Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex

Last updated
Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex
Northeastern ISEC 02.jpg
Exterior of ISEC in 2020
Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex
General information
TypeResearch Facility, Classroom, Laboratory
Town or city Boston, Massachusetts
Country United States
Coordinates 42°20′16″N71°05′13″W / 42.337694°N 71.086917°W / 42.337694; -71.086917 Coordinates: 42°20′16″N71°05′13″W / 42.337694°N 71.086917°W / 42.337694; -71.086917
GroundbreakingFebruary 21, 2014
CompletedApril 3, 2017
Cost$225 Million (2017)
Owner Northeastern University
Technical details
Floor count6
Floor area234,000 square feet (21,700 m2)
Design and construction
Architecture firm Payette
Services engineer Arup Group
LeMessurier Consultants
Main contractor Suffolk Construction
Website
www.northeastern.edu/isec/

The Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) is a 234,000 square-foot (21,700 m2) [1] building at Northeastern University designed for collaborative research, laboratory access, and classroom learning. The building is located on the University's central campus at 805 Columbus Ave, Boston, Massachusetts. The building initially opened on April 3, 2017.

Contents

In 2019 the building won an AIA COTE Top 10 Award. [2] [3]

History

The Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex was first proposed in the 2012 Northeastern University Institutional Master Plan (IMP) draft as a three phase, two building cluster on the existing Columbus lot, a surface parking lot. [4] In the final 2013 version of the document, the complex had been revised to be a three building cluster with an option for a fourth, connected to the main campus by a bridge known as "The Arc". [5] [6] The first building proposed to be constructed in the IMP was known as the Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Building (ISEB). [7]

In April 2013, Payette was selected as the result of an open design contest to design the first phase of ISEC. [8] Their design focused on an energy efficient building envelope, with a distinctive skin of fixed solar shielding reducing solar insolation. [9] The first building received Boston Planning & Development Agency Board approval in November 2013. [10] The building, now referred to in documents as ISEC, officially broke ground in February 2014, with a scheduled completion date in 2016. [11] [12] Suffolk Construction was the primary contractor, with engineering provided by Arup Group and Vanasse Hangen Brustlin. [13] [14] The building was topped off in June 2016. [14]

The building was materially complete and soft opened in January 2017. [15] [16] The official grand opening took place on April 4, 2017. [17] Researchers, students, faculty, administrators, and executives of various research institutions attended the grand opening along with a protesting student environmental group, DivestNU. [18]

In 2018 the building was awarded the Harleston Parker Medal by the Boston Society of Architects, recognizing it as one of the most beautiful buildings in Boston. [19] [20] [21]

Bridge

ISEC Pedestrian Bridge being lifted into place in 2018 ISEC Pedestrian Bridge Installation.jpg
ISEC Pedestrian Bridge being lifted into place in 2018

The rail corridor that serves Amtrak, the Orange Line, and commuter trains makes walking or biking from one side to the other difficult, effectively isolating Northeastern's main campus from the Roxbury neighborhood. To combat this issue, the designers of ISEC included a new public pedestrian bridge that extends from an ISEC to the central campus of Northeastern, with accommodations for pedestrians and cyclists. [22] Construction of the 317 foot bridge began in Fall 2017 and was expected to finish in late 2018. [23] The bridge was lifted into place in October 2018, [24] a revised timeline stated the bridge would open in Q1 2019. [25] The bridge opened to the public in June 2019. [26] The bridge received critical acclaim for its unique weathering steel design and lighting design. [27] [28] The bridge was seeking Envision certification from the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure, [29] and received an Envision Bronze award for sustainable infrastructure in April 2020. [30] [31] The bridge received the 2020 Engineering News-Record New England Award of Merit for Bridges, [32] and won a Design Honor award from the Boston Society of Landscape Architects. [33]

EXP

The original 2013 Institutional Master Plan that proposed ISEC included three buildings in the complex. [34] In May 2019, Northeastern proposed a single second building that would complete the complex, EXP, with plans to begin construction in early 2020. [35] The 350,000 sq ft new building is anticipated to take three years to complete and will include dynamic research spaces for driverless cars and humanoid robots. [36] [37] [38] The building was approved by the Boston Planning and Development Agency in October 2019. [39] Construction began in early 2020, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Construction continued in August 2020. [40] The building is estimated to cost $218,245,000. [41]

Design

ISEC has 6 stories consisting of labs, classrooms, offices, conference rooms, and research facilities. The first floor consists of two 50-seat lecture halls, two 50-seat active learning classrooms, a bicycle storage room, a 24-seat biomaterials teaching lab, a cafe, and a 280-seat auditorium. The building also has a central atrium which extends through all 6 floors and contains the main spiral staircase. Floors 2-5 house an array of experimental labs on the rectangular half of the building and contain offices and conference rooms on the rounded half of the building across the atrium. The 6th floor is structurally similar to floors 2–5, but house computational research facilities in place of the laboratories. The north corner of floors 3-6 contain a computational research room, and floor 2 has a lab classroom in the same corner.

The ISEC building was constructed for collaboration and research. The central body of the building consists of a large atrium that extends from the ground floor to the six-story ceiling. Much of the research space which borders this main atrium is completely visible to observers, allowing for high levels of transparency between the public and different disciplines. Open spaces of collaboration and "research on display" define much of the complex. [42]

ISEC was constructed on an urban brownfield site that was formerly a parking lot set between the Columbus Ave and Renaissance Park Garages. [43] The building achieved a LEED Gold certification in 2018, using 78% less energy than a traditional lab building. [44] The building also has a rainwater retention system that harvests rainwater and uses it to supply 57% of the flushing needs in the building. [45]

Influence and impact

The Boston Globe noted that the completion of the ISEC facility was the culmination of a major shift in the culture, history, and trajectory of Northeastern University. [46] In the past ten years, the university's federal research funding has more than doubled, to the current $130 million a year, and Northeastern has hired 565 new tenured and tenure-track faculty in disciplines directly tied to its research goals since the 2006–2007 academic year. [17] The ISEC building represented a $225 million piece of the $1.6 billion master plan for development proposed by Northeastern to the Boston Planning & Development Agency in November 2013. [7]

The complex has housed a variety of major research projects. The Human-centered robotics research group develops robots and assistive devices. In partnership with NASA, researchers are programming a 6’2” humanoid, Valkyrie, to explore Mars as soon as 2030, ahead of human explorers. [47] This project represents a collaborative effort between Northeastern University, University of Massachusetts Lowell, and NASA's Johnson Space Center. [48]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boston University</span> Private university in Boston, Massachusetts, US

Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campus in Newbury, Vermont, before moving to Boston in 1867.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Polytechnique Montréal</span> Engineering university in Montréal, Quebec, Canada

Polytechnique Montréal is a public research university affiliated with the Université de Montréal in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. In English it is can be referred to as "Montreal Polytechnic", but is more often referred to by its French name. The school offers graduate and postgraduate training, and is very active in research. Following tradition, new Bachelors of Engineering (B.Eng) graduating from Polytechnique Montréal receive an Iron Ring, during the Canadian Ritual of the Calling of an Engineer ceremony.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">University of Limerick</span> University in Ireland, founded as NIHE Limerick

The University of Limerick (UL) is a public research university institution in Limerick, Ireland. Founded in 1972 as the National Institute for Higher Education, Limerick, it became a university in 1989 in accordance with the University of Limerick Act 1989. It was the first university established since Irish independence in 1922, followed by the establishment of Dublin City University later the same day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology</span> Public research university in Clear Water Bay, Hong Kong

The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) is a public research university in Clear Water Bay Peninsula, New Territories, Hong Kong. Founded in 1991 by the British Hong Kong Government, it was the territory's third institution to be granted university status.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northeastern University</span> Private university in Boston, Massachusetts, US

Northeastern University is a private research university with its main campus in Boston. Established in 1898, the university offers undergraduate and graduate programs on its main campus as well as satellite campuses in Charlotte, North Carolina; Seattle, Washington; San Jose, California; Oakland, California; Portland, Maine; and Toronto and Vancouver in Canada. In 2019, Northeastern purchased the New College of the Humanities in London, England. The university's enrollment is approximately 19,000 undergraduate students and 8,600 graduate students. It is classified among "R1: Doctoral Universities – Very high research activity". Northeastern faculty and alumni include Nobel Prize laureates, Rhodes, Truman, Marshall, and Churchill scholars. Undergraduate admission to the university is categorized as "most selective."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Brock University</span> Public university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada

Brock University is a public research university in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. It is the only university in Canada in a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve, at the centre of Canada's Niagara Peninsula on the Niagara Escarpment. The university bears the name of Maj.-General Sir Isaac Brock, who was responsible for defending Upper Canada against the United States during the War of 1812.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Chemnitz University of Technology</span> Public university in Chemnitz, Germany

Chemnitz University of Technology is a public university in Chemnitz, Germany. With over 9,000 students, it is the third largest university in Saxony. It was founded in 1836 as Königliche Gewerbschule and was elevated to a Technische Hochschule, a university of technology, in 1963. With approximately 1,500 employees in science, engineering and management, Chemnitz University of Technology is among the most important employers in the region.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manipal Institute of Technology</span>

The Manipal Institute of Technology is a constituent engineering school of the private Manipal Academy of Higher Education in Manipal, Karnataka, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Osaka Institute of Technology</span>

Osaka Institute of Technology, abbreviated as Dai kōdai (大工大), Han kōdai (阪工大), or Osaka kōdai (大阪工大) is a private university in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. OIT has 3 campuses, Omiya campus located in Asahi-ku, Osaka City, Umeda campus located in Kita-ku, Osaka City and Hirakara campus located in Hirakata City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joseph E. Aoun</span> President of Northeastern University

Joseph Aoun is a Lebanese-born American linguist and the seventh president of Northeastern University in Boston, where he took office on August 15, 2006. Previously, Aoun was dean of the College of Letters, Arts, and Sciences at the University of Southern California. He joined USC in 1982 in the Department of Linguistics, and during his time at USC served as head of the academic Senate.

Swinburne University of Technology Sarawak Campus is the foreign branch campus of Swinburne University and is located in Kuching, Sarawak, Malaysia. Established in 2000, Swinburne Sarawak operates as a partnership between the Sarawak State Government and Swinburne Australia. The initiative behind the Sarawak campus is part of a long-term strategy by Swinburne Australia to "globalize its operations and provide its students with international living, working and learning opportunities".

The campus of Northwestern University encompasses two campuses in Evanston, Illinois and Chicago, Illinois, United States. The original Evanston campus has witnessed approximately 150 buildings rise on its 240 acres (0.97 km2) since the first building opened in 1855. The downtown Chicago campus of approximately 25 acres (100,000 m2) is home to the schools of medicine and law was purchased and constructed in the 1920s and 1930s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Florida Institute for Human and Machine Cognition</span>

The Florida Institute for Human & Machine Cognition (IHMC) is a not-for-profit research institute of the State University System of Florida, with locations in Pensacola and Ocala, Florida. IHMC scientists and engineers investigate a broad range of topics related to building systems aimed at amplifying and extending human cognitive, physical and perceptual capacities.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Missouri University of Science and Technology</span> University in Rolla, Missouri, United States

Missouri University of Science and Technology is a public research university in Rolla, Missouri. It is a member institution of the University of Missouri System. Most of its 7,083 students (2022) study engineering, business, sciences, and mathematics. Known primarily for its engineering school, Missouri S&T offers degree programs in business and management systems, information science and technology, sciences, social sciences, humanities, and arts. Its Carnegie classification is as a "STEM-dominant", R2 doctoral university with "high research activity".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad</span> Public university in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh

The Indian Institute of Information Technology, Allahabad (IIIT-Allahabad), is a public university located in Jhalwa, Allahabad (Prayagraj), in Uttar Pradesh. It is one of the twenty-five Indian Institutes of Information Technology listed by the Ministry of Education (India), and is classified as an Institute of National Importance.

The Northeastern University College of Engineering(COE) is the engineering school of Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. It offers Bachelor of Science (BS), Master of Science (MS) and doctoral degrees, as well as graduate certificates, in a variety of engineering fields, as well as undergraduate and graduate degrees in interdisciplinary and engineering fields. It is by the accredited by the Engineering Accreditation Commission of ABET

The campus of the University of Tokyo is the location of the first modern Japanese university. The campus is of historical note for two reasons. First, it was not damaged by air raids during World War II. Second, many university buildings have been declared National Treasures of Japan as they are examples of historic architectural design. This article focuses on registered cultural heritage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SUNY Polytechnic Institute</span> Technical school in Albany, New York

The State University of New York Polytechnic Institute is a public university with campuses in Marcy and Albany, New York. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1966 using classrooms at a primary school, what became SUNY Poly is New York's public polytechnic college. The Marcy campus, formerly the SUNY Institute of Technology, has a Utica, New York mailing address and was established in 1987. The Albany campus was formerly a component of the University at Albany, and was established in January 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moody Pedestrian Bridge</span> Pedestrian bridge in Austin, Texas

The Moody Pedestrian Bridge is a pedestrian bridge in Austin, Texas on the campus of the University of Texas at Austin. It connects two buildings within the Moody College of Communication across a street.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology</span>

The TUM School of Computation, Information and Technology (CIT) is a school of the Technical University of Munich, established in 2022 by the merger of three former departments. As of 2022, it is structured into the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Computer Engineering, the Department of Computer Science, and the Department of Electrical Engineering.

References

  1. ↑ "Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex". Architectmagazine.com. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  2. ↑ Gerfen, Katie (April 22, 2019). "AIA Announces the Winners of the 2019 AIA COTE Top 10 Awards". Architect Magazine.
  3. ↑ "Top 10 green buildings for 2019". Building Design + Construction. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  4. ↑ "NU IMPNF 2012". bostonplans.org. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  5. ↑ "NU IMP Final 2013". bostonplans.org. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  6. ↑ "Northeastern maps its plans for Columbus Avenue and Roxbury". Boston.com. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  7. 1 2 "Northeastern University to Expand with New Research Building". www.cpexecutive.com. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  8. ↑ "New Project at Northeastern University". 1 April 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  9. ↑ "Payette Designs a Curvy Research Building, Parks for Boston's Northeastern University". Archpaper.com. 12 December 2013. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  10. ↑ "PUBLIC HEARING TO CONSIDER THE NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY INSTITUTIONAL MASTER PLAN AND THE INTERDISCIPLINARY SCIENCE AND ENGINEERING BUILDING AS A DEVELOPMENT IMPACT PROJECT". bostonplans.org. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  11. ↑ "Northeastern breaks ground on state-of-the-art science and engineering complex". news.northeastern.edu. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  12. ↑ "Northeastern Breaks Ground on New Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex". Medium. 30 September 2016. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  13. ↑ "Suffolk Completes Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex at Northeastern - High-Profile Boston - Northeastern University ushered in a new era of transformative research with the official opening of its Interdisciplinary Science and A, education, featured, Higher Education, ISEC, Northeastern University, p617 All". High-Profile. 25 May 2017. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  14. 1 2 "VHB, Northeastern University Celebrate Project Milestone". www.vhb.com. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  15. ↑ "Northeastern University Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex Opens". www.architectmagazine.com. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  16. ↑ "Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) at Northeastern University". BLDUP. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  17. 1 2 Young, Colin A. "Northeastern University formally opens $225 million science, engineering facility - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  18. ↑ "Politicians, student demonstrators turn out for ISEC opening". The Huntington News. 2017-04-04. Retrieved 2017-11-28.
  19. ↑ "Harleston Parker Medal". Boston Society for Architecture. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  20. ↑ "Northeastern has the 'most beautiful' building in Boston". news.northeastern.edu. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  21. ↑ "Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex — BSA Design Awards | Boston Society of Architects" . Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  22. ↑ "A Curved Walkway Highlights University's Building Project | ASCE". www.asce.org. Archived from the original on 12 April 2020. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  23. ↑ "New England City Scoop: Construction Starts in Boston". www.enr.com. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  24. ↑ "Payette-led Bridge Spans Rail Corridor to Unite Northeastern's Campus". www.architecturalrecord.com. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  25. ↑ "An engineering feat completed as Northeastern pedestrian bridge that will unite Boston campus is raised". news.northeastern.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  26. ↑ Schwartz, Deanna (2019-06-04). "ISEC footbridge opens to mixed response". The Huntington News. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  27. ↑ McKnight, Jenna (14 September 2019). "Payette creates sinuous bridge with weathering steel walls over rail tracks in Boston". Dezeen. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  28. ↑ Lentz, Linda. "ISEC Pedestrian Crossing at Northeastern University by Payette and Arup". www.architecturalrecord.com. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  29. ↑ "LGA Terminal B Redevelopment Receives First Envision Platinum Award". Metropolitan Airport News. 21 August 2019. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  30. ↑ "ISEC Pedestrian Bridge". Institute For Sustainable Infrastructure. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  31. ↑ Carothers, Luke (20 April 2020). "Skanska Awarded Prestigious Envision® Certification for Sustainable Construction of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex (ISEC) Pedestrian Bridge at Northeastern University". Civil + Structural Engineer magazine. Retrieved 16 July 2020.
  32. ↑ "Award of Merit Highway/Bridge and Safety Award of Merit: Northeastern University ISEC Pedestrian Crossing". www.enr.com. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  33. ↑ "Boston Society of Landscape Architects – Announcing the 2020 BSLA Design Award Winners!" . Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  34. ↑ "Boston Campus Institutional Master Plan". BPDA. 2013-11-19.
  35. ↑ Sarwari, Khalida; Thomsen, Ian (2019-06-11). "Northeastern University to construct new research building to support university's work in autonomous vehicles, drones, humanoid robots, and more". News@Northeastern. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  36. ↑ Carlock, Catherine. "Northeastern proposes second science, engineering complex". Boston Business Journal. Retrieved 4 October 2019.
  37. ↑ Gaffin, Adam (2019-05-28). "New Northeastern building would include space for improving driverless cars - and building humanoid robots that could ride in them". Universal Hub. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  38. ↑ LaFratta, Kristin (2019-05-30). "Proposed Northeastern building would house innovative hub to research driverless cars, 'humanoid robots'". masslive.com. Retrieved 2019-06-26.
  39. ↑ "NU EXP Gets the Green Light From BPDA". Bldup. Retrieved 18 October 2019.
  40. ↑ "EXP construction". news.northeastern.edu. Retrieved 2020-08-09.
  41. ↑ "Boston Employment Commission Project Review - Northeastern EXP" (PDF). Boston.gov. Retrieved 18 April 2022.
  42. ↑ "Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex - Payette". World-Architects. Retrieved 12 April 2020.
  43. ↑ "Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Complex – Payette". www.payette.com. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  44. ↑ "Northeastern University ISEC Earns LEED Gold – Payette" . Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  45. ↑ "Rainwater Harvesting at ISEC". facilities.northeastern.edu. Retrieved 24 November 2020.
  46. ↑ "ISEC building emblem of new era at Northeastern - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  47. ↑ "Interdisciplinary Science & Engineering Complex (ISEC) - Northeastern University" . Retrieved 2017-11-29.
  48. ↑ "NASA Awards R5 Valkyrie Robots to MIT and Northeastern". IEEE Spectrum: Technology, Engineering, and Science News. Retrieved 2017-11-29.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.