ボストン最大の化石燃料を使用しないキャンパス

©︎ Tom Arban

©︎ Janice Checchio

アメリカ・マサチューセッツ州に建つ〈ボストン大学コンピューティング＆データサイエンスセンター（The Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences）〉は、ボストンで最大となる化石燃料を使用しないサステナブルな建築です。

特徴的なキャンチレバーボリュームによるシルエットと、ファサードに取り付けられた角度をつけたルーバーと斜めに配されたルーバーにより、建物に直線的な美しさをつくり出しています。

カナダに拠点を置く建築事務所KPMBアーキテクツ（KPMB Architects）が設計しました。

（以下、KPMB Architectsから提供されたプレスキットのテキストの抄訳）

©︎ Janice Checchio

©︎ Janice Checchio

サステナビリティを前面に打ち出した象徴的な新校舎

この345,000ft²（約32,050m²）、19階建ての垂直キャンパスは、チャールズ川の岸辺に大胆にそびえ、ボストンのスカイラインを劇的に塗り替えている。

コモンウェルス通りに位置するこの新校舎は、ボストン大学のすべての学生を受け入れ可能である。また、数学、統計学、コンピュータサイエンス部門の3,000人の学生・教員および、新設されたコンピューティング＆データサイエンス学部の本拠地となっている。

©︎ Janice Checchio

©︎ Janice Checchio

〈ボストン大学コンピューティング＆データサイエンスセンター〉のデザインは、サステナビリティを第一に考えながらも、コラボレーション、相互接続性、イノベーションの機会を最大限に引き出す設計となっている。

305フィート（約93m）の高さを誇る19階建てのキャンチレバーボリュームの特徴的なシルエットとなっており、8つのグリーンテラスがセンターと自然環境を結びつけている。

Curtain Wall Diagram 1

Curtain Wall Diagram 2

ファサードは敷地の日照パターンを活用した、角度をつけたルーバーと斜めに配されたルーバーで構成されている。これらのデザイン要素は、建物の直線的な美しさに貢献すると同時に、冬は暖かく、夏は涼しいという快適さとサステナビリティの取り組みにも寄与している。

コモンウェルス通り沿いの街並みの景観を損なわないよう、ポディウム（基壇部）はコモンウェルス通りに対しほとんどの面積を占めるように設計されている。透明性が高く、来客、学習、集会のための都市のポーチとして機能する。

©︎ Tom Arban

©︎ Tom Arban

コラボレーションとインスピレーションを刺激する学術空間

センターは、下層階が数学と統計学、中層階がコンピュータサイエンス、最上層階が学際的な研究とパブリックスペースという、学術的な空間として機能するよう構想されている。中央のアトリウムは教員と学生のコラボレーションを促し、そこから8階まで続く階段はさまざまな分野をつなぎ、アイデアが混ざり合う、セレンディピティ的な出会いをもたらす。

©︎ Tom Arban

©︎ Tom Arban

開放的な内部空間は、ボストン中心部というセンターのユニークな立地を活かし、建物の3面からは広大な川の景色を眺めることができる。教室やコラボレーションスペースは、床から天井まである窓から豊かな光が差し込み、デジタル領域に包まれた学生たちに、自然界からインスピレーションを受け、テクノロジーと人間のつながりを思い起こさせるようになっている。

さらに、コアのいたるところにホワイトボードの壁があり、プロセスを表示しながら共同でのアイデア出しを促進している。

©︎ Ziyu (Julian) Zhu

この最新鋭の建物には、12の教室、2つのコンピューターラボ、1階のカフェ、多数のコラボレーションスペース、屋根付き自転車シェルターのある広場が含まれている。

自然光は建物内のすべてのスペースで最適化されている。最上階にはコラボレーションを促進し、街を一望できるイベントスペースとパビリオンがある。

©︎ Tom Arban

この設計は、ボストンやその他の地域の将来の学術施設のために、サステナビリティの新しい先例を示す意欲的なものとなっている。

冷暖房は地熱ヒートポンプを活用した地熱クローズドループシステムを採用し、完全に化石燃料を使用しない建物となっている。2040年までに大学からのCO2排出量をゼロにするというボストン大学の気候行動計画に沿い、世界中で使用されているグリーンビルディング認証プログラムLEEDにおけるプラチナ認証の取得を目指している。

また、太陽光パネル、地下水循環システム、最先端の外装遮光システムなど、再生可能・代替可能なエネルギー源を活用した建物となっている。

©︎ Ziyu (Julian) Zhu

ボストン大学学長であるロバート・A・ブラウン （Robert A Brown）は、次のように語る。

「この建物は、この分野に対する私たちのコミットメントを物理的に表明するものである。新校舎がデータサイエンス分野における私たちの取り組みの物理的な中心地となるように、コンピューティング＆データサイエンス学部が、これらのエキサイティングな分野で働く教職員や学生をつなぐ組織となることを願っている。」

©︎ Tom Arban

ボストン大学のサステナビリティ担当副学長であるデニス・カールバーグ （Dennis Carlberg）は、次のように語る。

「このセンターは、建築から気候行動計画の目標を達成するための戦略まで、最先端の設計を実証している。エネルギー効率を高めることで、化石燃料の燃焼から、地球の熱容量をバッテリーとして利用する冷暖房へのシフトが可能となった。この建築は、カーボンフリーの未来を築くための強力な模範を示している、気候変動に対するリーダーシップの象徴なのである。」

Site Plan

1st Floor Plan

2nd Floor Plan

5th Floor Plan

12th Floor Plan

17th Floor Plan

North Elevation

South Elevation

Section

以下、KPMB Architectsのリリース（英文）です。

The Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences: An Iconic New Campus Building Foregrounds Sustainability

Boston, Massachusetts December 8, 2022 – Today Boston University celebrates the opening of its new Center for Computing & Data Sciences with architecture and interiors by KPMB Architects. The largest sustainable, fossil fuel free building in Boston, this stunning 345,000 square foot 19-storey vertical campus rises boldly over the banks of the Charles River dramatically re-shaping the skyline of Boston.

Located on Commonwealth Avenue, the new building will immerse itself within the campus embracing all students while simultaneously offering a hub for 3,000 students and faculty from mathematics, statistics, and computer science departments. It will also be home to the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences, a new interdisciplinary, degree-granting academic unit at the University. The Center reflects Boston University’s commitment to being a leader in computing & data sciences. The official opening establishes Boston University’s vitality in the city and the world while providing a superb facility for teaching and research in a 21st century university.

Paulo Rocha,
Design Lead and KPMB Partner said “We’re proud to have realized a new home for the Center of Computing & Data Sciences that provides a place for ultimate connectivity, delivers on sustainability goals, prioritizes the well-being of students, faculty, and visitors, and sets a high standard for design excellence. Working closely with Boston University and our many outstanding collaborators, we aspired to design a space that fosters innovation, animates the neighbourhood, and serves as a beacon for the campus on the city skyline.”

Robert A Brown,
President of Boston University said “We have an opportunity to lead in an emerging, important field that will impact essentially all the disciplines in the University. We wanted architecture that would signal to everyone that this is a remarkable place, and an iconic landmark for the city. This building is a physical statement about our commitment to the field. Just as the new building will be the physical center of our efforts in the data sciences, I also hope that the Faculty of Computing & Data Sciences will be the connecting tissue for faculty, staff, and students working in these exciting areas.”

Dennis Carlberg,
Associate VP for Sustainability at Boston University said “The Center exemplifies the cutting edge of design from its architecture to the strategies used to meet the goals of our Climate Action Plan. The drive for energy efficiency enabled the shift from burning fossil fuels to using the thermal capacity of the earth as a battery for heating and cooling. This building provides a powerful example for ourselves and others for how to build for a carbon free future. It is a symbol of climate leadership.”

The Design of the Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences
The design maximizes opportunities for collaboration, interconnectivity, and innovation while bringing sustainability to the forefront. A center designed around the digital world requires a strong emphasis on human-centered design.

The exterior is characterized by a 19-storey cantilever volumed silhouette that rises 305 feet into the sky with eight green terraces to connect the Center to the natural environment. The façade—composed of a series of angled and diagonal louvers—takes direction from the site’s unique sun patterns. 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 podium is extended to occupy most of the Commonwealth Avenue frontage to complete the streetscape and generate maximum ground floor animation on the Avenue. Highly transparent and porous, it functions as an urban porch for arrival, study, and gathering. The Center is conceptualized to function as ascending academic neighborhoods with bottom floors devoted to math and statistics, middle floors for computer science and the top floors for interdisciplinary work and public space. A central atrium unites faculty and students in a collaborative spirit and an interconnected staircase emerges from the area weaving upwards 8 floors to connect various disciplines, nurture cross-pollination of ideas and spark serendipitous encounters.

Open interior spaces take advantage of the Center’s unique position in the heart of Boston, with expansive river views afforded from three sides of the building. Classrooms and collaboration spaces are illuminated with an abundance of light with floor to ceiling windows to remind students enveloped in the digital realm to remain inspired by the natural world and remember the link between technology and humanity. What’s more, whiteboard walls throughout the core stimulate collaborative ideation while putting processes on display.

The state-of-the-art building includes 12 classrooms, 2 computer labs, a cafe on the ground floor, numerous collaboration spaces and a plaza with a covered bike shelter. Natural light is optimized throughout all spaces in the building. The stacked campus culminates in a spectacular event space and pavilion at the top level that fosters collaborative engagement and offers expansive views of the city.

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 is targeted to attain LEED Platinum, and is 100% fossil-fuel free with a geothermal closed-loop system that heats and cools the building through a ground source heat pump system. The building draws on renewable and alternative energy sources, including solar panels, ground water recharge system and cutting-edge exterior shading systems.

ABOUT KPMB ARCHITECTS
KPMB Architects is an internationally recognized practice based in Toronto. The firm’s wide-ranging work has earned over 400 respected awards, including 18 Governor General’s Medals, Canada’s highest honor. The firm’s 150 highly collaborative professionals form interdisciplinary teams to develop innovative, regenerative design solutions that meet clients’ needs and address the major challenges of our time. Guided by their vision and anchored by their values, the firm is committed to shaping a more equitable and sustainable future through architecture and design. The Center for Computing & Data Sciences is the practice’s largest academic building to date. Previous major US academic projects include the Adams Center for Musical Arts at Yale University, the Perelman Center for Political Science and Economics at the University of Pennsylvania and Robertson Hall at Princeton University.

By The Numbers
・345K Gross Square Feet – 45,000 sf of classroom space
・305 Feet Tall
・19 stories
・One of the biggest buildings in BU’s 180+ year history
・Tallest building on the Charles River Campus
・8 green terraces and 1 pavillion
・Largest academic building on BU’s campus
・Total construction cost is currently $305 million
・3,000 daily users
・Construction began in 2020

Design Sustainability in Boston
・Boston University’s Center for Computing & Data Sciences is the largest, most sustainable and fossil-fuel free building in Boston.
・The Center furthers Boston University’s Climate Action Plan goal of net carbon neutrality by 2040 as well as the city of Boston’s goal to be carbon neutral by 2050.
・A key component of BU’s strategy and the Center’s design involves switching from fossil fuels and relying on electricity generated from renewable sources. The project is 100% fossil fuel free – no gas line will be connected to the building. The building and systems are designed to minimize energy consumption and use a closed-loop geothermal system – a ground-source heat pump for heating and cooling.
・Efficiency begins with the building enclosure incorporating, in this case, a triple glazed curtain wall to keep heat in during the winter and out during the summer, and external sun shading to reduce solar heat gain in the summer.
・As part of BU’s Climate Action Plan, the university is matching 100% of their electricity needs with new renewable resources, by partnering with a wind farm in South Dakota. This wind farm reduces the University’s carbon emissions by 53% and gets Boston University closer to the goal of carbon neutrality by 2040.
・The project includes 31 bore holes, each 1,500 feet deep. This innovative heating and cooling system is expected to provide over 300 tons of heating/cooling capacity. Heat pumps use the temperature differential the earth provides to draw heat from the ground in the winter and to expel heat in the summer.
・The building’s design minimizes energy consumption using energy-efficient strategies such as a high-performance envelope with external sun shading devices and triple glazing on the windows, enhanced heating, ventilating, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, and daylighting, occupancy controls for interior lighting and plug load, high efficiency LED lighting.
・The Center’s design and construction approach reduced embodied carbon of the building project by 6%. Embodied carbon reductions were achieved by optimizing the structural systems to reduce materials, sourcing steel from the least impactful production sites and minimizing Portland cement content in concrete mixes. These modifications resulted in a 6% reduction in total embodied carbon compared to baseline structure and enclosure systems, equal to saving approximately 1,300 tons of CO2e.
・Thermal comfort is a high priority for users in sustainable buildings. Exterior louvers provide shade to keep the sun’s heat out during the summer. To optimize shading, the angle of the diagonal louvers varies by facade orientation. By preventing heat energy
from entering the building, less cooling will be needed during the summer.
・Due to the Center’s proximity to the Charles River, steps were taken to mitigate damage
in the case of a future flood event.
・The Center sits higher than the City of Boston’s and the University’s suggested design
guidelines for sea level rise to mitigate future impacts from flooding caused by climate
change.
・Terraces incorporate roof gardens that provide a connection to nature while helping to
reduce the urban heat island effect and provide rainwater retention.

「Boston University, Center for Computing & Data Sciences」KPMB Architects 公式サイト

https://www.kpmb.com/project/boston-university-data-sciences-center/