1010 Memorial Drive

One of the few significant post–World War II apartment houses in Cambridge, Riverview is composed of two separate units on two acres. The horizontal facade of the eight-story concrete slab features a glass wall bounded by a grid of balconies facing the river. Lifted on columns with spaces for cars beneath, the structure evokes the Unités d'Habitation of Le Corbusier near Marseilles begun in 1946. The north facade overlooks a garden, a parking lot, and the row of red brick town houses that form part of the condominium complex. Within, a skip-stop elevator and corridor create apartments on different levels. Duplex units here are comparable to, but lack the finer details present in, Harvard's Peabody Terrace (HS9). Originally conceived as part of a neighborhood renewal scheme, Riverview currently belongs to the upscale housing market, a situation largely due to its prime location.

In contrast to Riverview, the twenty-story high-rise at 1010 Memorial Drive was deemed luxury housing from the start. Isolated from the street and Memorial Drive, this completely undistinguished building is a landmark on the Charles, providing privacy to its inhabitants together with panoramic views. A landscaped terrace is built over underground parking. Directional road signs add a positive note of urbanity to the ambience.