Center for Computing & Data Sciences
The Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences stands as a beacon of innovation, uniting a dynamic vertical campus with sustainable design. Rising 305 feet above the Back Bay, its unique structure features shifting free-floating volumes, each housing research neighborhoods and green roof outdoor terraces. Notably, exposed two-story deep perimeter steel trusses support the offset massing, creating a visually striking architectural language. The building's elegant structural design includes a slender concrete core that reduces weight, enabling support through a concrete mat slab on marine clay and eliminating the need for deep foundations. Furthermore, sustainability initiatives, including a groundbreaking 70% Portland cement replacement in concrete, led to a 13% reduction in the total embodied carbon of the structure, earning the project the 2023 Innovative Project Award from the National Ready Mixed Concrete Association. The Center for Computing & Data Sciences is a testament to groundbreaking structural engineering and sustainable practices.