Liz Lamour Croteau
Associate Principal
For the first time in 50 years, Boston University’s Charles River Campus has a new major teaching center. Commonwealth Avenue is home to the Boston University Duan Family Center for Computing and Data Sciences, housing mathematics, statistics, and computer science departments all under the same roof. Acentech provided acoustics and audiovisual consulting services for the 345,000 sf, 19-story building.
Acentech’s acoustics consultants joined the design team in the very early stages and provided guidelines and specific recommendations for room finishes, sound isolation and mechanical systems noise control. Special attention was given to the large event space near the top of the building, due to its proximity to mechanical rooms. Due to the desire of flow and transparency between spaces, including offices, conference rooms and open gathering spaces, our consultants strived to ensure the cohesive design promotes speech intelligibly and speech privacy where needed. There was a concerted effort to ensure the new building will not contribute significantly to the existing outdoor noise and will comply with the Boston Noise Ordinance.
Our audiovisual consultants designed systems for a wide variety of learning and presentation spaces that will provide integrated technology for years to come. Among them are a divisible Technology Enhanced Active Learning classroom with interactive displays, large meeting rooms with seamlessly integrated web conferencing, and a large event space equipped with an audiovisual system that is capable of supporting events ranging from lectures to formal dinners. All systems within the building are designed to be adaptable and user friendly.
The acoustics and flexible technology in this interdisciplinary building will ultimately enhance the teaching and learning experience for students and faculty alike, while upholding the university’s commitment to continue “generating new knowledge to benefit society.”
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