HARVARD GAZETTE ARCHIVES

While a final design still remains months away, Behnisch Architekten, the architectural firm selected to design the Allston Science Complex, has presented a series of preliminary concepts and ideas for the science complex to the Harvard and Allston communities.

These conceptual developments reflect progress made in planning over the summer and mark the beginning of a discussion that, over the next several months, will help architects refine the design of Harvard’s first academic building in the 50-year process of developing an extended campus in Allston.

“These are very good initial concepts to start the design discussions. While based on significant analysis, they are absolutely not final or set in stone,” stresses Harvard’s COO for the Allston Development Group Chris Gordon. “We are putting the architectural team’s preliminary ideas out there very early in the design process to hear feedback, which will help move the next phase of the design process in the right direction.”

The early ideas were generated during the conceptual design phase. Its purpose is to establish the basic vision (or working assumptions) for the developing project.

The conceptual design submission is represented on four boards, which are on view in the Allston Room in the ground-floor arcade of Holyoke Center and viewable online at http://www.allston.harvard.edu.

The design team’s early working assumptions for the building include:

• The breakout of more than 500,000 square feet of space above ground for science research into four interconnected buildings of campus scale with a generous green open yard at the core of the complex, a plan that in scale and layout reflects the design traditions of Harvard in Cambridge;

• A focus on creating inviting, comfortable work spaces, with an emphasis on natural light, natural ventilation when possible, and common space for informal meetings that facilitate collaboration among scientists; the use of cutting-edge sustainability strategies to minimize energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and storm water runoff; and the effort to maximize open green space around buildings as well as the availability of natural light within them;

• A combination of academic space with public street-level amenities, such as a daycare facility, restaurant, coffee shop, and fitness facility that will enliven the surrounding neighborhood;

• Even though the architectural design remains under development, preliminary discussions suggest the use of a combination of masonry and glass for the building façade.

The building design will be refined over the coming months. The Allston Development Group expects to submit a refined design to the Harvard and Allston communities and the city of Boston by January 2007.

Behnisch Architekten, an architectural firm well known for its world-class science facilities and its leadership in sustainable design, was hired in late spring of 2006 to translate the recommendations of the University Committee on Science and Engineering, and the various science faculty task forces that preceded it, into an innovative building that fosters collaborative scientific work.

The new building responds to a pressing need for new kinds of spaces at Harvard that facilitate interdisciplinary science research. It is also a response to the mounting competitive pressure across the globe in emerging scientific fields. The construction of the new facility and the ongoing science planning process for Harvard science will both help strengthen Harvard’s leadership role in the sciences and help strengthen the position of Boston as the world’s leader in the life sciences.

The Allston Science Complex design is just one example of the progress under way in Allston planning.

In addition, design discussions about the new art center for the Harvard University Art Museums in Allston-Brighton progressed over the summer. This project will enable the long-awaited renovation of the Art Museums’ Quincy Street facilities to proceed. The architectural firm Daly Genik, known for its innovative approach to reconfiguring existing urban buildings for new uses, is charged with redeveloping the 1380 Soldiers Field Road site in Allston-Brighton into a state-of-the-art museum facility for the art museums, including new public gallery spaces for contemporary art.

Like Behnisch Architekten, Daly Genik spent the summer meeting with Harvard representatives, design committees, and the Allston community to gather early thoughts of various audiences to advance initial design concepts. Preliminary design concepts for the art center are expected in November.

Meanwhile, Harvard’s master planning team, led by the Cooper, Robertson, Gehry and Olin collaboration, has been working to refine a 50-year master plan, or planning framework, that will provide the long-range blueprint for future academic facilities in Allston. Included in the master plan are design guidelines for streetscapes, open spaces, building height, and scale — all intended to ensure that the setting for Allston’s new academic buildings and the connections between them reflect the best of Harvard’s existing campus.

As planning progresses on Harvard’s initial Allston projects and the Allston master plan is refined this year, the Allston Room will be updated and other forums will be held to update the Harvard community on progress.

Related links:

Q and A with Stefan Behnisch on Harvard's architectural past, present and future