Named one of the 10 projects shaping architecture in 2023 by Azure Magazine, the KPMB-designed Center for Computing & Data Sciences at Boston University is a defining landmark. Towering 19 storeys over the Charles River, it’s Boston’s largest sustainable, fossil fuel-free building. The Boston Globe calls it “the most environmentally friendly tower in the city.”
The Center uses onsite renewable energy via a geothermal system and a high-performance envelope with sun-shading devices. It elevates the ground floor for climate resilience and implements BU’s Zero Waste Initiative. Designed in collaboration with Dennis Carlberg, BU’s Associate VP for Sustainability, the building supports the university’s Climate Action Plan and Boston’s carbon neutrality goals.
A vertical campus, the Center unites mathematics, statistics, and computer science departments, fostering collaboration through an atrium, classrooms, and green spaces. Terraces connect occupants to nature, offering views of the Charles River and city. The transparent, four-storey podium serves as an urban porch, promoting interaction and gathering with spaces like a café, atrium stair, and street studio.
