Boston Magazine recently published a sharp, insightful, refreshing and timely article by Rachel Slade entitled Why Is Boston So Ugly? Many of Slade’s observations and criticisms have been echoed by the architectural community for years, and we’re glad to see these issues entering a more mainstream dialogue about the future of Boston. We certainly hope that this great piece helps instigate public conversation about design, and pressures the BRA and BCDC to take greater responsibility for shaping the quality of buildings in our city. We encourage everyone to read the full article here: http://www.bostonmagazine.com/property/article/2015/04/28/boston-architecture/

“Marty Walsh was a builder all his life, but last fall, after the builder had become mayor, he began to look at Boston’s buildings in a different way. He and a handful of city officials, including the chief planner, Kairos Shen, toured New York City to check out its architecture. In that metropolis to the south, Walsh saw a city that consistently kicks our architectural asses: exciting building everywhere, much of it speculative—created by developers who relish taking financial and creative risks.” “The irony is that Boston is famous for turning out great architects. With four superb architecture schools within 5 miles of one another, we have an embarrassment of innovative designers, many of whom stick around after their education—alas, most of them stick around to teach, not to build. Still, Boston is now home to a handful of world-class architecture firms…that are designing beautiful, exciting buildings. And they’re getting built, too. Just not in Boston.”