Suffolk-Built Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences Selected as Climate Change Project of the Year

Suffolk, one of the largest and most innovative real estate and construction enterprises in the country, today announced the recently completed Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences was recognized by the Environmental Business Council (EBC) as the EBC Ruth H. Silman Climate Change Project of the Year. This prestigious award recognizes a project demonstrating exceptional and forward-thinking leadership in climate change and commitment to integrating an array of climate-resilient and energy efficiency features.

The Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences stands nineteen stories above Boston’s Commonwealth Avenue. More than 345,000 square feet, it is the largest fossil-fuel-free building in Boston, the university’s most energy-efficient building and one of the most sustainable buildings in New England. This unique and complex building is one hundred percent fossil-fuel-free due to a geothermal heating and cooling system, for which Suffolk installed thirty-one bores, each approximately 1,500 feet below the earth’s surface. These bores harness the thermal resources of the earth to heat and cool the building without the need to connect to a gas line, creating a closed-loop system providing ninety percent of the building’s thermal capacity and putting Boston University ahead of schedule for Carbon Free Boston, the city’s 2050 carbon neutrality goal.

“Suffolk is proud and humbled to receive this prestigious award that recognizes projects at the forefront of sustainable design and construction,” said John Fish, Chairman and CEO of Suffolk. “Now more than ever, the built environment is employing innovative solutions to improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions. As a result of Boston University’s visionary leadership and our partners’ dedicated collaboration, we delivered a striking addition to Boston’s skyline and a shining example of sustainable construction for years to come.”

In addition to its geothermal heating and cooling system, the building features exterior louvers to reduce solar heat gain, triple-glazed windows to reduce heat loss, and green roofs to capture rainwater and reduce the urban heat island effect. To make the Center more resilient to future sea level rise, it was built higher than the City of Boston’s suggested level. The interior features open and interconnected staircases, generous public spaces, glass walls and ample study space to invite collaboration, transparency and interconnectedness.

The Boston University Center for Computing & Data Sciences adds to Suffolk’s impressive and diverse portfolio in the Boston area, which includes other signature projects such as the Raffles Boston Back Bay, Boston Children’s Hospital Hale Family Clinical Building and the soon-to-be-completed Winthrop Center, which is the largest Passive House office tower in the world. As a national corporation founded and headquartered in Boston, Suffolk is an innovative industry disruptor well-established in its core competency of construction management while also providing vertical service lines such as real estate development funding, self-perform services, technology research and development and investment, and design-assist. This diverse range of services allows Suffolk to provide value for clients across the entire building lifecycle and leverage technology and innovation to remain on the forefront of innovation and sustainability, ultimately changing the way buildings are planned, built and managed.

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