Productivity
Innovative systems put Genzyme's new headquarters at the forefront of green technology.
By Kira L. Gould
January 2004
Global biotech firm Genzyme's new corporate headquarters is a 12-story glassy
surprise in redbrick Cambridge, Massachusetts. Part of the 10-acre Kendall
Square development, it is one of several buildings to result from a design
competition. Behnisch Behnisch & Partner, of Stuttgart and Los Angeles,
submitted a design inspired by daylight, energy efficiency, air quality, and
other sustainable-design aims--captivating the jury, developers, and Genzyme's
CEO, Henri Termeer. "They designed a building that is alive on the inside,
where people can work creatively and productively," Termeer says.
"They picked up strongly on Genzyme's innovative nature and collaborative
culture, and helped us realize our goal of creating a building that is
responsible both to the community and to our employees."
Lacking the energy-hogging laboratories of many of the company's other
facilities, the headquarters provided a unique opportunity, project manager
Gordon Brailsford says. "Our CEO was inspired by Behnisch's approach to
the building as an organism," he says, "something that would react to
elements of nature, including people."
The 350,000-square-foot building may become the country's largest to be
certified at the platinum level of the U.S. Green Building Council's
LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) rating system, and
its technological innovations will certainly provide a model for other
green high-rises in this country. Yet architect Stefan Behnisch, who has
been building green in Europe for years, finds the point-based approach
slightly contrived. "It offers few points for daylight enhancement
and focuses a great deal on recycling and transport of materials,"
he says. "It seems focused on improving standard buildings rather
than really pushing invention." He does expect the building to earn
innovation points, which are usually awarded for new uses of
technologies or materials but can also be earned for exceeding LEED
thresholds significantly.
For American architects and clients, the inspiration may lie not in the
Genzyme building's long list of bells and whistles--though some are
compelling--but in the idea that sustainability can be a form driver,
even on a site with strict guidelines. Aesthetically this mutable
multicolor glass box may strike just the right note of individualism
while maintaining height and massing conventions. |
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Enter the Genzyme building here.
Click
here for directions on how to navigate through the Adobe Atmosphere environment. |
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Louvered skylights direct daylight into the central atrium. |
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The Genzyme building under construction. Exterior materials include both
clear and mirrored glass. |
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