Completion: 2009
Square Footage: 49,000

Awards:
Team of the Year Bronze Award, 2010
Building Design & Construction

The Griffin Center's flatiron shape is defined by the intersection of the Mission Hill street grid and Huntington Avenue, which meet to create its very small triangular site. This tight urban site, with numerous building restrictions, required an intensive community and city review process.

Our key objectives were to design a building that made efficient use of its space, supported the college's unprecedented growth, created a strong, welcoming institutional presence and respected the scale and character of the surrounding community. The building is open and transparent with large windows that let in abundant natural light and visually engage the community in student activities. The center houses the Schools of Nursing, Physician Assistant Studies and Radiologic Sciences. Its first level is devoted to student life with a student lounge and a wi-fi computer area. Light wells bring natural light from the lobby into the below-grade auditorium. Other areas include offices, teaching laboratories, a technology center, a 230-seat auditorium and a multi-function room at the top level with views of the Boston skyline.

Sustainable design elements include a roof membrane that helps mitigate the heat-island effect, a special piping system to channel rain back into the groundwater and carpeting and paint with low volatile organic compounds.