Tyler Moriarty: Architecture Blog 2

Growing up in a small farm town in western mass I have truly was able to fully experience amazing architecture that I do in Boston. I had to drive by 3 farms just to get to school every day. Being able to see cows and horse was pretty much a daily routine for me. Plus the tallest building in the town was my high school, which had a small strip which was three stories tall. Going to the city was always a treat to me. My yearly trip to Boston to go to Faneuil Hall and the aquarium. My mom always told me I was a city person so Boston was the place I always wanted to go to school. Moving to Boston and going to school here changed my life completely.  The architecture all around has changed for me. From the farmhouses all around me to the Boston skyline. To me the city is my home and all the architecture is my new neighbors. Exploring and being able to extremely expand my horizon from ranches and capes to skyscrapers. These skyscrapers are the type of architecture that interests me now days. These massive buildings that help find my way around the city. Architecture is important to me because it’s always different. And impacts the entire city no matter where you live. 

Lee Sexton

Moving to a new place wasn’t that different for me freshman year, I was semi used to the city and also was used to moving around after my previous year. My older sister had lived in Boston for about 5 years before I moved to Boston, so I became used to Allston and Back Bay just from driving in and out. After I graduated high school I moved halfway across the country when I joined AmeriCorps and then proceeded to move every 2 months after that until May of the next year. During that time I learned that you need to find something monumental as a sort of guidance point to find your way home. Living in Boston that was pretty easy with the T, buses and sky scrapers are a very big help in guidance around the city. During freshman year my roommates and I would call the Prudential center our North Star of Boston; if we were lost we’d just go straight to that till we found something else we recognized .

Chris McEwen Blog Response 2

Coming from a small town in New Hampshire I was required to learn my way without many reference points. Woods mostly surround the roads and there isn’t too much that differs on each side of them. The most recognizable features would be towns and landmarks, such as mountains or lakes, that let you know where you are at any point in time. After moving to Boston I have been able to get around without knowing street names, or which way to go. As long as I am within sight of a main building I can figure out where I came from and where I need to go. As the most recognizable building in Boston the Prudential Center marks the main beacon for directions. As long as it is visible I know relatively where I am.  

Paul Woodworth - Blog 2 - How does architecture orient you?

            Architecture for me thus far appears to be a kaleidoscope of different layers. How the layers interact and merge can change depending on where you go. I grew up in Jakarta, Indonesia and the architecture of the capital city is very tightly packed due to overpopulation and a lack of attention toward building code. Slums may develop right at the edge of a skyscraper’s property line or through backstreets interlocking in between most buildings. Traveling through Jakarta can be quite maze-like and difficult to navigate without knowing the right landmarks. In sharp contrast to that, Boston is fairly organized and there are almost always signs to help you in the main parts of the city. One thing I find is that I orient myself in the same way in both places, looking for landmarks and travelling in relation to where they are. The major difference is in the density of layers and how they interact with one another.

Casey Delia- Blog 2

I grew up in Concord, NH which is the capital, however isn't really a "city." Finding my way around Concord is second nature at this point. How I gained that knowledge was Concord is divided by different areas much like Boston however the areas aren't named, but more or less commonly known titles by the people who live there. An example would be, "The Heights" or "South Concord." I have been to Boston numerous times in my life living only about an hour and a half away but I never really understood the city as a whole, but rather just as different areas. I had know idea how the connected to one another, so when I first Arrived here at Wentworth I was completely lost. I soon found out quickly that the T was a very useful way of getting around and brought it upon myself to learn the lines as quickly as possible. When I choose to walk around the city however I often use the Prudential Center as a guide, as do most people that I know. Other pieces of architecture that orientate me are the Hancock Tower, and the Bunker HIll Memorial Bridge. Now that I am used to the city and it's streets I can find my around many areas in Boston.

Michelle Lopez-Blog Response 2

Before coming to Boston, architecture did not mean much to how I circulated and move about. Coming from a town in New Jersey right off the turnpike as well as having a major highway move through the center of my town, I have always been accustom to using major roads and exit signs as my way of getting around. But when I moved to Boston freshman year my way of moving about changed. I began to use buildings as landmarks to orient myself. For example, freshman year when I was lost I saw the Prudential Center in the distance. I knew how to get home from there, so I went in the direction of the building. From there I was able to find my way back to campus. I have had this same experience with various other buildings around Boston. Ever since moving to Boston, the way architecture orients my life has changed drastically.

Steph Greenlaw

I’ve been coming to Boston on a regular basis sense I was seven. I lived about an hour south of the city. I would drive by Wentworth every time on my way to Children’s Hospital on Longwood Ave. From about my sophomore year of high school, each time we drove by I would say, “I’m going to go there.” The issue was, once I finally did get to the city I realized that I was completely lost because I only knew the five or so streets that it takes to get from the highway to the hospital. I quickly learned that the Pru can get you anywhere from almost anywhere in Boston. With that knowledge and a few mistakes of getting on the wrong T I quickly became pro at navigating myself around the city. Although I can’t exactly say one specific reason as to why, I absolutely love Boston. The hostile people, loud streets and seemingly random hidden parks have made it home.