Architect Plays Nice In Boston's South End

"Without limits, play is meaningless. Without a court and a net, you can't play tennis. How would you know when you'd made a good shot?

It's the same in architecture. Case in point: the modest but fascinating new dwelling at 424 Massachusetts Avenue in the South End.

Here the "firm limits" are the rules of the South End Landmark District Commission, which the architect was required to respect. And "play" describes the inventive things he did within these rules.

The architect is Doug Dolezal of Boston. His building looks, at first glance, like two townhouses. But it's actually a single building, five stories with an elevator, with parking in the basement. There are 10 condos, two per floor. The site had been a vacant lot for half a century."