An office complex with a clean bill of health

Mass General Brigham at Assembly Row

Somerville, MA, USA

The project to create Mass General Brigham at Assembly Row, Massachusetts’ largest hospital and physician organization, has seen the relocation of thousands of staff previously located across the Boston area.

The purpose built development, Mass General Brigham at Assembly Row (formerly known as Partners Healthcare), has brought employees together on one site, increasing productivity, reducing travel time between departments and significantly saving in costs. Located on a former brownfield site, the office space features 4,400 workstations, conference rooms, collaboration spaces and an occupational heath center.

New development brings over 4000 staff onto one site

Highly sustainable features include PV panels on garage roof that provide 30% of the energy for the site

Set to become one of the first buildings in the region to be awarded LEED Gold Version 4

Challenge

Buro Happold provided MEP, fire engineering and energy analysis services throughout the masterplan, program development and implementation phases of the project. Key challenges for the project included the need to design a building that is highly sustainable, as well as being flexible to allow for the organization to make changes and adapt in the future.

Solution

With sustainability and energy saving a key requirement for the client, our engineers carefully considered the design of the systems for the building. We incorporated LED lights, high efficiency water systems and lighting controls to increase energy efficiency, while extensive CFD analysis was carried out to optimize thermal comfort. To provide renewable energy to the site, our engineers worked with the project team to install a one megawatt photovoltaic panel on the roof of the garage.

Flexibility was another important element of the project, to allow the healthcare provider to expand or change the use of the space in the future without incurring large costs. To achieve this, we installed an underfloor air system in the new offices, which as well as being designed to allow wall configurations to be moved easily, also offers a high level of thermal comfort and energy efficiency.

Value

Showing the commitment of the project team to achieving the highest possible standard of energy saving design, the Mass General Brigham at Assembly Row administration complex is one of the first LEED Gold Version 4 certified buildings in the northeast. As well as a focus on sustainability, the development is designed with the wellbeing of staff in mind, ensuring a workplace that will provide an exceptional environment for everyone who uses it.