Allston, Massachusetts, USA
Leers Weinzapfel Associates have completed the expansion of the Harvard University District Energy Facility in Allston, a project that is a visual celebration of the numerous invisible benefits of district energy plants: energy efficiency, reduced energy costs, decreased carbon emissions, and lowered air pollution.
Harvard University District Energy Facility has recently been awarded a 2023 Green Good Design Award by The Chicago Athenaeum: Museum of Architecture and Design and The European Centre for Architecture Art Design and Urban Studies.
Harvard University District Energy Facility Allston, MA Cities account for 70% of the world’s energy consumption.
Almost 50% of the energy is used for heating or cooling. District energy systems are one of the most effective ways to mitigate climate change.
Occupying a previously deserted railyard, the project introduces native vegetation and water management to activate the area’s biodiversity and minimize stormwater runoff.
Resiliency, flexibility, and innovation are key goals for the design to transition to a fossil-fuel-free future, withstand climate impacts including storm surge flooding, and provide a reliable, resilient source of heating, cooling, and electricity to the Allston campus.
A thermal energy storage tank with a 13,400-ton-hour capacity permits off-peak energy use for chilled water generation with significant cost savings and reduces stress on the electrical grid during peak hours.
The building’s compact cubic form with site-saving rounded corners for vehicular paths allows for flexibility in future development around it while maintaining a singularly bold and refined presence.
Aluminum fins at varying angles form a screen around the building, revealing, or concealing the various equipment areas within.
On the public faces of the building, the fins are raised to engage the community by putting technology on display.
The DEF is one of the first new buildings to be completed on the Allston campus, therefore carrying the responsibility of setting a high standard of quality and design as well as of creating a visible demonstration of sustainable practice in building, landscape, and stormwater management.
The DEF began providing utilities to the new Science and Engineering Center well before the completion of either building; the DEF building and site are certified LEED Gold.
Project: Harvard University District Energy Facility
Architects: Leers Weinzapfel Associates
Lead Architects: Jane Weinzapfel and Andrea Leers
Design Team: Irene Kang, Zhanina Boyadzhieva, Bruce Buescher, Langer Y. Hsu, and Joshua Liebla
General Contractor: Bond Brothers
Client: Harvard Campus Services – Capital Projects
Photographers: Brad Feinknopf and Francis Krahe