KPMB Architects and Suffolk recently broke ground on Boston University’s new Center for Computing and Data Sciences. The Center aims to be a striking new addition to Boston University’s central campus and its first new major teaching center in a half-century. As the tallest building at Boston University, the 19-story, 350,000-square-foot structure will bring the institution’s mathematics, statistics and computer science departments under one roof.
The Boston University Center for Computing and Data Sciences will be the largest carbon-neutral building constructed in Boston since the city’s Climate Action Plan Update in 2019. In addition to being 100 percent fossil fuel-free, the facility will feature state-of-the-art shading, triple-glazed windows and more sustainable elements. The building will tap into a geothermal well-field, a sustainable natural energy source 1,500 feet below the surface of the earth. The moderate temperatures of the deep geothermal well, coupled with state-of-the art insulation and natural light, will keep the 345,000 square foot building warm in the winter and cool in the summer, all without the use of fossil fuels. Also, the building is designed to be resilient to coastal flooding which is projected in long-term worst-case scenarios.
The tower project will rise with a podium topped by staggered floors slightly off center. The design includes proposed interconnected collaboration terraces that form a ramp connecting the ground and second floors. Other floors feature terraces, event spaces, and cafés. The ground floor is designed to be a public space, incorporating informal lobby spaces and general-purpose classrooms, as well as BU’s Early Childhood Learning Lab. The project is scheduled for completion in 2022.
Consultants
BR+A Consulting Engineers (MEP), Entuitive + LeMessurier Consultants (structural), Entuitive (building envelope), Richard Burck Associates Inc. (landscape), Dot Dash (lighting), Transsolar (climate), The Green Engineer (LEED), Nitsch Engineering Inc (civil), Soberman Engineering (elevator), Jensen Hughes (Fire and Life Safety), Haley & Aldrich (geotechnical, geotheramal), Acentech (acoustics/a.v.), RWDI Inc (environmental engineers), Robbie McCabe Consulting (hardware), Ricca Design Studios (food services), Brian Ballantyne Specifications (specifications)
News via Suffolk
