Boston University’s Duan Family Center for Computing & Data Sciences is now third-party net-zero energy verified by the New Building Institute (NBI) in its Getting to Zero Building Database. NBI is a mission-driven nonprofit organization working to advance scalable and practical approaches that equitably eliminate emissions from the built environment. The Duan Family Center is the third-largest verified project and the largest higher education building in the NBI database. It is also the largest building registered to have LEED Certification.
Completed in 2023, the Duan Family Center is a nearly 350,000-square-foot net-zero and fossil-fuel-free tower, the largest teaching center built at Boston University in half a century. This iconic tower, designed like a stack of books, is a focal point of the University’s Charles River Campus, bringing together interdisciplinary studies centered on data sciences and their intersections across all academic disciplines.
The building uses 31 closed-loop geothermal boreholes to supply 90% of its heating and the majority of the cooling. The all-electric tower also incorporates several other energy-efficiency features, including triple-pane windows, exterior louvers designed as sun shades, and hundreds of sensors throughout the building that optimize energy performance and a healthy environment for occupants.
To date, the Duan Family Center remains one of the largest geothermal buildings in a dense urban setting in the United States. The project was completed by Suffolk Construction and designed by the architects at KPMB. The lead engineers behind the net-zero and fossil fuel-free designs were BR+A, who played a pivotal role in Boston University receiving this recognition through NBI.