During the interviews I conducted at Government Center it was clear people had emotional responses in regard to the area they love or do not love so much. I have created drawings based on what they have said and their experience of this place.
All of these images belong to Justin G. Roberts of The Tufts University
“I love the building, the brick is outdated but it represents and holds true to what Boston was at the time”
The blue represents the outdated brick surrounding the structure. This is the only aspect that ties back to the Boston tradition. This was a commuter who walks through the are everyday.
“It needs a park and more trees!”
Looking for a design that encourages pedestrian use. They wanted a friendly environment. Suggestions were adding new structures including: basketball court, Graffiti wall, Sculpture, and more foliage.
“Boston is so much better than this building, I don’t think it displays any type of history”
The experience of this area and specifically this building did not strike anything of uniqueness or importance to this individual. They believed it was another ugly building isolated among other ugly buildings within Boston
“Brick beach barren wasteland”
“There is nothing to do here!”, “I only come when there are concerts, like Boston Calling so many people, but right now its lonely” “The only people that walk through here are business men or bums”
“Its like a fort in that its strong sturdy and cold, kinda like the boston people”
The experience was an isolated feeling walking though the environment. The brick and cement are cold. There are no inviting aspects to the building. Its bodily language wants nothing to do with you and this makes you feel as if you should have no part of it.
“Looks like an upside-down Pyramid”
“Great icon for the old city”
“This space is a dead from time to time and should be fixed”
An arial view of the space itself. Check the survey responses at the bottom to see if people are a fan of the area and building . . . or not!
“Honeycomb at the top makes it look like a prison”
“I don’t like walking through here at night, there aren’t a lot of lights and the building is ominous”
The experience at night was dark and scary as the buildings presence was odd. The darkness and forbidding structure created a feeling like there was something else present within the structure.
30 Participants – Ages between “15 – 65”
- Which of the following best describes your last experience in this area? Would you say that your experience was:
Very pleasant –15 (50%)
Neither pleasant nor unpleasant – 12 (40%)
Very unpleasant – 3 (10%)
- How do you come to this area?
Car – 8 (27%)
Bus – 4 (13%)
Subway – 18 (60%)
- How do you find navigating through the buildings?
Easy – 27 (90%)
Hard – 3 (10%)
- Does it represent Boston well? What do you think could make this space better?
“Grass would warm up the entire space and make it more welcoming”
“More public art and Sculputre”
“A park and more trees”
“Boston needs a complete redo, its an eyesore”
“There is nothing appealing about this area accept for when concerts happen. Then its a great open space and the building is still a boundary”
“It looks isolated due to how much stone there is compared to the windows”
“A public graffiti wall could help, just set a space or wall for shared expression and interaction that would not require clean up all the time”
“New T station changes the dynamic of the area and the way that people look at it, so yes its fine”
Check out more art work on Instagram @J.r0b
Have an opinion? Take our survey:
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