Global real estate companies Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge recently announced the topping-out of FORUM, a nine-story, 350,000-sf life sciences building in Boston. Located in Boston Landing, a 15-acre mixed-use community, the $545 million project will achieve operational net zero carbon upon completion in 2024.
FORUM’s flexible, 50,000-sf floorplates can accommodate multiple or single-floor tenants in both laboratory and office spaces. Its state-of-the-art mechanical and electrical infrastructure has been engineered to support cutting-edge research and development.
The design by SGA emphasizes the facility’s forward-looking focus, with a curvilinear façade punctuated with copper metal panels and tripled-glazed glass. In addition to a landscaped plaza leading to the double-height lobby, the publicly accessible areas include a community living room and café that can be used for both the building’s and the neighborhood’s programming. The first floor also features an art gallery that will showcase rotating works by local artists.
On the third floor, collaboration spaces in the conference center will serve a variety of meeting sizes and configurations. The third floor also will offer shared tenant amenities, including a kitchen and eating area, plus a 7,000-sf outdoor terrace with cabanas, seating areas, and grilling stations. Private terraces will be available for some tenant spaces.
The façade will integrate 1,600 sf of photovoltaic solar, and a rainwater cistern will reuse captured rainwater for building facilities. The 284-stall parking garage will include electric vehicle charging stations. The building also will have storage for 146 bicycles and on-site locker rooms. The project is targeting LEED Platinum, WiredScore Platinum, and Fitwel certification.
“FORUM reinforces Boston’s reputation as a global hub for medical and biological research while establishing Boston Landing as a destination for leading life sciences companies,” Mark Barer, director of development, Boston, Lendlease, said in a statement.
On the Building Team:
Owner/developer: Lendlease and Ivanhoé Cambridge
Design architect and architect of record: SGA
MEP engineer: BR+A Consulting Engineers
Structural engineer: McNamara Salvia
Construction: Consigli Construction
Related Stories
School Construction | Oct 31, 2022
Claremont McKenna College science center will foster integrated disciplinary research
The design of the Robert Day Sciences Center at Claremont McKenna College will support “a powerful, multi-disciplinary, computational approach to the grand socio-scientific challenges and opportunities of our time—gene, brain, and climate,” says Hiram E. Chodosh, college president.
Higher Education | Oct 24, 2022
Wellesley College science complex modernizes facility while preserving architectural heritage
A recently completed expansion and renovation of Wellesley College’s science complex yielded a modernized structure for 21st century STEM education while preserving important historical features.
Laboratories | Oct 5, 2022
Bigger is better for a maturing life sciences sector
CRB's latest report predicts more diversification and vertical integration in research and production.
Laboratories | Sep 12, 2022
Lab space scarcity propels construction demand in life sciences sector
In its 2021 Life Sciences Real Estate Outlook, JLL predicted that access to talent would be a primary concern for an industry sector that had been growing by leaps and bounds. A year later, talent still guides real estate decisions. But market conditions of a different sort were cooling the biotech field: namely, investors that have soured on startups which underperformed after going public. What this means for new construction and renovation going forward is unpredictable, as the drivers behind life sciences’ surge are still palpable.
| Sep 2, 2022
New UMass Medical School building enables expanded medical class sizes, research labs
A new nine-story, 350,000 sf biomedical research and education facility under construction at the University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School in Worcester, Mass., will accommodate larger class sizes and extensive lab space.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 70 Science + Technology Facility Contractors + CM Firms 2022
Whiting-Turner, Hensel Phelps, DPR Construction, and Skanska USA top the rankings of the nation's largest science and technology (S+T) facility contractors and construction management (CM) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 70 Science + Technology Facility Engineering + EA Firms 2022
Jacobs, CRB, Fluor, and Affiliated Engineers Inc. head the rankings of the nation's largest science and technology (S+T) facility engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 100 Science + Technology Facility Architecture + AE Firms 2022
HDR, Flad Architects, Gensler, and DGA top the rankings of the nation's largest science and technology (S+T) facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 45 Laboratory Facility Contractors and Construction Management Firms for 2022
Whiting-Turner, Hensel Phelps, McCarthy, and STO Building Group top the ranking of the nation's largest science and technology (S+T) laboratory facility contractors and construction management (CM) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Aug 22, 2022
Top 55 Laboratory Facility Engineering + EA Firms for 2022
Jacobs, Affiliated Engineers Inc., Burns & McDonnell, and WSP top the ranking of the nation's largest science and technology (S+T) laboratory facility engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2022 Giants 400 Report.