CASE STUDY:

Situated along the Charles River, this residence hall is LEED Gold certified. Many of the 151 apartments have river views. Constructed in 2008, this masonry cast in place structure houses the Graduate Commons Program, an interdisciplinary program for the graduate community. The project was awarded the Harleston Parker Medal in 2012 as the “single most beautiful building or other structure” recently built in metropolitan Boston.

One of the major challenges of construction was protecting the integrity of a 100 year old MWRA masonry sewer line bisecting the site. The protection of this line throughout construction caused logistical and mitigation challenges to the excavation and earth support elements of construction. A 63,000 SF underground parking garage accommodating 117 cars was constructed beneath the west building. The slurry wall construction of the garage required work around strategies and protection to ensure that the MWRA line was not disrupted at any point during construction.

With a strong sustainability vision the facility included numerous strategies such as: recycled materials, high insulation roofing, high efficiency mechanical systems and national ventilation and lighting.