We are excited to announce our Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex at Northeastern University is a finalist for the 2018 Harleston Parker Medal.
The Harleston Parker Medal award was established in 1921 by J. Harleston Parker in memory of his father. The first award was granted by the Boston Society of Architects/AIA in 1923. The intent of the award is to acknowledge the “single most beautiful building or other structure” built in the metropolitan Boston area in the past 10 years. For more information, visit architects.org/awards.
Constructed on an urban brownfield site that consisted of a surface parking lot set between two garages, the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) forms the initial phase of a long-term vision to link the University’s Huntington Avenue Campus with Columbus Avenue, span the MBTA and Amtrak rail lines, and connect the Fenway and Roxbury neighborhoods. The motivation for the new ISEC stems from the University’s desire to establish itself as a premier research institution with the most cutting-edge science facility in Boston.
With limited room for growth on the main campus, the ISEC is located in a 660,000 SF academic precinct across the Amtrak/MBTA rail lines. A sloping landscape leads to an accessible path across the train tracks with a pedestrian bridge that flows into the core campus. The ISEC building is rotated to align with this path, negotiate the slope and invite student traffic through an atrium scaled to serve as the new student hub for an expanded campus. The new building represents the first completed phase of the new academic precinct, with Phase 2, the Pedestrian Crossing nearing completion.
Past winners include the Boston Public Library Johnson Building Transformation (2017) by William Rawn Associates, Architects; Bruce C. Bolling Municipal Building (2016) by Mecanoo Architecten with Sasaki; the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum Addition (2015) by Renzo Piano Building Workshop with Stantec; and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston Art of the Americas Wing (2014) by Foster + Partners with CBT Architects.
Finalists:
- As If It Were Already Here by Janet Echelman
- Collier Memorial by Höweler and Yoon Architecture
- East Boston Branch, Boston Public Library by William Rawn Associates, Architects
- Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Complex by PAYETTE
- Tozzer Anthropology Building by Kennedy & Violich Architecture
The winner will be announced at the 8th BSA Design Awards Gala on Thursday, January 17, 2019.
Related:
Boston Society of Architects announces finalists for the 2018 Harleston Parker Medal
One of these 2018 Harleston Parker Medal finalists will be crowned Boston’s most beautiful structure
Each year, PAYETTE embarks on a collaborative effort to make our design services accessible to local communities through the Martin Luther King, Jr. Day of Service. This year, we celebrated our 8th annual Martin Luther King Jr. Day of Service by partnering with 7 local nonprofits:
- Breaktime @breaktime
- Brighton Main Streets @brightonmainstreets
- Massachusetts Transgender Political Coalition @masstpc
- The Elizabeth Peabody House @elizabethpeabodyhouse
- Greater Ashmont Main Street @greaterashmont
- Greater Grove Hall Main Streets
- Animal Protection Center of Southeastern Massachusetts @animalprotectioncenter
To learn more about each of these projects, visit the link in our bio!
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