One Milestone West

Location
Boston, MA

Status
Under Construction

Client
Tishman Speyer and Breakthrough Properties

Type
Educational, Office, Lab

Size
240,000 sf

Sustainability
Targeting LEED Gold, Fitwel 2 Star

Tags

A new hub for advancing science and research, One Milestone West establishes a welcoming, flexible environment that encourages interaction, experimentation, and contemplation. Fostering connections between indoors and outdoors and amplifying opportunities for collaboration with surrounding institutions and the wider neighborhood, the lab aims to become a new destination for Greater Boston’s scientific community.

Located at the southeast end of the Enterprise Research Campus—a new mixed-use district in the Boston neighborhood of Allston—One Milestone West is part of the university’s initiative to deepen links between research and industry leaders and provide a mix of inviting public spaces for residents and visitors to use year-round. The design’s carved form and transparent façade respond directly to this mission. At ground level, the façade subtly steps back to create sheltered areas for dining and socializing, activating the building’s edges and the campus’ central greenway.

Welcoming people inside and increasing opportunities for different tenants and visitors to interact, the main entrance is shared with One Milestone East—the building’s adjoining laboratory designed by Henning Larsen—and opens onto a transparent three-story atrium that can host a range of programs from small talks to public performances. The upper floors are dedicated to flexible lab and workspaces. Carving is kept to a minimum on the south side to maintain optimal depth for lab use, while on the north, the stepped form opens up inviting terraces, offering workers access to fresh air and expansive views.

The building’s long horizonal bands of tiled metallic panels set up a dynamic contrast with the vertically articulated facade of the adjoining building to the east.

Carefully tuned to balance thermal performance year-round, the building’s strata-like façade is made up of long bands of solid zones interspersed with glazing, bringing ample natural light inside. As you move along the façade, the panels shift subtly in color, establishing a dynamic presence on campus. The building’s carved form also allows sunlight to reach the public green spaces below where bio-swales and -retention tanks are integrated throughout the revitalized landscape—demonstrating that laboratories can not only be welcoming and engaging workspaces but also integral to the development of a more sustainable civic realm.

From planted terraces that offer fresh air and natural light to its high-performance envelope, One Milestone West pursues a range of strategies to lower its impact on the environment.

Project Team

Arrowstreet (partnered with UX Architecture Studio): Architect of Record

Henning Larsen, One Milestone East and Connector Design Architect

McNamara Salvia, Structural Engineer

Nitsch Engineering, Civil Engineer

Haley & Aldrich, Geotechnical Engineer

BR+A, MEP/FP Consultant

SCAPE, Landscape Architect Arrowstreet, Sustainability Consultant

Integrated Eco Strategy, Materials Consultant

Acentech, Acoustic Consultant

HLB, Lighting Design

Code Red, Code Consultant

Walker Consultants, Parking Consultant

RWDI, Air Re-entrainment Consultant

Edgett Williams Consulting Group, Vertical Transportation Consultant

Emily Borland Specifications, Architectural Specifications Consultant

Front, Façade Design Consultant

Lerch Bates, Façade Access Consultant

RDH Building Science Inc., Water Proofing Consultant

Campbell McCabe, Door Hardware Consultant

Turner Construction, Contractor

Related

Now

Harvard News — "Tishman Speyer to develop first phase of Enterprise Research Campus in Allston"

“Capturing the spirit of innovation of the Enterprise Research Campus, our design will transform a former industrial site into a fertile new ground for the exchange of ideas and creative expression.” — Jeanne Gang