The New England Conservatory located in Boston, MA, honored its 150th anniversary in 2017 with the opening of the Student Life and Performance Center, a building that needed to provide practice spaces, performance facilities, and student housing all under one roof. It was important that this new building – the first for the Conservatory in 60 years – have a unique identity and express architectural creativity and innovation.
The Student Life and Performance Center holds more than 250 residential units, in addition to orchestra and jazz rehearsal rooms, a black box opera workshop, the New England Conservatory library, 250 student rooms, a dining commons, and spaces for collaboration and gathering. The building’s façade was designed to convey the Conservatory’s commitment to both contemporary thought and tradition. This was achieved with a terra cotta rainscreen, staggered windows, and a 40-foot tall perforated metal screen, which acts as a curtain, allowing for glimpses of the performance spaces and the activity within.
The design team — a collaborative effort between Ann Beha and Gensler — specified CENTRIA’s EcoScreen® perforated metal panels to help distinguish the curved form of the exterior performance screen feature from the rest of the building. Visually, it adds a shimmering, veil-like element to the structure. These panels are constructed through a unique fabrication process that utilizes 20 gauge stainless steel and 0.040" painted aluminum. The result is a 10%-40% open area that provides an airy aesthetic and controls light and air movement, while elegantly blending industrial and other applications with their surroundings.
In this application, EcoScreen enables the performance screen to also be functional, as it helps diffuse street noise coming into the structure, and allows southern-facing light to filter into the orchestra rehearsal space. At the penthouse level, additional EcoScreen panels were used to conceal some of the building’s mechanical equipment.
CENTRIA Versawall® insulated, lightweight metal panels also clad the building where it faces an inner alley creating long, sleek lines and providing superior thermal and moisture protection against the elements.
The Student Life and Performance Center is in the process of finalizing its LEED Silver® certification. This project marked the fourth team effort between Ann Beha Architects and Gensler. The general contractor was AECOM Tishman, and the installer was Sunrise Erectors.
Related Stories
| Oct 7, 2013
10 award-winning metal building projects
The FDNY Fireboat Firehouse in New York and the Cirrus Logic Building in Austin, Texas, are among nine projects named winners of the 2013 Chairman’s Award by the Metal Construction Association for outstanding design and construction.
| Sep 20, 2013
Perimeter roof edge: The first line of defense in a wind event [AIA course]
Aside from the roof membrane itself, the perimeter roof edge is the most critical component of the roofing system. As such, it warrants more scrutiny when designing a roof system.
| Sep 19, 2013
6 emerging energy-management glazing technologies
Phase-change materials, electrochromic glass, and building-integrated PVs are among the breakthrough glazing technologies that are taking energy performance to a new level.
| Sep 17, 2013
World's first 'invisible' tower planned in South Korea
The 1,476-foot-tall structure will showcase Korean cloaking technology that utilizes an LED façade fitted with optical cameras that will display the landscape directly behind the building, thus making it invisible.
| Sep 15, 2013
How to build a rainscreen using fiber cement panels - AIA/CEU course
This course will review the cause and effects of moisture intrusion and explain how fiber cement panels can be used as a rain screen to reduce moisture build-up, rotting interior walls, and mold growth.
| Sep 9, 2013
Top 25 continuing education courses on BDCuniversity
An overview of the 25 most popular continuing education courses on BDCuniversity.com.
| Aug 26, 2013
13 must-attend continuing education sessions at BUILDINGChicago
Building Design+Construction's new conference and expo, BUILDINGChicago, kicks off in two weeks. The three-day event will feature more than 65 AIA CES and GBCI accredited sessions, on everything from building information modeling and post-occupancy evaluations to net-zero projects and LEED training. Here are 13 sessions I'm planning to attend.
| Aug 6, 2013
Australia’s first net zero office building features distinctive pixelated façade
Australia's first carbon neutral office building, featuring a distinctive pixelated façade, recently opened in Melbourne.
| Jul 16, 2013
Robotics: A new way to demolish buildings
A robot prototype uses water jets to break up concrete structures and then sucks up the water and debris for reuse and recycling.
| Jul 10, 2013
World's best new skyscrapers [slideshow]
The Bow in Calgary and CCTV Headquarters in Beijing are among the world's best new high-rise projects, according to the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat.