Yesterday we were delighted to attend the Topping Out ceremony for Boston University’s Center for Integrated Life Science and Engineering. In addition the Local 7 ironworkers from James F. Stearns Co., we were joined by the Construction Management team from Turner Construction, Boston University’s project leadership team and the scientists for whom the building is being built.
This marked the culmination of a heroic steel erection process that has taken the nine-story building from ground to roof in under three months. Having reached this milestone, Turner and BU have held to the original construction schedule and we are looking forward to the arrival of the first façade panels from Ipswich Bay Glass in the coming weeks. You can view a time lapse video of the construction progress here.
This Earth Week, we’ll be covering five landmark buildings exemplifying new approaches to building performance and sustainability.
The Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center Klarman Building is the first hospital in the northeast to implement chilled beams in an inpatient setting. Early energy analysis demonstrated that the use of chilled beams would be the best way to reduce building energy use.
For this strategy to work, however, the peak thermal loads of the façades could not exceed the capacity of the chilled beams. An integrated design approach and in-house modeling allowed for constant tuning of the façade to optimize glazing, solar exposure and massing. The building orients glazing to face true north and south to minimize heat gain and maximize occupant comfort, resulting in a 15% reduction in peak solar load.
Beyond performance, the distinctive serrated terracotta façade reflects the scale and cadence of individual patient rooms, providing a delicate scale and texture to the façade.
#earthweek #designalways #buildingscience #performalism #facade