The Albert Sherman Center is a new 512,000 s/f, biomedical research and educational facility that expands and unifies UMass Medical School's Worcester campus, doubles its research capacity, and supports the school's new learner-centered curriculum. The interdisciplinary, state-of-the-art facility was created to foster collaboration among scientists and promote innovation and synergies across disciplines.
It was successfully built as a flexible lab environment to accommodate the ever changing, growing, and evolving world of biomedical research. Standing 11 stories high, with nine occupied floors topped by a two-story mechanical systems penthouse, the Sherman Center features research laboratories, six learning community centers, a 350-seat auditorium, conference rooms, a full-service café, and a fitness center.
Completed on schedule and under budget, the Albert Sherman Center project achieved LEED Gold certification prior to its Certificate of Occupancy date, which momentously occurred on December 12, 2012 at 12:12pm. A truly innovative component is that the facility consumes 4.1 million fewer kilowatt hours of electricity and cuts CO2 emissions by 4.5 million pounds annually compared to a baseline standard building. Through the implementation of green measures, the project team delivered a building that operates 25% more efficiently than a similar building of standard design.
The team also implemented some of the most innovative planning, design and construction methods in the industry, including cutting-edge virtual design and construction and six-dimensional facility models, to deliver this new standard for biomed research facilities.
Suffolk Construction Co.: construction manager
ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge: architect
PMA Consultants: owner's rep
UMass. Building Authority: owner
UMass. Medical School: owner