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SECTION  I
THE  DEVELOPMENT  CONCEPT


No  better  words  can  be  found  to  describe  the  development  proposal  than
those  used  by  the  Boston  Study  Group  Foundation  in  its  report  on  preliminary
design  studies  for  the  Hinge  Block.  The  concept  as  described  by  the  Boston
Study  Group  Foundation  is  as  follows:

In  concept  this  proposal  is  a  single  complex  of  substantial
magnitude  and  density,  in  which  the  proportion  of  highly
profitable  land  uses  (hotel,  apartments,  offices,  large
shops)  far  exceeds  the  proportion  of  marginally  profitable
uses  (theatres,  galleries,  and  other  arts  facilities).
This  allows  facilities  for  the  arts  that  are  difficult  to
finance  by  themselves  to  be  built  as  secondary  but  integral
parts  of  a  much  larger  and  more  financially  viable  real
estate  development.
The  development  is  conceived  as  a  single  structure  rather
than  as  a  group  of  individual  buildings,  so  as  to  take
maximum  advantage  of  close  integration  of  activities.
When  numerous  related  uses  are  combined  in  a  single  large
scale  structure,  many  economies  begin  to  emerge.   The
sharing  by  numerous  performing  arts  organizations  of
lobby  space,  rehearsal  space,  workshops,  building  perimeter,
building  structure,  heating  and  air  conditioning,  elevators,
escalators,  parking  and  other  facilities  and  services  will
allow  each  organization  to  avoid  the  high  costs  of  coping
with  these  expensive  needs  independently.  Another  impor-
tant part  of  the  concept  is  that  all  arts  facilities  within
the  development  will  be  leased  from  a  single  non-profit
organization.   This  approach  allows  each  individual  arts
organization  to  concentrate  its  resources  on  its  real
creative  activity,  while  utilizing  the  maximum  and  most
efficient  use  of  interior  space  within  the  complex.
