HENRY M. GOLDMAN SCHOOL OF DENTAL MEDICINE, BOSTON UNIVERSITY
RETROFIT TEAM
MASTER PLANNING, ARCHITECT, INTERIOR ARCHITECT, BUILDING ENCLOSURE CONSULTANT, MEP ENGINEER, STRUCTURAL ENGINEER, LIGHTING DESIGN AND LANDSCAPE ARCHITECT: SmithGroup
GENERAL CONTRACTOR: Shawmut Design and Construction
OWNER’S PROJECT MANAGER: Compass Project Management Inc.
CIVIL ENGINEER: Nitsch Engineering
MATERIALS
SmithGroup designed the expansion and renovation of this mid-century building as a phased renovation that allowed the dental school to continue providing cutting-edge education to its students and high-quality oral health care to its patients, who are often among the most underserved populations in Boston.
A 7-story addition on the building’s west side and a 2-story addition on the north side expanded the existing building on Albany Street, and 63,000 square feet of interiors were renovated. The building was re-clad with a modern high-performance façade, accented with terra cotta and wood-grain panels and featuring integrated lighting, creating a strong architectural statement reflecting the innovative vision of the school.
The new facility incorporates the Simulation Learning Center, which has 117 student stations and two instructional/teacher stations outfitted with simulators, intraoral scanners, ultrasonic scalers, electric handpieces, curing units for composite restoration and a high-speed evacuation system.
“Under the leadership of Dean Emeritus Dr. Jeffrey W. Hutter, BU was the first dental school
in the U.S. to implement a fully digital vision for providing oral health care to its patients and for educating its students,” says Cataldo Leone, dean ad interim. “The new Simulation Learning Center closely aligns with what students will use in the clinical environment, better preparing them for the later phases of their educational experience.”
The project added 28 new chairs to the predoctoral Patient Treatment Center, totaling 100 chairs spread over three floors and five distinct spaces in the renewed dental school. The Patient Treatment Center is outfitted with digital radiography with multidimensional imaging capabilities, along with laboratories that house dental 3D printers and robust five-axis milling units.
The project also includes the creation of student-centered collaborative and learning environments, which did not exist in the original dental school facility. A new academic entrance on East Newton Street leads to student collaborative space for informal learning and social gathering.
A flexible, 140-seat lecture hall provides a venue for the school’s larger classes, as well as events and symposia. A mix of flexible and fixed furniture provides agility to convert the room for many purposes. Embedded technologies enable distance learning or course recordings to expand educational modes. Lighting is designed to fully support the flexibility of the space, allowing
levels to be adjusted for different teaching styles, technology uses or event types. A backlit writable glass teaching wall is dimmable and color-changing, allowing the atmosphere to vary from quiet study to active learning to events. Immediately outside the lecture hall is a pre-function space for receptions and other events, as well as break-out space for collaborative learning.
The following is a sampling of materials used in the project:
METAL WALL PANELS: IW Series from CENTRIA
WOOD PANELS: Meteon from Trespa
TERRA COTTA: NeaCera from Avenere Cladding
GLASS CURTAINWALL AND WINDOWS: 1600 Series from Kawneer
EXTERIOR FAÇADE AND CANOPY ACCENT LIGHTING: Ecosense
EXTERIOR INTEGRATED HANDRAIL LIGHTING: Cole Lighting
EXTERIOR CANOPY DOWNLIGHTS: Lucifer Lighting Co.
INTERIOR DENTAL CLINICS LIGHTING: Fluxwerx and Zumtobel
INTERIOR PUBLIC SPACES, PATIENT WAITING LIGHTING: Focal Point and USAI Lighting
INTERIOR WOOD SLAT INTEGRATED DOWNLIGHTS: Kreon
INTERIOR STUDENT LOUNGE ACCENT LIGHTS: Selux, Louis Poulson and Bocci
INTERIOR ELEVATOR LOBBIES LIGHTING: Prudential Lighting Co.
LARGE CLASSROOM LIGHTING: TLS and Fluxwerx
CARPET: Mannington Commercial
RESILIENT SHEET FLOORING: Johnsonite
RESILIENT TILE FLOORING: Armstrong Flooring
PORCELAIN TILE: Caesar Ceramics
TERRAZZO: Terrazzo & Marble Supply Cos.
ACOUSTICAL CEILING TILE: Armstrong Ceiling & Wall Solutions
WOOD CEILING AND WOOD PANELS: Rulon International
PAINT: Pittsburgh Paint
WALL TILE: American Olean, Anatolia, Daltile, and Lea Ceramiche
ACOUSTICAL METAL PANELS: Fry Reglet
ACRYLIC PANELS: 3Form
WRITABLE GLASS: Clarus and Forms+Surfaces
SIGNAGE AND ENVIRONMENTAL GRAPHICS: DCL
THE RETROFIT
Boston University (BU) embarked on an in-depth Applied Strategic Planning (ASP) process to set a new direction for the Henry M. Goldman School of Dental Medicine. It became clear during the ASP that the BU dental education facilities were not capable of meeting current or future needs of the university. Dental facilities were sprawled out across the university medical campus, and clinical space was insufficient.
BU engaged SmithGroup to participate in a facility master plan process running concurrent
to the overall planning course to address the program’s spatial needs. The alignment of the facilities master plan to the strategic planning process ultimately allowed the university to think beyond the walls of the existing dental education facilities and re-conceptualize a new paradigm for dental education at BU. Following nearly six years of scenario exploration on the BU medical campus, design moved forward for a project to renovate 63,000 gross square feet and expand the existing GSDM facility by 48,000 gross square feet.
Construction of the project was structured into four phases, allowing the dental school to continue educational and patient-care operations uninterrupted. The phased planning enabled such flexibility that construction activity could be reprioritized in the final phase, when COVID-19 safety protocols were enacted and a construction moratorium was mandated by the city of Boston, allowing the school to still meet its targeted July 2021 completion.
PHOTOS: Anton Grassl Photography