Architect
Architectural Resources Cambridge
Facade Consultant
Gordon H. Smith Corporation
GC
William A. Berry & Son
Completion
2003
Contract Value
17.8m
Building Type
Education / Research
Technology Type
Cable Net/Truss, Cable Nets, Truss Systems, Glass Fin Systems, Point-fixed Bolted, Glass Fin/Point-Fixed Glass
Facade
Design/build custom curtainwall for tower featuring glass “pods” and “sky-lobbies;” design and supply of a 4-story custom stainless steel cable truss structural system to support point-fixed glass; system includes castings, machined fittings, cables and fabricated stainless spreader strut
Glass
Fully tempered insulated glass units perforated for point-fixing with spider glass system
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Harvard's New Research Center has been referred to by the AIA as “a monument to the pragmatic blend of form and function.” The facility is the largest expansion of the Medical School campus in more than 100 years, and the largest research and education building Harvard University has ever built. A stunning 3 and 4-story structural glass facade parallels the street front while incorporating the building’s main entry, bathing the interior with natural light. Inside, a 500-seat auditorium and multiple meeting rooms accommodate up to 800 researchers working at the facility. The $260 million structure at 77 Avenue Louis Pasteur aims at fundamental discoveries to treat disease and injuries.
The 4-story structure is backed by a 10-story tower. Curtainwall designs for the complex tower facade program were developed by Enclos to provide ample daylight and flexible, open laboratory spaces. Multiple story sky lobbies and split-level communal areas feature clear glass facades with sprawling views of downtown Boston. These high-traffic areas are situated to encourage both formal and informal interaction between the center’s biomedical researchers and department of genetics and pathology students. Cable truss supported glass walls wrap the entire 4-story lobby and conference area at street level. The cable truss system is comprised of a series of regularly spaced pre-stressed vertical cable trusses at five feet on center, supporting a point-fixed glazing system. This entire facade program was designed and built at a blistering pace, and was completed both on time and under budget.
The Harvard Medical Research Center received an AIA Higher Education Design Award.
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