We are pleased to announce the Northeastern University Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex received an AIA New York Committee on the Environment (COTE) Merit Award!
The AIANY COTE Awards program, which is modeled after the nearly two-decades-old AIA COTE Top Ten Awards, aims at making sustainable design processes transparent through diverse metrics that demonstrate an innovative approach towards resiliency, local site response, passive design, water conservation, energy flow, materials and construction, as well as flexibility and adaptability.
The Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex represents a major expansion of research at Northeastern University and provides a 234,000 GSF home for four interdisciplinary academic research disciplines: engineering, health sciences, basic sciences and computer science.
Flow and movement define the form language of the building. Dynamic movement systems permeate the project, expand a campus and bridge two Boston neighborhoods. The architectural form is intrinsically linked with high performance architecture through parametric design and energy modeling. This cutting edge facility defines a new academic and social hub for students and allows the University to compete as a premier research institution. An integrated approach to sustainability was ingrained in the project from the planning stages throughout the design process, impacting everything from the programmatic organization of the building to the design of the building enclosure.
In planning the building there was a conscious effort to segregate low energy programs from the high energy research spaces. The primary volume of the low energy office cluster is raised to open the ground floor of the atrium to the landscape while the curving bronze anodized solar veil envelopes the low energy office cluster, expressing the flow of the landscape while shading the offices from the harsh southwestern exposure above.
Orienting the research labs inward, facing the atrium, reinforces the sense of community. This move also places science on display in order to foster a collaborative research culture. This is a radical shift from the organization of typical research facilities. Glazed walls allow unobstructed views through the research spaces while separating the high and low energy use zones, reducing the volume of ventilated research space to dramatically reduce the building energy usage.
The 2017 recipients will be honored at an awards ceremony at the Center for Architecture on Wednesday, November 15. Included will be presentations by the winning teams and a discussion between the jurors and winners.
Related:
Energy Savings: Northeastern University’s ISEC
The Boston Globe Reviews the ISEC
Payette + Metropolis Think Tank
Celebrating the ISEC at Northeastern University
Northeastern ISEC featured in Architectural Record
Integrated Building Science and Design at Northeastern University
Cape Cod Community College’s Frank and Maureen Wilkens Science and Engineering Center is a net-positive energy building designed to transform the heart of campus.
The project approaches sustainability through a holistic and global approach, implementing a range of moves including passive solar shading overhangs, air-source heat pumps, high performance materials with low embodied carbon and the expansion of the range of thermal comfort and lighting power density. Combined with on-site photovoltaics, the project achieves net-positive energy use.
The project’s thermally modified wood rainscreen façade is a study of the modern expression of vernacular Cape Cod architecture while reducing embodied carbon. Early lifecycle assessments identified the immense carbon savings of wood over fiber cement. The design team did not stop there, furthering reductions by peeling back unnecessary finishes like carpet and ceilings. Together, these decisions enabled a 19% reduction in embodied carbon.
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