Our sense of BU’s Charles River Campus, for most of us, is shaped by what we see from the ground or peering out classroom, dorm, and office windows.
But BU Today photographer Cydney Scott wanted to share a different perspective. Over the past four months, Scott has been shooting from the rooftops of various buildings, connecting with departments and offices across campus to get access to spaces that for the most part are off limits to the BU community.
“Considering I’m afraid of heights, this was a strange project to take on,” she acknowledges. “But in an era where drone footage has become commonplace, I thought the challenge of physically going up to roofs would be interesting to pursue.”
Scott learned a lot throughout the fall, she says, including how the horticulturists who care for the green roofs at the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences painstakingly record changes in the roofs’ greenery and the fact that the Facilities Management & Operations roofing team consists of just three roofers.
“Working on projects is always interesting, especially when they allow me to look at BU in a new way,” she says, adding that “the best part is how helpful people are when I get in touch with them to pursue an idea like this.”
Take a look at the images Scott captured. We think you’ll agree that they offer a unique look at a landscape we take for granted every day.
Students enjoying a warm fall afternoon at the Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences fifth floor Student Pavilion.Natalie McKnight, dean of the College of General Studies, planting lupines on the CGS fourth floor rooftop courtyard. While safety reasons prevent students from accessing the rooftop, it is surrounded on three sides by classrooms and study spaces, allowing occupants to enjoy the view. “It was always my dream to green up that courtyard,” McKnight says. “It was basically nothing more than broken up concrete and two large planters with weeds 20 years ago when I started planting bulbs in the planters. After becoming dean and raising enough money from donors, we had the whole courtyard planted with sedum, a winterberry tree, a witch hazel tree, and lots of arborvitae. The combination creates a lovely green oasis in our building.”View of the fourth floor podium roof on the west side of Warren Towers, where workers are installing new roofing.Rachel Mooers (GRS’24,’27) (left) and Claire Naughton (GRS’25,’28) cleaning a collimator that captures solar radiation as part of a remote sensing instrument monitoring air quality on the College of Arts & Sciences building roof. Part of the same project, identical instruments (called “Pandoras”) are in Chelsea and Lynn, Mass., and at Harvard. Globally, a network of these instruments comprises the “Pandonia Global Network.” Naughton will use measurements of formaldehyde from the instrument to investigate how coastal meteorology influences air quality, while Mooers uses the data to support our understanding of observations from the recently launched TEMPO satellite. The research is being conducted via BU’s Atmospheric Remote Sensing and Modeling Group, led by Jeffrey Geddes, a CAS associate professor of Earth and environment.On the CAS roof, BI306: Biology of Global Change students tour the Geddes Research Group rooftop lab to learn about the impacts of urbanization on terrestrial ecosystems. They also got a closer look at atmospheric deposition collectors (used to measure air pollution) and a precipitation gauge (used to measure the amount of rainfall).Jonas Herbst (right), Recovery Green Roofs lead horticulturist, adjusts his safety tether while he and colleague Jasper Fowle, a horticultural specialist, weed the the CDS building sixth floor green roof. “You could make a whole salad!” Herbst shouted over the wind at one point, noting the large amounts of dandelion, lambsquarters, and garlic mustard they were pulling up. Many of the greens were not planted by the team, but germinated from seeds dropped by birds. The team regularly visits the building’s green roofs to weed, garden, clean drains, track erosion, and add new plantsHorticulturalist Cam Lopresti from Recovery Green Roofs weeding on the CDS sixth floor roof.The HVAC system on the CAS rooftop getting some attention.Visitors using BU’s telescopes on the CAS building roof during the weekly BU Coit Observatory Public Open Night. Hosted by the astronomy department, the open night is held Wednesdays (weather permitting). Tickets (free) are required. Depending on which of three telescopes visitors were using, on this evening they were able to see the moon, a globular cluster, and Saturn.BU roofer Mike Irving inspecting the roofs of BU South Campus residences along Buswell Street. The roofs are checked daily for leaks and repairs.Quinn Sykes, Coit Observatory manager, checks in on a few astronomy students (not pictured) while they orient a telescope for their observational astronomy class lab.BU Facilities roofers Michael Kurtyka, Jr. (left), and Mike Irving patch holes, nearly imperceptible to the eye, on the Agganis Arena roof. Along with lead roofer Colin Allen, they are responsible for all the roofs on campus, applying between 50 and 100 patches a day as preventive measures and/or reinforcement.Roofers pulling up the roof for replacement at the 6 Buswell Street undergrad residence.A wildly popular yearly event: BU’s annual Halloween Pumpkin Drop draws scads of viewers from campus and around the area. Hosted by BU’s physics department, students, faculty, and staff help pumpkins loaded with various substances take flight off the Metcalf Science Center roof. This pumpkin, propelled by Indara Suarez, a CAS associate professor of physics, was foaming from the vinegar and baking soda combo added by Payton Harvill (CAS’26) (disguised as a shrimp). In the nearly 60 pumpkins launched from the roof to the plaza below were baked beans, flour, Coke, Mentos candies, peas and carrots, ketchup, and mayonnaise. A rotten pumpkin and a frozen pumpkin also took the plunge. The Pumpkin Drop has been a popular draw since 1998, with the exception of a few years during the pandemic. Suarez has been participating since 2018.
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Photo Essay: A Bird’s-Eye View of BU’s Charles River Campus
