Building 5, Burlington MA

Project Information

Location

Burlington, MA
Campus

Project Manager  

Paul McAndrew Jacqueline Valencia

Square Feet

350,000 

Architect

EYP Architecture & Engineering, PC

Contractor

Gilbane Building Company

Project Description

Building 5 is a brand-new addition to Northeastern’s Burlington Innovation Campus that provides an excellent location for housing Northeastern industry partners and boosting Northeastern’s research capability. This construction was a design-build project that had an eighteen-month turnaround period.

The building contains the largest Maker Space area adding up to approximately 2000 square feet, with four large hangar doors making it accessible for rather ambitious projects. In addition to that, Building 5 also possesses cutting-edge life science laboratories, the wireless internet of things, radio-frequency simulation, additive & advanced manufacturing, as well as cybersecurity. A few months ago, Building 5 joined a growing group of LEED-certified buildings at Northeastern by receiving its Gold Certification for integrating sustainability in every aspect of this structure, from construction to furnishing and everyday use.

By Chuck Choi, 2022
Despite the pandemic and all of the corresponding challenges, Building’s 5 innovative designs allowed for a rapid repurposing of a life-science laboratory into an advanced testing facility in a matter of weeks. It played an essential part in Northeastern’s efforts to keep COVID-19 at bay and maintain a safe and healthy community. In the summer of 2021, the testing facility received all the remaining equipment, fully staffed and CLIA certified. Thousands of COVID-19 tests were being conducted daily, and the COVID-19 testing facility managed to conduct over a million COVID-19 tests since the launch of the testing center.

Building 5 also pays homage to the history of the place where it is located. The building was constructed near old bunkers, which were previously a part of Boston’s Nike Batteries Defenses System. The historical acoustical wall panel system in the conference centers shows arcs that depict the trajectory of those missiles. In addition to that historical piece, Northeastern also manages water levels in those old bunkers.

 

Learn More about Building 5 Sustainable Features
By Chuck Choi, 2022