1993, Architectural Resources Cambridge. Soldiers Field Rd.
Here the historic image of Harvard merges with the scientific offspring of MIT. Robert Nizel of Architectural Resources Cambridge used a cross-gable massing of Harvard-inspired brick to mask the biotechnological research occurring within. Despite the vague architectural similarities to the adjacent Business School campus (AB10) or the undergraduate dormitories (HS8) across the river, the building contains “bioreactors for mammalian cell culture, protein purification suites, sterile filling operations, and laboratory space.” The plant was designed initially to produce Cerezyme, a drug used in the treatment of Gaucher's disease. One should question whether the banks of the Charles River should be the site for such operations.