July 2015 | Eyesore

Commentary on architectural blunders in monthly serial.

Behold the condo renovation of the Holy Trinity German Church and Rectory in Boston’s South End designed by Finegold Alexander & Associates for developer New Boston Ventures. It was approved a few weeks ago by the Boston redevelopment agency.

Granted, the task does raise the question: just how do you cram 33 condo units to a structure built for an entirely different sort of human activity. But the result appears to be a church with an insecticide factory grafted onto the roof.

You must appreciate the symbolism too: church architecture always soars skyward, expressed in steeples, towers, finials, etc., yet the condo part of the building just meets the sky with a SPLAT! As in, our aspirations stop with the humdrum activities of condo life: eating the take-out Kung Po chicken, taking a shower, channel surfing.

The church stood the test of time architecturally, though the programming (prayer, etc) kind of petered out.

How will the glass Precondo addition stand the test of time, and what might it become?

Shout-out to John McConnell for nominating this humdinger.