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Harvard experiments with new science and engineering facilities designed by Behnisch Architekten

Harvard experiments with new science and engineering facilities designed by Behnisch Architekten

Harvard University has submitted plans by Behnisch Architekten with the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) for a six story, 500,000-square-foot science and engineering complex on its Allston campus.

Stuttgart- and Boston-based Behnisch Architekten is designing new laboratories, classroom space, research facilities, and retail space for the John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. The home of the Earthwatch Institute, at 114 Western Avenue, will also be renovated by the architects.

The design responds to the layout of Harvard Yard, a “human scale” network of communal space. Like most of Behnisch Architekten’s projects, the structure will capitalize on ecological principles: natural ventilation, renewable energy from geothermal and wind, roof gardens, and heat recovery and retention.

In a statement, Matt Noblett, partner at Behnisch Architekten, explained the synergistic aspects of his firm’s design: “The design of the Science and Engineering Complex project pulls together a number of threads of contemporary life certain to influence coming generations: the engineering enterprise as a decisive influence in the discovery and resolution of some of the world’s most intractable problems; cross-disciplinary efforts as critical to major research initiatives; and genuine leadership in the area of sustainable design and urban development.”


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