REDEVELOPMENT OF A
REDEVELOPMENT OF A
REDEVELOPMENT
Medium: Real Estate Poem
Academic work done at MIT
Year: 2024
Workshop with Marija Maric and Ana Miljacki
This poem collages language taken directly from real estate developer websites and news publications about one building in Boston, the Government City Garage, being demolished to make room for a new condo tower, the Sudbury. The poem visualizes the way the purposefully vague language from real estate developers can be used over and over again to justify a demolition (of the “ugly,” “bad”, “failed”) in place of the new (“forward-thinking”, “contemporary”, “best”).
The Brutalist-style Government Center Garage1
a hulking concrete structure2
a place that was so badly developed in the 1960s1
laid down after a massive bulldozing of the area3
is now itself being demolished and replaced3
by multiple buildings in a mixed-use complex3
The Government Center Garage is a scar on the city4
a reminder of a failed way of thinking4
that prioritized cars over people4
The big, ugly garage is gone1
The Brutalist-style Government Center Garage1
a hulking concrete structure2
a place that was so badly developed in the 1960s1
laid down after a massive bulldozing of the area3
is now itself being demolished and replaced3
by multiple buildings in a mixed-use complex3
The Government Center Garage is a scar on the city4
a reminder of a failed way of thinking4
that prioritized cars over people4
The big, ugly garage is gone1
The soaring glass-clad Sudbury1
an architecturally-distinctive
528 foot-tall residential tower5
with luxury condominiums4
was what fit best at the site3
Designed for how you live today6
the Sudbury embodies clean, contemporary design6
through a unique combination7
of forward-thinking development stategies7
The Sudbury soars skyward6
and emerges as an unprecedented transformation7
Brutalist-style
hulking
so badly developed
a scar on the city
a failed way of thinking
prioritized cars over people
big, ugly
so badly developed
a scar on the city
a failed way of thinking
prioritized cars over people
big, ugly
soaring glass-clad
architecturally-distinctive
luxury
fit best at the site
how you live today
clean, contemporary design
unique
forward-thinking
soars skyward
unprecedented transformation
The Bad-style Sudbury,
a hulking glass and metal structure,
a place that was so badly developed in the 2020s,
laid down after a massive bulldozing of the area
is now itself being demolished and replaced
by multiple buildings in a mixed-use complex
The sudbury is a scar on the city
a reminder of a failed way of thinking
that prioritized condos over people
The big, ugly Sudbury is gone
1 “First Residents Settling in at the Sudbury, Located at Bulfinch Crossing.” Boston.Com, The Boston Globe, 9 Dec. 2020
www.boston.com/real-estate/real-estate-news/2020/12/09/the-sudbury-opens-bulfinch-crossing
2 “One Congress, Boston’s Newest Skyscraper, Makes Its Debut.” BostonGlobe.Com, The Boston Globe, 17 Sept. 2023www.bostonglobe.com/2023/09/17/business/one-congress-skyscraper-opens
3 “3 Wild New Buildings Give Boston an Architectural Jolt.” Bloomberg.Com, Bloomberg, 26 Apr. 2022
www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-04-26/3-wild-new-buildings-give-boston-an-architectural-jolt
4 “Government Center Garage Project Gets Green Light.” Boston Magazine, Boston Magazine, 18 Jan. 2016
www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2016/01/18/government-center-garage-project
5 “Boston Luxury Condos for Sale: The Sudbury Residences.” The Sudbury Condos
www.thesudburyresidences.com
6 “Downtown Boston Luxury Apartment for Rent: The Sudbury.” The Sudbury Apartments, 25 Nov. 2020
www.thesudburyresidences.com
7 “A Bold Vision 200 Years in the Making.” Bulfinch Crossing
www.bulfinchcrossing.com/overview
www.boston.com/real-estate/real-estate-news/2020/12/09/the-sudbury-opens-bulfinch-crossing
2 “One Congress, Boston’s Newest Skyscraper, Makes Its Debut.” BostonGlobe.Com, The Boston Globe, 17 Sept. 2023www.bostonglobe.com/2023/09/17/business/one-congress-skyscraper-opens
3 “3 Wild New Buildings Give Boston an Architectural Jolt.” Bloomberg.Com, Bloomberg, 26 Apr. 2022
www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-04-26/3-wild-new-buildings-give-boston-an-architectural-jolt
4 “Government Center Garage Project Gets Green Light.” Boston Magazine, Boston Magazine, 18 Jan. 2016
www.bostonmagazine.com/news/2016/01/18/government-center-garage-project
5 “Boston Luxury Condos for Sale: The Sudbury Residences.” The Sudbury Condos
www.thesudburyresidences.com
6 “Downtown Boston Luxury Apartment for Rent: The Sudbury.” The Sudbury Apartments, 25 Nov. 2020
www.thesudburyresidences.com
7 “A Bold Vision 200 Years in the Making.” Bulfinch Crossing
www.bulfinchcrossing.com/overview