Harvard Energy Facility Finalist for Boston Architecture Award

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.

The DEF represents a major step toward ambitious climate goals for the University, which has pledged to become fossil-fuel neutral by 2026 and fossil-fuel free by 2050. The DEF facilitates this transition, using a Combined Heat and Power system to generate electricity and heat efficiently. It complements Harvard’s existing Blackstone Steam Plant, which supplies heat to 80 percent of campus.

LWA, a Boston-based women-led architectural firm, was selected by Harvard because it was involved in similar facilities projects at other university campuses. Harvard has worked with LWA in the past—notably on Farkas Hall, New College Theater, and the Science Center expansion.

The DEF has already received multiple design awards, including the 2022 BSA Honor Award for Design Excellence, the Chicago Athenaeum’s American Architecture Award, and recognition from the World Architecture Festival.

The winner will be selected by a jury of architects, designers, planners, and public officials. Along with the BSA’s “People’s Choice Award” results — selected by a public vote — the Harleston Parker Medal winner will be announced at the BSA Awards Gala on March 5.

—Staff writer Bianca A. Ciubancan can be reached at bianca.ciubancan@thecrimson.com

—Staff writer Mohan A. Hathi can be reached at mohan.hathi@thecrimson.com.