BSC Group and client EMD Serono were recently honored with a 2020 Engineering Excellence Award from the American Council of Engineering Companies of Massachusetts (ACEC/MA). The award recognizes the team’s innovative approach to the planning and design of the nation’s first WELL Certified Building on the EMD Serono Billerica campus.
EMD Serono’s Sagamore building is poised to change the way buildings are designed by placing people and wellness at the center of the design process. The Sagamore Building is EMD Serono’s 30,000sf expansion of their research and development facility.
This development expands upon an existing 24,000sf building, more than doubling the pre-existing office space, and maintains a unified campus experience. The WELL certification is a global movement, aimed to transform the built environment in order to advance human health and wellness. Beyond the building’s achievements in sustainable and low impact design, the building embodies a thriving working space that promotes creative thinking and healthy lifestyles. The Sagamore building was the first in the United States to achieve gold certification, and the second worldwide.
BSC’s key contributions to the project’s WELL certification include design of elements meant to promote connections with nature. Our team designed indoor biophilic planting areas, outdoor meeting areas and walking trails, and a naturalized landscape that will reduce the use of water, herbicides, and pesticides to promote overall wellness.