BU’s Center for Computing & Data Sciences is Taking Shape
Taking Shape
Taking Shape
From the moment the design of BU’s Center for Computing & Data Sciences (CDS) was revealed in an architectural rendering in fall 2018, a debate began over its aesthetics. “Ugly,” “Fantastic,” “Unappealing,” “Bravo!” “Horrible,” “Audacious,” “Bold and gutsy,” “Minecraftian”—the opinions were endless. As President Robert A. Brown noted presciently at the time, “A remarkable piece of architecture is architecture about which everyone makes a remark.”
Now, after roughly two years of construction, and with roughly 200 to 250 workers on the job on any given day, the building at the corner of Comm Ave and Granby Street, designed to resemble a slightly askew stack of books, has begun to take shape in the last few weeks. Most significantly, white beams came down to reveal the cantilevers that give it such a unique, and controversial, look. Designed by KPMB Architects of Toronto, and being built by Suffolk Construction, the building has a five-story base, which acts like a podium, with 12 floors above it for departments and centers, plus an additional two stories for mechanical systems, divided into segments of two or three floors, each one off-center from the one below it.
Above, slide the bars left and right to see two different perspectives of how the Center for Computing & Data Sciences appears under construction, now, and how it will look when finished in late 2022. Photos by Jackie Ricciardi
In addition to being BU’s most-talked-about structure, it will also be its tallest and most sustainable and energy-efficient, with geothermal wells, state-of-the-art shading, unusually thick windows, and other features that allow it to be 100 percent free of fossil fuels.
And Brown, for one, has strolled by on occasion and snapped a few pictures of the work in progress. “It is really exciting to watch the shape of the center emerge and to talk to others about their reactions to the architecture,” he says. “I also have had the opportunity to go inside. The building has great spaces for education, research, and community. And it has wonderful views. CDS is going to meet the goal of redefining the center of the Charles River Campus.”
As for the building’s timeline, Walt Meissner (CFA’81), BU associate vice president for operations, says the project remains on track to be completely enclosed and weather-tight by April 2022, to have a certificate of occupancy next fall, and begin moving furniture and tech equipment in by November. “Departmental moves will begin a year from now,” he says, “with most of those move-ins occurring over intersession into early January. The project team is determined to officially open a fully operational building for the start of the spring semester in January 2023.”
Construction continues on the CDS building, November 17 (left). The new CDS building seen from the Sargent College roof, November 22 (right). Photos by Cydney Scott and Jackie Ricciardi
View of Commonwealth Ave from the CDS 14th floor, November 17 (left). New England Finishing Systems carpenter Carol Rogers waterproofing the CDS fifth floor exterior, November 17. Photos by Cydney Scott
Views of the CDS from Warren Towers, November 16 (left) and November 30 (right). Photos by Cydney Scott
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