Metcalf Center for Science and Engineering (SCI) is a building owned by

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...

named for Arthur G.B. Metcalf. Metcalf founded what would later become the university's College of Engineering and served as its chair. He also donated millions of dollars toward the construction of the building. SCI contains offices, classrooms, and laboratories primarily used by the Physics, Chemistry, and Biology Departments of the College of Arts and Sciences. Its facilities are also used for

biomedical research Medical research (or biomedical research), also known as health research, refers to the process of using scientific methods with the aim to produce knowledge about human diseases, the prevention and treatment of illness, and the promotion of ...

. Boston University boasts that there is a waiting list for researchers wanting to conduct research in the building. The edifice was constructed out of three existing industrial buildings in 1983 when John Silber was Boston University's president. The building's modern atrium was originally a spacing between two of the original buildings. The building underwent a $25 million replacement of its ventilation system in 2008, resulting in a two-story

HVAC Heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC ) is the use of various technologies to control the temperature, humidity, and purity of the air in an enclosed space. Its goal is to provide thermal comfort and acceptable indoor air quality. ...

unit being installed on the building's roof. The original unit installed in 1983 was inadequate for the size of the building, particularly in dealing with the

moisture Moisture is the presence of a liquid, especially water, often in trace amounts. Moisture is defined as water in the adsorbed or absorbed phase. Small amounts of water may be found, for example, in the air (humidity), in foods, and in some comme ...

of ambient air on hot summer days. The atrium of the building has large green pipes running the height of the building which connect to the HVAC. The exposed nature of these pipes recalls the architectural movement of utilitarian

structural expressionism High-tech architecture, also known as structural expressionism, is a type of Modern architecture#Late modernist architecture, late modernist architecture that emerged in the 1970s, incorporating elements of high tech industry and technology into ...

akin to

Centre Georges Pompidou The Centre Pompidou (), more fully the (), also known as the Pompidou Centre in English and colloquially as Beaubourg, is a building complex in Paris, France. It was designed in the style of high-tech architecture by the architectural team of ...

in Paris. Previously, in the place of the building, at the same address, had been a converted parking garage, the basement of which had been a music venue known as the Psychedelic Supermarket. The venue had had such bands as

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this proces ...

(1967), the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in Palo Alto, California, in 1965. Known for their eclectic style that fused elements of rock, blues, jazz, Folk music, folk, country music, country, bluegrass music, bluegrass, roc ...

(1967),

Janis Joplin Janis Lyn Joplin (January 19, 1943 – October 4, 1970) was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most iconic and successful Rock music, rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals and her "electric" ...

(1968), and the

Moody Blues Moody may refer to: Places * Moody, Alabama, U.S. * Moody, Missouri, U.S. * Moody, Texas, U.S. * Moody County, South Dakota, U.S. * Port Moody, British Columbia, Canada * Hundred of Moody, a cadastral division in South Australia ** Moody, Sout ...

(1968).

References

{{Boston University Buildings at Boston University