Greg's Post

Growing up in Quincy, which in certain parts looks out to Boston, I always had a view of Boston, but never had much time to go into the big city and explore it for myself. From our beach in Quincy, you could see the Prudential, The JFK Library, and the rest of the Boston skyline. With this lingering question of, “What is near that building that is so important?” when I was of age to leave the house on my own I went into Boston to find out more about the city I only had a view of. I learned quickly that the T was always crowded, the streets were always windy, and your view was always changing. One thing stayed consistent, however. I always knew what side of the Prudential I should be seeing in relation to the buildings around it. This was how I always knew I was in familiar territory so I could eventually get home.

Dan Zarkadas - Blog 2

I’ve lived in the suburbs west of Boston for most of my life and never really had any landmarks or areas to guide me. Everything looks the same for the most part and my main way of orienting myself was just to learn the name of the roads instead of trying to find something unique among the endless rows of split level and ranch style houses. Once I moved to Boston though, the way I oriented myself changed completely. Architecture in the city really does orient you in the most concrete way possible, you look up, see a notable building, and just follow the roads towards that. The Prudential and the Hancock Tower are probably the most known, but there are plenty of unique buildings that are tall enough to be seen over others. We even have our own gigantic orange marker on campus now.

JT Breda's Blog

When I travel into a place that I do not have a great familiarity with I tend to look for symbols or icons that I can identify with or that stand out. Before I lived and went to school in Boston I had some familiarity with it. But there were certain areas that I knew better than others and could recognize based upon previous visits. I would remember the buildings I saw, or by the paths I took to reach my destination. The idea of sight played a large role in my recognition of a familiar place but there was also a certain feeling I get when I revisit a place I have been before. I have no pictures in my head of what thins place looks like but I still have a “sense” of my surrounding and where I should go next. The Architecture of a particular location allows for there to be a strong sense of differentiation between neighborhoods or related locations. Architecture creates what we see, it is the built context. It can either frame or block a specific view, allowing for a different perception and thus different reaction/ interaction with the viewer.

Nick Dyer- Blog response 2

I grew up in the small town of Raynham, MA. This is about 45 minutes outside of Boston in southeastern Massachusetts. Growing up in a small town definitely has it’s advantages. I know every road and every path in my town. I was able to ride my bike all over town without a helmet as a kid and my parents never had to worry. I recognize almost every person I see in my town, so there is a certain type of intimacy. Coming to the city for the first time was a bit overwhelming. Being so close to the city, I had been here before a few times but usually just quick trips or driving through it. But living here is a whole different experience. Everything is so big and hectic. The way I learned to navigate around the city is more or less the same as I still do today. The most prominent way is using the prudential center as a sort of “north star.” If I find myself somewhere in the city and I’m not sure where I am, all I need to do is look up and find the prudential center and then I will know exactly where I am. Also after a while I learned the T system. The T used to be so confusing to me it would have been easy for me to get lost, but now if I can find a T station, I can find my way home.

Teresa Le: Blog 2

Looking back, architecture has been my source of orientation for as long as I can remember. Whether it be a historical landmark, a post office, a brightly colored house or even the corner store, just seeing a familiar piece of architecture can put me back on the right track. Since moving to Boston this has become more evident. Living in Boston has limited my means of movement to public transportation and walking. Without a map I had to find my “north star” to direct me in the right direction. Today, when out and about in the city I look to find the Prudential Center. When it is in my line of sight I am able to understand where I am and where I should go. Today and probably for the rest of my life Architecture will continue to be my navigation map.

Blog 2 Response

When looking at how I experience living in the city, it is important to analyze where I came from and compare to the two. Boston easily captivates a more exciting and outgoing lifestyle, compared to that of my hometown, Enfield CT. When moving through and around the city, there is an endless amount of energy, which was a drastic difference to that of Connecticut where the architecture that orients you is a lot of natural and historic architecture. Given that there is also a lot of historic architecture in Boston, the experience gained from the two varies greatly. In terms of how architecture orients me in the city, buildings that evoke a monumental feeling, such as the Prudential Center and the Boston Public Library, have the most influence on me. The T system also help me around the city and I find myself using different districts of Boston such as Newbury, The North End and our campus to move through the city easier.

Previous to arriving in the city 3 years ago, I had grown up in the suburbs of Connecticut. I was accustomed to a low energy atmosphere, acres of farmlands, and a high amount of natural landscape. With few trips made to Boston and New York City as a child, Hartford became the closest experience to a city environment for me. Progressing from the suburbs to Boston was quite a vast change. Thinking about how the small-town architecture affected me when I was younger, I found the extent of circulation to be consisted of small landmarks or popular natural instances that were familiar to the people of the area. This type of low energy atmosphere combined with the importance of natural surrounding resulted in a peaceful and environmentally conscious architecture.  

The transformation from my hometown to Boston was, at first, expected to be greatly different and in most circumstances was. What was similar, however, was the manner in which I adapted to move around the city. Similar to my hometown, I found myself using certain instances and landmarks across the city that guided me to where I needed to be. The Prudential Center, Sweeney Field, Hancock Tower, Longwood Medical T-stop, Fenway Park all became my new guide marks. Architecturally, they are vastly different than what I was familiarized with at home, yet still provided the same need. I find that as an individual inhabits a certain space, architecture will inhabit that space and the need of that space as well. When the Pru was constructed, its purpose wasn’t intended to be the “north star” for incoming freshman at WIT, yet that’s what the majority of us realize it as. Overall I feel architecture orients you in the way you want it to. Whether it is the skyline that you look towards, the thousands of signs and maps that line the streets, or the Il Mondos pizzeria, architecture will always surround and adapt to what you need it to be.