via The Crimson
Summary
Harvard’s District Energy Facility, a building in Allston that supplies electricity and water to the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences complex, was announced last month as a finalist for the 2024 Harleston Parker Medal, a prestigious Boston-based architecture award.
The annual honor, created in 1921 by the Boston Society for Architecture in memory of architect J. Harleston Parker, recognizes the “most beautiful” recently constructed building in the metropolitan area. The DEF, designed by Leers Weinzapfel Associates, joins two Boston Public Library projects—the Adams Street Branch and the Roxbury Branch renovation—as one of three finalists for this year’s award.
Past winners of the award include Harvard’s Fogg Museum and Smith Campus Center.
Located in Allston, the 56,000 square foot DEF was completed in 2019. The facility provides heating, cooling, and electricity to the growing Allston campus, including the University’s $1 billion Science and Engineering Complex. The system is able to produce up to 2.5 megawatts of electricity on-site.
The DEF integrates advanced energy systems, including a 1.3-million-gallon chilled water tank that stores and distributes cooling energy during peak hours, reducing electricity costs and environmental impact.
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