Boston has undergone a radical transformation since it last hosted the AIA convention 16 years ago: The Big Dig has turned the site of the elevated Central Artery into a mile-long necklace of parks, which are giving once-landlocked neighborhoods like Chinatown room to spread out. Meanwhile, neighborhoods that had been on the “wrong” side of the Artery are suddenly accessible, and booming. And there are plenty of new boutiques, restaurants, and watering holes emerging throughout Boston and Cambridge.
With the AIA returning to Boston this May, we asked half a dozen local architects—Eric Höweler and Meijin Yoon of Höweler + Yoon; Mark Pasnik of over, under; David Hacin of Hacin+Associates; Preston Scott Cohen of Preston Scott Cohen Inc.; Bill Whitlock of Whitlock Architects; and Monica Ponce de Leon of Office dA—for suggestions on where to find a good cocktail, dine with colleagues, and shop for the loved ones back home. And because seminar burnout will inevitably set in, they also recommended some great places to play hooky.
ArchitectureMIT is an architectural hot spot, where it's worth seeing Frank Gehry's Stata Center and Steven Holl's Simmons Hall, both flawed but fascinating extravaganzas. While you're on campus, visit a pair of classics: Eero Saarinen's ethereal chapel and Alvar Aalto's stolid Baker House dormitory. mit.edu
A walk around the Harvard campus should qualify you for a master's in architectural history. Le Corbusier's Carpenter Center competes for attention with pre-modern masterworks by H.H. Richardson, Richard Morris Hunt, and McKim, Mead & White. Leers Weinzapfel, the AIA's 2007 firm of the year, has completed three buildings at Harvard, including the New College Theatre (formerly the Hasty Pudding Club). And the graduate dormitory by Machado and Silvetti, across the river in Allston, is worth a gander for its far-out brickwork.
That two firms known for their radical designs have completed their largest buildings to date in Boston says a lot about the city's rekindled architectural ambitions. Both are visible from the convention center. The Institute of Contemporary Art, by Diller Scofidio + Renfro, is drawing crowds to South Boston for an afternoon; the MacAllen, a condo building by Office dA, is making them want to live there. ICA, 100 Northern Ave., 617.478.3100, icaboston.orgThe MacAllen, 141 Dorchester Ave.
The city is also a treasure trove of buildings by the late Paul Rudolph—it's hard to miss the vast, castlelike Government Service Center (bordering Cambridge, Staniford, Merrimac, and New Chardon streets). The First Church in Boston and the Blue Cross/Blue Shield Building, which has been slated for demolition, are lesser, but no less intriguing, Rudolph creations. First Church in Boston, 66 Marlborough St., 617.267.6730, fscboston.orgBlue Cross/Blue Shield, 133 Federal St.
Pink Comma is the first gallery in Boston devoted to contemporary architecture. On May 15, it will unveil Young Boston, a show of nine of the city's up-and-coming firms. 81B Wareham St., 617.426.4466, pinkcomma.com
Food
Olives, the restaurant that launched the career of celebrity-chef Todd English, is a Boston classic still going strong, says architect Bill Whitlock. He also recommends No. 9 Park, facing the Boston Common—for “amazing food” by one of Boston's culinary rock stars, Barbara Lynch (“the Berkshire pork loin is unbelievable, and the wine list is superb,” he says) and décor—with unfussy velvet banquettes and beaded chandeliers by husband-and-wife designers Jeff and Cheryl Katz. Olives, 10 City Square, 617.242.1999, toddenglish.com No. 9 Park, 9 Park St., 617.742.9991, no9park.com
The South End is full of hot new restaurants, says David Hacin, who lives and works in the neighborhood. His favorite eatery is Myers + Chang, “a very buzzy, upscale Chinese restaurant.” 1145 Washington St., 617.542.5200, myspace.com/myersandchang
Mark Pasnik recommends Stella, an Italian restaurant on historic Blackstone Square, and Banq, a brand new restaurant in an old bank building, smartly updated by Office dA, offering Asian-and-French-inflected cuisine. Blackstone Square, 1525 Washington St., 617.247.7747, bostonstella.com Banq, 1375 Washington St., 617.451.0077, banqrestaurant.com
Monica Ponce de Leon has two favorite restaurants. Depending on whether she's in the mood for meat or seafood, she chooses Butcher Shop or B&G Oysters, two more Barbara Lynch restaurants. Butcher Shop, 552 Tremont St., 617.423.4800B&G Oysters, 550 Tremont St., 617.423.0550
Preston Scott Cohen, who teaches at Harvard's Graduate School of Design, recommends Hamersley's Bistro, also in the South End. The American cuisine may make it exotic to foreigners. “I'm told it's a favorite of Moneo's and Herzog's,” Cohen says. 553 Tremont St., 617.423.2700
Just about every architect on the list mentioned Rocca, a South End restaurant with a menu inspired by the cooking of Liguria, on the Italian Riviera, and a contemporary interior by Boston designer Dennis Duffy. 500 Harrison Ave., 617.451.5151, roccaboston.com
DrinksFor cocktails, the architects Eric Höweler and Meijin Yoon (who teaches at MIT) recommend a pair of spots around Central Square in Cambridge: Middlesex, which has a different DJ every night, and Miracle of Science, a bar with a laboratory theme (the menu resembles the periodic table). Middlesex, 315 Massachusetts Ave., 617-868-6739, middlesexlounge.com Miracle of Science, 321 Massachusetts Ave., 617-868-2866
In Boston proper, the lounge at the Liberty Hotel is worth a detour. The building used to be a prison and the bar, Alibi, is set—no kidding—in the former drunk tank. 215 Charles St., 617-224-4000, libertyhotel.com
Whitlock recommends King's, a Back Bay bowling alley (with a complete food and drink menu) for its retro vibe. He helped design The Beehive Jazz Lounge, in the old boiler room of the 19th century Cyclorama Building in the South End, which he describes as “one of the hippest new places to go.” King's, 50 Dalton St., 617.266.2695, kingsbackbay.com Beehive, 541 Tremont St., 617.423.0069, beehiveboston.com
Pasnik loves the look of Diva Lounge, a Somerville bar designed by Studio Luz. “It's like being in a cloud,” he says. 248 Elm St., Somerville, 617.629.4963
ShoppingThe South End is also home to some of the city's most interesting design stores. Lekker is filled with modern European furniture and accessories not seen anywhere else in the U.S. 1317 Washington St., 617.542.6464, lekkerhome.com
In a converted South End mill, Simplemente Blanco is devoted to textiles, lamps, china, gardening products, and even soaps by designer Fernanda Bourlot; nearly everything in stock is blanco (white). In the same building, Boxx Furniture offers artful steel and glass furniture. The two have jointly created On the Side, a street-level shop. 46 Waltham St., 617.734.3669, simplementeblanco.com46 Waltham St., 617.556.2699, boxxfurniture.com On the Side, 40 Waltham St.
For bits of the old Boston, Restoration Resources sells salvaged architectural elements. Who wouldn't make room in the suitcase to bring home a Frank Furness– style fireplace surround? 31 Thayer St., 617.542.3033, members.aol.com/wcrres
Cambridge Architectural Books sadly closed in 2004, but generalist Harvard Book Store, on Harvard Square, remains one of the city's best independent sources for art and design titles. 1256 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617.661.1515, harvard.com
Want to see where all these destinations are in relation to your hotel or the Boston convention center? Check out ARCHITECT's annotated Google map here.