Yesenia Jimenez

Yesenia Jimenez

I focused on the physical atmosphere more on Newbury Street than in the Prudential/Copley Place Shopping Center. I tended to centralize my ideas on the people passing through the space in the latter. I noticed that even though Newbury Street is essentially a landmark in Boston, it has foreign elements in its atmospheric architectural design. “La Voile” café is representative of the fact that there is a Parisian atmosphere on a Bostonian street and that is what draws consumers and pedestrians. I almost took it as a commentary on how Boston can learn something from the more relaxed, people lingering Parisian café atmosphere. I also noticed that everyone walked with a speedy pace, aiming to a final destination. There weren’t people walking slowly and really enjoying the shops or restaurants from the outside, but aiming to get inside. I found that more people walked on the right side of the street towards Gloucester and away from Dartmouth, than the other way around. I thought this was because although people aimed to sit in shady locations, the sun shone on this side so it was more enjoyable.

The Prudential Center’s Boylston Arcade area was very interesting because I found myself focusing less on the structural design than on the way people moved in and out of the space. The only physical structures in the space were the kiosks that sold Boston souvenirs and clothing, but nothing to sit on or admire otherwise. Most people moved towards the Huntington Arcade, the corridor with plenty of plants and greenery, because it offered more opportunities to sit and relax. Many moved towards the Prudential Arcade probably because of the large amount of shops down this corridor. The Boylston Arcade had a large number of people moving towards it, but not necessarily to shop or to sit but to exit the building. These were faster paced than others. I sensed that unless there was a store people could peruse or a place they could perch on, they would continue walking. Lastly, I saw that both on Newbury Street and in the shops, people in groups or pairs tended to walk slower than those alone. Those alone also tended to be using their phone and/or have headphones more than those with others.