Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences

Text description provided by the architects. Boston University's Center for Computing and Data Science is a landmark for the university. It transforms the skyline, meets laudable sustainability goals, prioritizes human-centered design, and increases collaboration and connectedness. The project brings together the departments of mathematics, statistics, and computer science, building a community of 3,000 students, faculty, and staff. Realized as a vertical campus.

Boldly rising on the banks of the Charles River at 19 stories high, and spanning 345,000 square feet, the Center is the largest sustainable, operational fossil-fuel-free building in Boston. They are recognized by their cantilevered volumes featuring reddish-brown diagonal louvers (to minimize solar gain and maximize shading) and shimmering glazed sawtooth façades that rest above the triple-glazed curtain wall that encases the structure. While contributing to the building's distinctive linear aesthetic, these design elements also contribute to comfort and sustainability efforts, keeping the building warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer.

The platform takes off to hover over Commonwealth Avenue to complete the streetscape and generate maximum animation on the ground floor of the street. Highly transparent and porous, it serves as an urban porch for access, study and gathering. The center is designed as an up-and-coming academic neighborhood with lower floors dedicated to mathematics and statistics, middle floors for computer science, and upper floors for interdisciplinary work and public spaces. A central atrium unites faculty and students in a collaborative spirit and an interconnected staircase emerges from the area that weaves over 138 floors to connect disparate disciplines, fuel cross-fertilization of ideas, and spark serendipitous encounters.

The design sets an ambitious new sustainability precedent for future academic buildings in Boston and beyond. In line with Boston University's Climate Action Plan, which aims to reduce the institution's carbon emissions to zero by 2040, the center aims to achieve LEED Platinum and is 100% operational fossil fuel-free with a closed-loop geothermal system that heats and cools the building through a system of pumps. geothermal.

The building relies on renewable and alternative energy sources, including groundwater recharging systems and advanced external shading systems. The open interior spaces take advantage of the center's unique location in the heart of Boston, with expansive river views on three sides of the building. Classrooms and collaboration spaces are flooded with light with floor-to-ceiling windows to remind students surrounded by the digital world to stay inspired by the natural world and remember the connection between technology and humanity. Chalkboard walls throughout the core stimulate collaborative ideas while showing processes.

The modern building includes 12 classrooms, two computer labs, a cafe on the ground floor, several collaboration spaces, and a yard with a covered bike shelter. The stacked campus is crowned by an event arena and outdoor pavilion three stories high. There are green roofs and terraces throughout the center to connect students, faculty, and staff with the natural environment and views of the city. These open spaces allow for increased communication and collaboration between the various departments that are now called the Headquarters.