University of Massachusetts Boston
Integrated Sciences Complex

Striking new architectural identity signals future growth on campus

The ISC was designed to make a strong statement of intent for UMass Boston, symbolizing the University’s investment in science teaching and research. Beautifully lit and invitingly transparent, the ISC commands attention from across the harbor and represents a new design direction for the development of the UMass Boston campus.

Programmed for affinity-based, cross-disciplinary collaboration

In a traditional lab building, each department has a floor or wing of its own, which can lead to inflexibility and departmental silos. At the ISC, we collaborated with faculty and administrators to create a design which prioritizes natural affinities between departments based on pedagogy, shared research inquiry, shared lab equipment, and infrastructure.

Departments are distributed across multiple floors, grouping researchers by affinities with departmental counterparts. The open plan labs facilitate space and equipment sharing, encourage interdisciplinary research and collegiality, and accommodate changes in research focus.

Sensible integration of new construction with the landscape

Our landscape goal was to embrace the natural surroundings of the harbor and integrate the building’s educational mission with a set of newly designed outdoor spaces. The project restores a former brownfield to a natural harbor island habitat, regenerating the local ecosystem. The creation of a “meadow” and accompanying sand dunes cultivate low-maintenance native plant species which thrive on minimal irrigation, further conserving water resources.