º£½ÇÊÓƵ

Harvard Medical School – West Commons

Boston, USA

º£½ÇÊÓƵ supported Harvard Medical School (HMS) to develop the vision for an attractive courtyard infill atrium to help maximize space on its campus, which dates back to 1906.

The aspiration is for the development to help bring together three different academic departments and encourage interdisciplinary connectivity. The new West Commons will create a collaborative gathering space, showcasing the character of the historic campus context beneath a landmark glass roof.

Harvard Medical School’s new atrium will be created through a courtyard infill to create a collaborative gathering space, beneath a landmark glass roof.

We delivered insight and design services across building services engineering (MEP), fire safety systems engineering, energy analysis, IT and security.

A key challenge was understanding the thermal performance of the atrium and how it would impact the rest of the building.

Alongside CFD analysis, we utilized a game engine to visualize results, leveraging gaming software to communicate the complex thermal environment to stakeholders.

Challenge

º£½ÇÊÓƵ was engaged to deliver design and consultancy around building services engineering (MEP), alongside fire safety systems engineering and energy analysis, as well as ICT and security advisory scope. Our multidisciplinary team worked closely with both the architect, ARO, and the design teams to ensure the design fits with the Harvard Medical School’s wider vision and strategy.

In addition to creating more conference and community space, the project is also seeking to create better accessible spaces to meet the latest ADA guidelines. The six-story infill will support HMS’s sustainability goals by implementing resilient building technologies such as energy recovery, enhanced ventilation strategies and support for the integration of the Harvard Green Building Standards (HGBS).

The key challenge for our MEP team is working around the constraints of the space, to integrate new infrastructure that efficiently couples with the building’s existing systems. Another key challenge for the team would be understanding the thermal performance of this enormous space and how it will impact the rest of the building, which will be open to the atrium via a series of open landings at every level.

The various sections of the existing fabric date from different periods – some original from the 1906 campus foundation and other elements from the 1960s and 1970s. This would create further challenges around system integration and code compliance.

Solution

The new atrium will enclose a 7,000ft² courtyard at Building C to connect researchers of three departments (Biological Chemistry & Molecular Pharmacology; Cell Biology; and the Therapeutics Initiative). Driven by close collaboration between architect ARO and the institution’s leadership and researchers, the design aims to support the transition of programs from an internally-focused research model to one that is more multidisciplinary and collaborative.

We advised on energy code consulting, and delivered detailed spatial energy modeling and analysis to help inform the MEP strategy. We looked at the impact of the new glass ceiling facade and how solar gain would affect thermal comfort in the atrium, while advising on how these considerations could be best balanced with aspirations to minimize the operational carbon of heating and cooling systems.

Our experts also delivered computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and game engine analysis, which used the processing power of gaming software, to support the detailed modeling of the thermal behaviour and air stream patterns of the space. This also helped us to communicate the iterations of the spatial design to the client and wider stakeholders.

A radiant underfloor heating and cooling system was incorporated to support the thermal adaptability to meet the requirements of comfort at different times of the year. This is enhanced as required by an additional variable flow air handling unit. A series of smart sensors will be installed throughout the space to enable an autonomously reactive system to support maximum efficiencies.

Ventilation rates were also optimized beyond the basic code requirements. This was influenced by HMS’s own research around healthy ventilation during the Covid 19 pandemic. The location of ventilation intakes had to be carefully considered. The nature of a courtyard infill means all sides are barriered by the existing fabric. We were also conscious of the air quality above the space, due to exhausts from the surrounding hospital and research spaces. An innovative solution was developed that required the design of complex air intake infrastructure that utilises a buried duct tunnel.

We designed the fire smoke control system, to meet the requirements highlighted by CFD modeling carried out by collaborators Code Red Consultants. Our experts also advised on the integration and upgrade of existing fire alarms as one system across the three existing connected buildings and the new space.

The MEP strategy also factored in a degree of future-proofed readiness, to enable an eventual conversion of the existing gas-fired steam-based district heating network and district cool water system, to adapt to more sustainable technologies in the coming years.

Our ICT and security teams also delivered specialist consultancy to support full integration with existing systems for the main building.

Value

Our multidisciplinary team worked closely with the architect, other technical collaborators and the client, to help shape a new atrium space that will perform robustly and resiliently and deliver a safe and comfortable environment for the Harvard Medical School’s community.

The project, which has been made possible thanks to a $75m gift from longtime Harvard Medical School friend and supporter Ernesto Bertarelli, will bring cohesion to the existing campus. In recognition of this generous donation, Building C will be named the Bertarelli Building following completion of the atrium’s construction.