 housing. A huge portion of crime related events are gang related.
In conclusion Boston urban Infrastructure in not affected by crime in any way and if it is it is minimal. Jua was a good 2 days of learning in my city that I call hoe and I learned some new information which was really helpful I enjoyed Jua except that I was sick the hole time which took away some of the fun away from the trip. I would love to do Jua next year as a senior leadership project.
January 8, 2007
How Does Crime in Boston Affect Urban Infrastructure?
How does crime in Boston effect urban infrastructure? In all of my efforts I look on the Internet and could not find any thing about crime affecting any thing related to urban Infrastructure, and also during the meetings I asked the question and got no answer or just got brushed off but being resident of Boston I can give some of my own thought in the matter. Living in a city is fun but crime can be an issue at times but it all depends on where you are and how aware you are of your surroundings. In my opinion I think that Boston is a safe city but to some on who has never lived in a city it could be a shock because of the poverty and also the strange people. I live in South Boston Southie to the ones that live there it is a mostly Irish Catholic and also safe place to grow up, it is a very proud place and people are getting upset about all of the new housing that being built and which is not affordable to the town locals but affordable for young professionals who want to live close to the city but at the same time live in a quite town. This I a huge problem because they don’t help the community because it id not there permanent residents and don’t really care about the common good of the neighborhood.
I believe that Urban Infrastructure is in a way related to crime in one way, location and that would only be if you put a huge complex in a bad part of Boston. Crime in Boston is always a problem but I believe if the complex had good security it would be fine but then again anything can happen any where for example Newton is a safe area in suburb of Boston and crime happens in that town as well so really you never know what's going to happen.
On Jua we went to Mikes dads work and saw sight and I think the there will be very minimal crime in that area because it is in a pretty safe area of Boston. Crime in Boston is more of an issue in highly populated minority areas and they tend to be living in section 8 housing. A huge portion of crime related events are gang related.
In conclusion Boston urban Infrastructure in not affected by crime in any way and if it is it is minimal. Jua was a good 2 days of learning in my city that I call hoe and I learned some new information which was really helpful I enjoyed Jua except that I was sick the hole time which took away some of the fun away from the trip. I would love to do Jua next year as a senior leadership project.
Nate's Essay
Peter Nate MacLellan
Ms. Grosart, JUA
January 9, 2007
Urban Infrastructure
Boston’s Best in Architecture and Contracting
The Junior Urban Adventure group I choose was exactly what I was looking for. Urban Infrastructure group not only looked for amazing architecture in the city but also looked deeper into how the buildings were constructed and how they gave back to the community. The group traveled throughout Boston visiting an architectural firm by the name of CBT Architects, a contracting firm named CWB, town hall were we met with the cities planning section named BRA, and finally hitting the streets of Boston and Fanueil Hall asking residents questions about our essential questions.
I found the trip to be very educational and fun because I had the opportunity to answer my essential question. Boston, along with many other large cities, seems to go out of it's way to create extravagant buildings and architectural feats. Are there benefits and reason why Boston creates buildings like 111 Huntington St. and the Bunker Hill Bridge? If so, where do architects and contractors draw the line between beauty and productivity in new buildings? The answer to this question was not easily found and is not completely answered either but I have a lot more information on how to answer it now, after completing the course.
Boston creates these massive, intricate buildings to draw attention and attractivity to the city and to allow people deeper incite to the cities plans for the future. The building placed at 111 Huntington St. is covered in reflective glass so that it looks nice and brings natural light into the streets below it. The building is so tall that if it was constructed with brick or concrete the area surrounding it would be completely dark at most hours of the day. The Mandarin Oriental project, which is a mostly a large hotel but also much more, was created to utilize the small amount of land it is placed on. It also adds commerce to the area. Prataap, the cities executive planner, told us that most buildings in Boston’s business district are created to make money. The Mandarin Oriental project is costing over $400 million to construct but will bring in larger amounts of money in the years following its completion. All the money that is made from these over-the-top structures have taxes paid for them and this gives the city, state, and country, money.
I also learned that architects and contractors will go to any length to build the most efficient and creative buildings they can. The city will only approve the best structures that they receive plans for and this makes the competition to build a lot stronger causing higher demands for what the city will accept.
Overall, the trip to Boston left me with a much greater understanding about the cities use of land and reasons for making so many fascinating structures. Boston is now over flowing with people and buildings and this factor is a leading reason for the cities recent architectural boom. The city could build the cheapest and most efficient structures but that would not catch the consumer’s eye and would not create the amount of demand present.
Ms. Grosart, JUA
January 9, 2007
Urban Infrastructure
Boston’s Best in Architecture and Contracting
The Junior Urban Adventure group I choose was exactly what I was looking for. Urban Infrastructure group not only looked for amazing architecture in the city but also looked deeper into how the buildings were constructed and how they gave back to the community. The group traveled throughout Boston visiting an architectural firm by the name of CBT Architects, a contracting firm named CWB, town hall were we met with the cities planning section named BRA, and finally hitting the streets of Boston and Fanueil Hall asking residents questions about our essential questions.
I found the trip to be very educational and fun because I had the opportunity to answer my essential question. Boston, along with many other large cities, seems to go out of it's way to create extravagant buildings and architectural feats. Are there benefits and reason why Boston creates buildings like 111 Huntington St. and the Bunker Hill Bridge? If so, where do architects and contractors draw the line between beauty and productivity in new buildings? The answer to this question was not easily found and is not completely answered either but I have a lot more information on how to answer it now, after completing the course.
Boston creates these massive, intricate buildings to draw attention and attractivity to the city and to allow people deeper incite to the cities plans for the future. The building placed at 111 Huntington St. is covered in reflective glass so that it looks nice and brings natural light into the streets below it. The building is so tall that if it was constructed with brick or concrete the area surrounding it would be completely dark at most hours of the day. The Mandarin Oriental project, which is a mostly a large hotel but also much more, was created to utilize the small amount of land it is placed on. It also adds commerce to the area. Prataap, the cities executive planner, told us that most buildings in Boston’s business district are created to make money. The Mandarin Oriental project is costing over $400 million to construct but will bring in larger amounts of money in the years following its completion. All the money that is made from these over-the-top structures have taxes paid for them and this gives the city, state, and country, money.
I also learned that architects and contractors will go to any length to build the most efficient and creative buildings they can. The city will only approve the best structures that they receive plans for and this makes the competition to build a lot stronger causing higher demands for what the city will accept.
Overall, the trip to Boston left me with a much greater understanding about the cities use of land and reasons for making so many fascinating structures. Boston is now over flowing with people and buildings and this factor is a leading reason for the cities recent architectural boom. The city could build the cheapest and most efficient structures but that would not catch the consumer’s eye and would not create the amount of demand present.
Student Responses
Students had to write a 500 word response to JUA looking into their essential question. To follow are the postings of these essays.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
DAY 2 URBAN ADVENTURE in BOSTON
Today, we met with people at City Hall. They showed us the to-scale model of the city. It was really interesting to see. They answered all of our questions and told us about future planning within the city. They even gave us the "inside scoop" on the plans for the City Hall building's move from Government CEnter to another part of the city. THen we did some exploring and community interviewing in Fanueil Hall and NEwbury ST. Its been a great trip!
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