BOOKISH: SHAPING MINDS AND BUILDINGS WITH BOSTON UNIVERSITY
The Daun Family Center for Computing and Data Sciences, renamed in 2024, has reshaped the Boston University skyline, especially from across the Charles River.
In the heart of Boston University’s central campus, the Daun Family Center for Computing and Data Sciences rises unlike anything around it. Designed by KPMB Architects as a hub for innovation and collaboration, the LEED Platinum, award-winning building features a four-story base topped by offset floors that give it the appearance of a stack of books.
The 19-story vertical campus brings the mathematics, statistics and computer science departments under one roof, strengthening interdisciplinary research in data sciences. Spanning 350,000 square feet, it became the largest carbon-neutral building constructed in Boston following the city’s climate action plan update in 2019 — supporting the university’s ambition of achieving net-zero emissions by 2040.
OUR AMBITION: DESIGNING MIXES FOR PERFORMANCE AND PRECISION
BU's Daun Family Center for CDS is the university’s most energy-efficient building to date and operates without fossil fuels.
A building of this scale and complexity required more than standard materials. With concrete forming much of the structure, mix design played a critical role in delivering both structural performance and constructability. Each application demanded the right balance of strength and workability, ensuring the bold architectural design could be built efficiently and without compromise.
Located along one of Boston’s busiest thoroughfares, the project also required steady coordination. Deliveries from off-site batch plants had to be timed carefully to keep pours continuous and the site moving safely and smoothly.
THE SOLUTION: ADVANCED CONCRETE, DIGITALLY COORDINATED
Engineered solutions and digital oversight helped keep work precise, coordinated and moving forward.
Amrize was selected to supply advanced concrete solutions tailored to the project’s structural and environmental objectives:
- ECOtect low-carbon concrete, designed to deliver 100% performance with a reduced carbon footprint
- ConcreteDirect, a real-time digital application for ordering, delivery, tracking and touchless ticketing
- Sequenced, just-in-time deliveries from off-site plants to maintain workflow and minimize disruption
ConcreteDirect helped streamline communication between dispatch and site teams, keeping operations coordinated and efficient throughout construction.
THE RESULTS: DELIVERING THE SHAPE OF THINGS TO COME
The Center for Computing and Data Sciences stands as a bold addition to campus, shaped by teamwork and disciplined execution.
In late 2020, Amrize partnered with S&F Concrete and Suffolk Construction to plan and deliver one of the largest ECOtect pours in North America at the time. Continuous pours ensured the building's massive foundation was free of imperfections.
Beginning early in the morning, 60 ready-mix concrete trucks delivered 4,200 cubic yards of concrete over a 15-hour window. More than 400 truckloads were coordinated through ConcreteDirect, enabling precise timing and safe, independent work across the job site.
The result is a high-performance academic facility that aligns structural excellence with environmental responsibility — reinforcing Boston University’s commitment to building for the future.
