Site Notes

At the largest scale we have the site situated within the city. A street map shows the views - the far off objects which create a soft boundary around the site. Notably there is the view across the pike, and the view of the prudential. Facing north, however, view is constricted by the 3-storey buildings of boylston street, and their attendant facades. To the East is a high density residential building. A zoning map shows that the site is at the intersection of 3 different zones. The far-off views could help someone orient themselves in this neighborhood, but I have lived in Boston on-and-off my whole life and still get lost, regardless of where in my periphery the prudential appears.

Examining access, there are allowed, easy or 'official' entrances, and others. The official entrance is from the north, but a determined pedestrian can enter from the West as well, from the other parking lot. Access from the South is dicier, being on an overgrown slope, and access from the East is blocked by the apartments. 

The ground of the site is asphalt of poor quality, with parking on 3 sides. According to some topographical information, there is a large slope, around 3 meters, from one end of the site to the other, running very close to North - South in orientation. A more accurate slope should be determined with a line and a level. 

The main shadow - producing elements are on the East, West and South. On the South there are smaller trees and brush, on the West there are a few trees, presumably casting soft shadows in the afternoon, whereas on the East, the apartments cast harder shadows in the morning. 

Acoustically the site is noisy from the highway on the South, and noisy from Boylston street activity on the north. The trees offer little diffusion, and the hard surface of the apartments does not produce any dramatic effect. 

One can be seen from the apartment windows, but the apartment windows are all above eye level or close to it. The North half of the apartments do not have windows looking into the site. The lot lies under the gazeful watch of the attendant parking lot attendant. 

The mental map of the area is less clear for me, but the site is at a midpoint between the collegiate corner formed by the BAC and Berkleee and the top of the Fenway. I would be walking down this street if I wanted food of middling quality or if I were a college student attending mass. It is useful to note that most of the people in this site are walking to or from their cars, presumably because they have some business in the immediate neighborhood, but do not themselves live nearby (unless they live in the apartments.)

Like all things, the site has an unlimited number of attributes, and selecting the ones which are significant requires the knowing of the purpose of the selection.