Core77

Architype Review has posted its Notable Projects picks for 2008 with a focus on civic buildings. The 8 projects include a revamped Boston City Hall (speculative project) by Höweler + Yoon Architecture (pictured above).

Originally designed to be porous and accessible to the public, Boston City Hall today stands monumental and impenetrable, its multiple entrances sealed. Focused on issues of public space and accessibility, our open menu of design proposals includes strategies that outfit City Hall with public interfaces at a range of scales. Taken a few at a time or in combination, these strategies recast the existing City Hall by intertwining its structure with the city. Extending the original vision of City Hall as a robust scaffold for urban life, two possible combinations--Sleeve and Wrap--seek to upgrade the structure to engage contemporary public life.