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Emmanuel College
Maureen Murphy Wilkens Science Center

The Science Center's abundant natural light makes it a wonderful place to learn and research, while sweeping campus views bring a strong sense of place to its interiors.

  • Location

    • Boston, MA

    Size

    • 55,000 GSF

    Program

    • Teaching and research labs, interactive teaching and learning classrooms, career center, offices, meeting spaces

    Practice area

Strategic siting shapes the future of interdisciplinary collaboration

Born out of Goody Clancy’s master plan for Emmanuel College, the Wilkens Science Center was designed to be the public face of the “endowment campus,” a new campus sector created to attract private research investment.

Strategically sited as a threshold building between the campus and the Longwood Medical Area, the Wilkens Science Center acts as a portal to the central quadrangle and to the surrounding campus landscape. This link is now a central hub of circulation; students traverse easily from Wilkens to the administration building, from the student center to the neighboring dormitories, and from the library to the Longwood Medical Area beyond.

The building encloses the reconfigured Main Quad and puts science on prominent display.
The Science Center connects to the Administration Building—the college’s oldest structure—via a four-story glass volume.
Wilkens is a portal at an important campus crossroads. To the west lies the library and Longwood Medical Area; the college residential precinct sits to the east.

Connectivity, Visibility, and Discovery

Emmanuel’s central aim was to make science a tangible and fundamental part of their curriculum. Labs are organized to showcase the inner workings of science education, teaching, research, and collaboration. Floor-to-ceiling glass fills workspaces with natural light and animates the main quad with glimpses of the teaching and research happening within.

Our students learn the practice of science in labs that are comparable to what they will find at offsite internships and future employers.
Josef M. KurtzProfessor of Biology
Rather than being segregated, teaching and research labs are positioned next to each other, fostering cohesion between and within departments.
Informal study and collaboration spaces feature generous views of the campus.
The Main Quad provides a backdrop for biology teaching labs.
Transparency in corridors offers glimpses into classrooms and research spaces.
Corridors are bookended by collaboration spaces with floor-to-ceiling windows.
The glazed entry, visible from the main vehicular approach into the campus, marks the juncture of Emmanuel with the Blackfan research corridor and announces the Science Center’s presence as member of the Longwood community.
Project impact
  • 120

    Below-grade parking spaces, reducing the reliance on surface parking in the Fenway, increasing ground permeability in an area sensitive to stormwater runoff, and allowing the college to landscape more of its campus.

Large, research-intensive universities segregate teaching labs from research labs, and designated teaching space is usually inferior compared to research space. The unique arrangement of the WSC reflects our philosophy of engaging undergraduates in faculty research and integrating our teaching and research.
Paul MarchProfessor of Biology

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Project Team

Acentech

Cosentini Associates

Falk Associates

Jensen Hughes

Carol R. Johnson & Associates

LeMessurier

Rickes Associates

Page/SST Planners

Vermeulens

Photography

Anton Grassl

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