A new, net-zero life sciences building built-to-suit for Vertex Pharmaceuticals is coming to Boston’s Seaport district: Innovation Square 3. The new building designed by SGA will be used by Vertex Pharmaceuticals for its work on developing medicines for people with serious diseases.
“With this project, Vertex Pharmaceuticals, which led the emergence of the Seaport life sciences cluster with its move to the neighborhood years ago, continues to invest in the neighborhood; expanding its presence and impact,” SGA told AN. “Outside of the City, communities such as Watertown, Massachusetts are embracing similar development where earlier this year SGA unveiled renderings of another life sciences building: Arsenal on the Charles.”
By the numbers, Innovation Square 3 will deliver 320,000 square feet of new, state-of-the-art, flexible lab space. The seven-story building, with two levels of parking below grade, will have a deeply-toned, steel-framed facade; a high-performance envelope to reduce energy consumption; and an on-site renewable energy generator vis-a-vis rooftop photovoltaics.
Located in Raymond L. Flynn Marine Park and the emerging Northern Avenue Life Sciences Corridor, Innovation Square 3 is slated to become Boston’s first LEED Zero Carbon Certified building, helping advance the city’s initiatives to become carbon neutral by 2050.
SGA partnered with Dream Collaborative, Boston’s leading minority-owned architecture firm, for the project. To provide much needed civic space in the Seaport, where public amenities are presently lacking, the architects prescribed a generous plaza at Innovation Square 3 to create an engaging environment for both the scientific community and public at-large.
At present, Innovation Square 3 is located in a flood-prone area. The architects lifted the foundation five feet above grade to protect the building. At the ground level, there will also be classroom space for Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI), a nonprofit that brings scientific exposure and opportunity to underserved communities.
Innovation Square 3 is set for completion in late 2025. It’s slated to achieve LEED Platinum Certification and LEED Zero Carbon certification.
