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The Genzyme Center

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Overview

  • Location: Cambridge, MA
  • LEED Certification Level: Platinum
  • Height: 12 stories
  • Square feet: 350,000 (106,680 sq. meters)
  • Completed November 2003
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Goals

Genzyme Center combines innovative design and cutting-edge technology to achieve two goals: creating an exciting new workplace for more than 900 Genzyme employees, and setting a new standard in environmentally responsible architecture.

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Building Features

  • Soaring twelve-story central atrium with skylight
  • Living roof
  • Extensive indoor gardens
  • Over 800 operable windows
  • Natural light enhancement systems
  • Direct views of the outdoors from most desks
  • 144-seat state of the art auditorium
  • 12th-floor cafeteria with sweeping views of Boston
  • Ground floor retail space
  • Public transportation service nearby
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Environmental Aspects

  • Uses 34% less water than a comparable building
  • Electricity costs are 42% less than a comparable building
  • More than 75% of all materials included recycled content
  • Almost all wood is Forest Stewardship Council certified
  • More than 90% of all construction was waste recycled
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Architects

Designed by the award-winning German architectural firm Behnisch, Behnisch and Partner, of Stuttgart, Germany along with local architectural partner Next Phase Studio, of Jamaica Plain, Mass.