No Gas. No Fuels. No Emissions. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB
18/12/2022.
[Boston - Massachusetts] USA
metalocus, ANDRÉS BLANCO
metalocus, ANDRÉS BLANCO
Canadian studio KPMB Architects has completed the Boston University Centre for Computing & Data Science, on the banks of the Charles River, is one of the most sustainably built buildings, standing 92 metres (305 feet tall) in all of New England, USA.
Boston University (BU) is a highly regarded urban institution with a tightly knit campus in the heart of Boston. The university’s tallest structure marks itself on the Boston cityscape and is visible from its competitors, the educational behemoths Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), both located across the Charles River in Cambridge.
Boston University (BU) is a highly regarded urban institution with a tightly knit campus in the heart of Boston. The university’s tallest structure marks itself on the Boston cityscape and is visible from its competitors, the educational behemoths Harvard University and Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), both located across the Charles River in Cambridge.
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Cydney Scott
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Cydney Scott
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Cydney Scott
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Cydney Scott
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Janice Checchio
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Janice Checchio
Site plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Lower sub-basement plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Basement plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Ground floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Second floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Third floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Fourth floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Fifth floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Sixth floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Seventh floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Eight floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Ninth floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Tenth floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Eleventh floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Twelfth floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Thirteenth- Fourteenth floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Fifteenth floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Sixteenth floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Seventeenth floor plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Eighteenth floor plan - Mechanical penthouse. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Nineteenth floor plan - Mechanical penthouse. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Roof plan. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
North elevation. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
East elevation. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
South elevation. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
West elevation. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Section. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Construction. Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB.
Toronto-based architecture firm, KPMB Architects designed the building with a series of cantilevered volumes over all sides of the 19-storey structure, creating a series of eight green terraces, which provide outdoor space.
Rising above Central Campus, the 19-story structure (17 occupied floors above grade topped by two levels of mechanical equipment, plus two levels below grade) houses the departments of mathematics & statistics and computer science, the newly created Faculty for Computing and Data Sciences, as well as the renowned Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering.
The facade is characterised both by the cantilevers as well as a series of diagonal louvres that were positioned in accordance with the sun incidence enveloping the triple-glazed curtain wall that clads the structure.
At the base, a four-story-high podium runs parallel to the river and acts as an "urban porch." Where the podium leads to the central staircase that gives access to the tower, an eight-story atrium was included.
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban.
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban.
The Center for Computing & Data Sciences is not only one of the biggest buildings in the University’s history (it is also 100 per cent free of fossil fuels) and one of the “greenest” buildings in all of New England.
The building is heated and cooled through underground geothermal wells, and the Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences is designed to earn LEED Platinum certification.
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban.
Rising above Central Campus, the 19-story structure (17 occupied floors above grade topped by two levels of mechanical equipment, plus two levels below grade) houses the departments of mathematics & statistics and computer science, the newly created Faculty for Computing and Data Sciences, as well as the renowned Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering.
The facade is characterised both by the cantilevers as well as a series of diagonal louvres that were positioned in accordance with the sun incidence enveloping the triple-glazed curtain wall that clads the structure.
At the base, a four-story-high podium runs parallel to the river and acts as an "urban porch." Where the podium leads to the central staircase that gives access to the tower, an eight-story atrium was included.
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban.
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban.
The Center for Computing & Data Sciences is not only one of the biggest buildings in the University’s history (it is also 100 per cent free of fossil fuels) and one of the “greenest” buildings in all of New England.
The building is heated and cooled through underground geothermal wells, and the Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences is designed to earn LEED Platinum certification.
Boston University, Center for Computing and Data Sciences by KPMB. Photograph by Tom Arban.
Project description by KPMB Architects
The new Center for Computing & Data Sciences is a vertical campus that is a crossroads and a beacon for Boston University’s central campus. The design maximizes opportunities for collaboration, interconnectivity, and innovation. Every element is integrated to establish the new Center as an iconic building at the heart of Boston University’s campus.
The site and context – a wide gap between the contiguous buildings of different generations, varying rhythms, and relative solidity along Commonwealth Avenue – sparked a solution that stands apart from and alongside the existing urban fabric.
The podium is extended to occupy most of the Commonwealth Avenue frontage to complete the streetscape and generate maximum ground-floor animation on the Avenue. Highly transparent and porous, it functions as an urban porch for arrival, study, and gathering. Inside, it accommodates larger programmatic volumes such as registrar classrooms and offers a series of zones for interaction: the Café, the Cascading Atrium Stair, and the Street Studio.
This will be the first building of size in Boston to be fossil fuel-free and is targeted to attain LEED Platinum.
More information
Architects
Project team
Bruce Kuwabara (design partner), Marianne McKenna (partner-in-charge), Luigi LaRocca (founding principal), Paulo Rocha (design partner), Lucy Timbers (senior associate, project manager), David Smythe (senior associate), Kael Opie (senior associate), Tyler Loewen (associate), Melissa Ng (associate), Matt Krivosudsky (associate), Tyler Hall, Amin Monsefi, Victor Garzon, Samantha Hart, Nicholas Wong, Olivia di Filice, Jason Chang, Fotini Pitoglou, Carolyn Lee (senior associate), Kayley Mullings, Arminé Tadevosyan.
Competition team
Bruce Kuwabara, Marianne McKenna, Luigi LaRocca, Paulo Rocha, Kevin Bridgman, Joy Charbonneau, Claire Kurtin, Joe Kan, Ramin Yamin.
Collaborators
BR+A Consulting Engineers (MEP,IT), Entuitive + LeMessurier Consultants (structural), Entuitive (building envelope), Turner & Townsend (cost), Richard Burck Associates Inc. (landscape), Dot Dash (lighting), Transsolar (climate engineering), The Green Engineer (LEED), Nitsch Engineering Inc (civil), Soberman Engineering (elevator), Jensen Hughes (fire and life safety, accessibility), Haley & Aldrich (geotechnical, geotheramal), Acentech (acoustics/a.v.), RWDI Inc (environmental engineers), Learch Bates (façade access), Robbie McCabe Consulting (hardware), Ricca Design Studios (food services), Entro Communications (signage), Brian Ballantyne Specifications (specifications).
Client
Area
32,052 m² / 345,000 ft².
Dimensions Dimensiones
19 stories. 92 metres (305 feet tall).
Dates
Competition.- 2012.
Project completed.- 2018.
Start construction.- 2020.
Construction completed.- 05 December 2022.
Project completed.- 2018.
Start construction.- 2020.
Construction completed.- 05 December 2022.
Location
Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences. 665 Commonwealth Avenue Ave. Boston, MA 02215, USA.
Photography
Tom Arban. Cydney Scott. Janice Checchio.
Bruce Kuwabara, Marianne McKenna, Shirley Blumberg. KPMB Architects
KPMB Architects. Established in 1987, KPMB is an internationally recognized architectural practice based in Canada. Their wide-ranging work has earned over 400 respected awards, including 18 Governor General’s Medals, Canada’s highest honour. Their founding partners, Bruce Kuwabara, Marianne McKenna and Shirley Blumberg, have all received the Order of Canada for their personal achievements and for KPMB’s collective contributions to improving people’s lives through the built environment. In 2021, they expanded their team, including the appointment of seven new partners: Kevin Bridgman, Steven Casey, Phyllis Crawford, Andrew Dyke, Mitchell Hall, Paulo Rocha and Bruno Weber.
The firm's 150 professionals form interdisciplinary teams to develop innovative and regenerative project solutions that meet client needs and address the major challenges of our time. Guided by its vision and anchored in its values, the firm is committed to shaping a more equitable and sustainable future through architecture and design.
The firm's 150 professionals form interdisciplinary teams to develop innovative and regenerative project solutions that meet client needs and address the major challenges of our time. Guided by its vision and anchored in its values, the firm is committed to shaping a more equitable and sustainable future through architecture and design.
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