Construction for Boston University’s Center for Integrated Life Sciences and Engineering is still on schedule to be completed by March 2017, BU officials said.
The center, located at 610 Commonwealth Ave., aims to bring together scientists and engineers from both BU’s Charles River Campus and its Medical Campus. The building will offer research facilities to promote interdisciplinary research combining the systems neuroscience and synthetic biology departments, The Daily Free Press reported Sept. 2.
Walt Meissner, associate vice president for operations at BU and the project executive for CILSE, said he is optimistic that the center will meet both deadline and budget requirements.
“The construction is going very well. As you can see, we are starting the steel construction and we’re more than halfway through it,” Meissner said. “At the same time, we’re also pouring concrete floors on the building.”
Meissner said the crew expects to be finished with topping off the structure around the second week of January 2016.
As the winter months approach, Meissner said, the cold should not impede the construction. The teams are used to working in harsh weather, he said.
“We are currently wrapping the building to deal with the winter weather,” he said. “We are creating sources for energy and we will be heating inside to enable the crews to work during the winter.”
Meissner, however, said he acknowledges the possibility of unexpected obstacles the construction may face.
“The [finish] date hasn’t changed and we seem to be making good progress — we’ve had minor issues but we’ve been able to make up the time, sometimes by double-shifting and sometimes by going into the weekends,” he said. “We’re at a stage in the project where we could run into challenges, but at the present time, things are looking good.”
David Flynn, BU Operations’ assistant vice president for construction services, said he and the team are extremely concerned about student and staff security and are taking precautionary measures.
“One of the main focuses of the project team is safety, since the construction is right in the center of our campus,” Flynn said. “We want to make sure that people are protected when they walk down the sidewalk. The covered walkway and cement barriers that protect it from automobiles help us ensure that. We also have Boston University [Police Department] or Boston Police Department details from six in the morning until six at night…a very significant presence in getting people around the project without any impact.”
Once the construction is over, Flynn said the lawn outside of the College of Communication will once again be fully accessible to students.
“When we’re done with the project, we will restore and add more landscaping to the COM lawn,” he said. “Whatever damage we’ve done is only temporary, and we will restore it fully. What is more, the architects spent an enormous amount of time looking at how the building fits in everything around it. The architecture will be a very nice mix between glass and masonry components.”
Several students expressed their curiosity concerning the project and said they thought it was likely to have a positive impact on the university’s image.
Melissa Malinasky, a junior in the Sargent College of Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, explained that giving more space to sciences can only improve BU’s status.
“It is great that BU is investing in new buildings for science and research,” she said. “A lot of attention has been on the business school lately, and it’s great to know that they want to improve facilities for the sciences as well, that they’re expanding their horizons.”
Mary Kate Heagerty, a junior in the Questrom School of Business, said she feels directly impacted by the small annoyances caused by the construction.
“It is a pity that they are building on the COM lawn, because it’s a great place that was loved by a lot of people, and I’m very sad about it,” Heagerty said. “But I’m sure the center will be great and I hope it will enhance the campus’ image and integrate well with the other buildings.”
Leyla Tonak, a sophomore in the College of Fine Arts, said although the construction itself is frustrating, it is good that the university is expanding.
“I think that Boston University is constantly trying to be the next Ivy [League], so the center is probably part of that aspiration of being recognized as a major research university,” she said. “They are pumping more and more money into the sciences because they want to be known as a top research center.”
CORRECTION:A previous version of this article read that David Flynn said only BUPD is present around CILSE to ensure pedestrians’ safety. Flynn in fact also mentioned Boston Police Department’s presence. The article has been updated to reflect this change.
