Center for Engineering, Innovation, and Sciences
Wentworth Institute of Technology
Boston, MA

The Center for Engineering, Innovation, and Sciences provides a home for the next evolution in the collegiate study of multiple engineering disciplines. As the Institute’s program transitions from engineering technology to engineering and innovation, this four-story, 75,000-square-foot building comprises a dynamic environment for multi-disciplinary collaboration among students of biology, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, and two of its newest programs, biomedical engineering, and biological engineering.

The Center is located on a midblock site at the heart of the Institute’s urban campus and plays a pivotal role in the campus plan. The building acts as a filter between two sides of the extended campus—the quad and the city—and strengthens the pedestrian pike that links them.

The ground floor of the building is a transparent showcase that contains Accelerate, an interdisciplinary and entrepreneurial project-based program, as well as a high-end additive manufacturing lab. Stepped seating in an adjacent public gathering area invites students and visitors to experience first-hand displays of Wentworth’s engineering capabilities. Simply zoned, the building contains entries and offices along the pike. Floors two through four comprise laboratories, student learning and group meeting spaces, offices, and support/storage space. A light, perforated metal veil draped over the volumes gives the Center a distinctive identity in the surrounding context of masonry buildings.

Intended to be a visible demonstration of sustainable design, the Center incorporates enhanced metering for the Institute’s use and student demonstration. The project exceeds the City of Boston’s requirements of sustainability with a highly-efficient thermal envelope, including sun shading on the east, south and west facades, as well as mechanical equipment designed for maximum efficiency including low-flow fume hoods. As the campus is vulnerable to flooding, resilience measures included raising the ground floor two feet above current grade and minimizing systems equipment in the basement. The building is designed to be LEED Silver Certifiable under LEED v.4.