Genzyme Center: Shedding New Light on Sustainable Building Strategies

A Case Study of Sustainable Building Strategies

Written by Dara Olmstead and Dona Neely
Tufts Climate Initiative & Tufts University Department of Urban and Environmental Policy and Planning
Commissioned by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative 
September 27, 2005

The Genzyme Center has the prestige of being one of the only thirteen buildings in the United States that have earned LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum certification and is the largest corporate office building to earn the highest LEED designation. The high performance green building is expected to have a 42 percent lower energy cost and use 34 percent less water, compared to a conventional building. Construction processes lowered the total weight of the building by 25 percent and its design allows for 90 percent of the workspaces to have sufficient natural light. While minimizing environmental impact was a priority for Genzyme, their primary objectives centered on creating a building that provided a healthy and comfortable setting that was aesthetically appealing and something employees could be proud of.

The twelve-story, 350,000 square foot building is located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. While designing the headquarters facility, Genzyme considered site development, water use, energy efficiency, material use, and indoor environmental quality,1 the five core features of the LEED standard’s framework. The main highlight of the building is the abundance of daylight that is disbursed throughout as a result of a collection of daylighting technologies and an intricate management system. Other sustainable features include urban infill redevelopment, filigree slab construction, use of internally- and externally-generated renewable energy, energy efficiency systems, water conservation technologies, stormwater mitigation, and promotion of public transportation. The Genzyme Center, which was completed in 2003, proves that green buildings can be creative, beautiful, and functional.

Download the entire report here.