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-   -   MODERN Architecture in Massachusetts (https://www.fodors.com/community/united-states/modern-architecture-in-massachusetts-732832/)

immrlo Aug 29th, 2007 09:25 PM

MODERN Architecture in Massachusetts
 

I will be visiting MA in the fall and wanted to know of some modern architecture I can see out there!

ggreen Aug 29th, 2007 10:04 PM

Hi immrlo, you might want to check out the Walter Gropius house in Lincoln, MA, a suburb of Boston. Gropius was the founder of the Bauhaus in Germany, and moved to the US in the lead-up to WWII. Museum website is: www.spnea.org/visit/homes/gropius.htm (It appears that the house is only open on the weekends after October 15.)

The Gropius house is right down the street from the Decordova Museum, a small but interesting museum focusing on contemporary art. www.decordova.org

There is also a lot of modern architecture in Cambridge, MA...

DRJ Aug 30th, 2007 05:28 AM

By all means, go to CAmbridge. Visit Harvard and MIT. Full of modern architecture.

china_cat Aug 30th, 2007 06:36 AM

MIT has one Gehry building, and I think 4 by IM Pei. Lots of interesting architecture.
You should check out the brand new Museum of Contemporary Art on the waterfront. The building is quite amazing.

ggreen Aug 30th, 2007 07:00 AM

immrlo, do you mean modern, or contemporary - or both? (I took "modern" to mean that specific style of architecture, but of course you may have a broader scope than that!)

A definition of modern architecture:
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Modernist_architecture

tekwriter Aug 30th, 2007 07:25 AM

First thing that came to mind is IM Pei's JFK Library in Dorchester - lovely setting in a peninsula on the water in Boston Harbor. (I watched it being constructed from my window in our high rise apartment when I was growing up)

immrlo Aug 30th, 2007 08:44 AM

Thanks everyone!

"contemporary" architecture is what I'm looking for!

immrlo Aug 30th, 2007 08:47 AM

...and modern, actually. Thanks for the mini architecture lesson!

gail Aug 30th, 2007 09:12 AM

Institute of Contemporary Art on waterfront.

kealalani Aug 30th, 2007 10:14 AM

You must visit City Hall in Government Center and weigh in on whether or not it is hideous.

hlsam Aug 30th, 2007 10:15 AM

You might want to hunt around on the Boston Society of Architects web page at:
http://www.architects.org/. Agree with the others - first priority should be MIT campus especially the Strata building and the new Institute of Contemporary Arts. Unfortunately, we don't see too many interesting new buildings because people seem to prefer old looking brick buildings!

china_cat Aug 30th, 2007 01:32 PM

the Gehry building on MIT is the "Stata" building, named for Ray Stata, the founder of Analog Devices. Not trying to nitpick, just want immrlo to be able to find it by google if necessary.

Vttraveler Aug 30th, 2007 01:40 PM

Le Corbusier's Carpenter Center at harvard
http://www.hno.harvard.edu/gazette/2.../21-corbu.html

I think the nearby Science Center is also interesting


kybourbon Aug 30th, 2007 02:26 PM

My daughter's dorm at MIT was by Stephen Holl.
http://web.mit.edu/facilities/constr...d/simmons.html

Anonymous Aug 30th, 2007 05:47 PM

The MIT campus is basically a collection of modern architecture: Saarinen designed Kresge Auditorium and the nearby cylindrical chapel; a couple of buildings by IM "Wind Tunnel" Pei's shop, Gehry's Stata Center, etc.

ggreen Aug 30th, 2007 07:27 PM

kealalani LOL! So true!

Also the Christian Science compound in Boston. Near the Prudential Center and the John Hancock tower. Both the Christian Science Center and the Hancock tower were designed by I.M. Pei...

china_cat Aug 31st, 2007 05:54 AM

kealani makes a very valid suggestion. If one is going to look at contemporary architecture, one should evaluate the bad along with the good. Therefore checking out City Hall Plaza is an excellent idea! :)

cigalechanta Aug 31st, 2007 06:20 AM

The photos don't do justice to the latest buildings at MIT

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Architecture_of_MIT

cigalechanta Aug 31st, 2007 06:24 AM

these are better

http://www.architectureweek.com/plac...bridge-01.html

china_cat Aug 31st, 2007 08:45 AM

the site cigalechanta listed above has a great picture of Boston's Contemporary Art institute here:
http://tinyurl.com/3avevl


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