Boston University Center for Computing and Data Sciences

FPA was retained by the Trustees of Boston University to manage the complex scheduling, environmental permitting, and public review process for the construction of the Center for Computing and Data Sciences (“CCDS”) on an existing surface parking lot. Included in Boston University’s 2013 – 2023 Institutional Master Plan (IMP), the project required an IMP Amendment to modify its approved stories and height.

This iconic building “stacked boxes” building stands 305 feet high, at nineteen stories with a gross floor area of 307,000 square feet on a 42,000 square-foot site in a dense urban area. The CCDS serves as the hub for the interdisciplinary departments of Computer Science and Mathematics & Statistics as well as the Rafik B. Hariri Institute for Computing and Computational Science & Engineering.

Despite its energy-intensive lab uses, the building is has received LEED Platinum Certification. Integral to this achievement is the building’s fossil fuel free operations (the first on any BU campus to do so) and a 90% reduction in overall carbon emissions. Most notably, 31 geothermal wells have been installed as a primary heating and cooling source, exemplifying one of the few applications of this technology in Boston’s urban neighborhoods. Electricity will be provided by the University’s wind power-purchase contract, and matches 100% of the electricity used on all campuses.