Yawkey Center for Student Services

100 Bay State Road (at the corner of Deerfield Street)

The Yawkey Center for Student Services at Boston University, completed in 2012, united six formerly scattered academic advising programs for undergraduate students into a single facility. A new dining hall, anchoring dining operations in the East Campus area, replaced three undersized and outdated dining locations. The dining component has 11 different food concepts. The Center is an East Campus destination, creating synergies of support and increasing visibility for these important student services. The Center is certified LEED Gold by the US Green Building Council.

PROJECT GOALS

• Foster BU East Campus student community
• Enhance historic Bay State Road context while creating a transition from low-scale neighborhood to future denser development along Commonwealth Avenue
• Animate streets with visible vibrant student activity
• Achieve restaurant-quality dining experiences
• Establish visible gathering and dining spaces along street
• Achieve significant sustainable design measures

SCOPE / PROGRAM / FACTS

• 122,000 gsf constructible / 6 stories with full basement (3 stories of dining, 4 floors of student services plus ground floor)
• 3.8 zoning floor area ratio (FAR) square feet
• Dining Services: 46,000 gsf
• Student Services: 56,000 gsf

Floor B: Bay State Underground Bay State Underground features two distinct cafes — one featuring traditional, late-night comfort foods and the other a modern twist of ramen noodle bowls. A true late night dining destination, Bay State Underground is open late every day!

Floors 1 & 2: Student Resident Dining | The Fresh Food Company at Marciano Commons (FFCo) The FFCo has been designed to hold 985 students across two floors of dining space. The entire space is unified by a large opening in the second floor that allows students to view the next level, and beyond, through the massive skylight. The state-of-the-art facility features fresh-made pasta and fresh-baked tandoori alongside a dedicated gluten-free kitchen and gluten-free pantry. Plus, a complete vegan kitchen station without worry of cross-contact and daily offerings of Halal menu items. Here you’ll find one of the longest salads bars on campus loaded with proteins and greens featuring tons of locally sourced produce from New England and as well as a fireplace and 6 HD TVs.

Floor 3: CAS Writing Center The CAS Writing Center houses the CAS Writing Program, which helps BU undergraduates with opportunities to acquire writing and communication skills and more general habits of mind, essential to their full participation in the intellectual life of the University and to their future personal, professional, and civic lives. The program pursues the mission directly, through its courses and tutorials, and indirectly, by supporting faculty programs, departments, colleges, and schools across the University in their efforts to help their own students develop as writers. The Writing Program offers a sequence of theme-based writing seminars through which most BU students fulfill their writing requirements. It also offers courses for non-native speakers of English and maintains a tutoring center open to College of Arts & Sciences (CAS) students and students in CAS classes. The program offers approximately 375 courses and enrolls almost 6,500 students annually. Over 100 people, including 47 full-time faculty members, teach or tutor in the Writing Program.

Floor 4: Academic Advising | Pre-Professional Advising | Student Programs & Leadership Student Academic Life in CAS provides advising and support for CAS students and oversees the academic policies and procedures that support the mission of the College. CAS Student Academic Life is comprised of three offices: Academic Advising, which supports students as they plan, build, and complete their undergraduate degrees; Pre-Professional Advising, which addresses the academic needs of students pursuing degrees and careers in law or the health sciences; and Student Programs & Leadership, which provides students opportunities for an enriched academic life in and out of the classroom, including the coordination of the College’s First-Year Experience program.

Floors 5 & 6: Center for Career Development | Educational Resource Center Open to all Boston University students and alumni, but with a primary focus on the undergraduate population, the Center for Career Development (CCD) seeks to educate and empower students and alumni to make informed decisions regarding their academic and career development in preparation for a life of meaningful career transitions.

The Educational Resource Center (ERC) is Boston University’s academic support center. Its staff is dedicated to promoting a disciplined approach to studying by encouraging students to develop awareness of their learning styles, make strategic use of academic resources on campus, and think independently. Boston University recognizes the intricate relationship between a student’s academic development and pre-professional exploration. The co-location of the CCD and ERC within the new Center for Student Services represents the University’s commitment to providing students with comprehensive and seamless services to help them achieve their educational and professional goals.

MATERIALS

• Exterior: brick, cast stone, zinc panels
• Interior: terrazzo, white oak, maple, 34 kinds of tile, Venetian plaster

SUSTAINABLE DESIGN MEASURES

• LEED Gold registered—currently in the midst of the certification process
• High performance building envelope: double insulated walls, spray foam insulation between studs, mineral wool outside of studs
• Day lighting and occupancy controls
• High-efficiency lighting—primarily LED lighting
• Low-flow plumbing and kitchen fixtures
• Variable speed kitchen exhaust hood system with make-up air at hoods
• Consolidated refrigeration system
• Food waste pulping/compost system
• Ground and stormwater retention system
• Bicycle parking and storage
• Full building recycling program
• Low-emitting materials
• Green cleaning measures
• Green roof on 3rd floor with native

Project Awards

Associated General Contractors of Massachusetts: Build New England Honor Award
Environmental Design & Construction Magazine: Excellence in Design
Learning by Design: Grand Prize New Construction
Illuminating Engineer Society: Regional Award for Excelling in Lighting Design
American Schools & University Magazine: Bronze Citation – Student Centers / Service Areas