Boston University Data Sciences Center

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 Data Sciences Center 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. The iconic building will stand at 305 feet with a gross floor area of 307,000 square feet on a 42,000 square-foot site in a dense urban area. The Data Sciences Center will serve 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 uses, the building is targeting LEED Platinum Certification. Integral to this achievement is the building’s commitment to fossil fuel free operations (the first on any BU campus to do so) and a 90% reduction in overall carbon emissions. Energy will be provided by the university’s wind-purchase contract, which will come online in 2020 and match 100% of the electricity used on all campuses. Most notably, geothermal wells will be installed as a primary heating and cooling source, exemplifying one of the few applications of this technology in Boston’s urban neighborhoods.