Makes sense, right?

Gonna build a tower out of character with the rest of Boston?

Bring in an architect from out of town.

Deadlines for propsosals were the end of this month, I believe.

Local architects fear that out-of-town rivals have the inside track to design the proposed tower that would be the city's architectural statement of the 21st century. They now have another reason to worry following a stealth site visit last week from superstar building designer Renzo Piano.

The Italian behind landmarks including the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Beyeler Foundation Museum in Basel, Switzerland, met with Steve Belkin, a politically wired businessman who owns an adjacent building that would be razed to make room for New England's tallest skyscraper and is widely considered to be a front-runner in the competition.

Source: Hub architects: No chance for mayor's tower - By Michelle Hillman, The Boston Business Journal