In early October, I attended the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) International Conference and Expo, which was held at Boston’s Hynes Convention Center. Doris Kearns Goodwin, historian and author, was the keynote speaker. Having both studied and written extensively about past U.S. presidents, she shared her 10 lessons in leadership, which included, “Changing times demand the ability to change course when necessary.”
Anastasia Barnes
That struck me. The word “demand” is the operative word in that sentence. There’s no option when that word is used. I feel that most of us in this industry have changed our course over the past 19 months. The pandemic demanded it.
The life science industry demanded more space for research and development, prompting building owners to begin converting office spaces into labs. It’s wild how quickly our industry responded. Mark Pelletier of Maugel Architects talks about the four features a building must have to be considered by a savvy lab tenant in his article on page 12.
Harvard’s Science and Engineering Complex is our cover story for this month. Designed by Behnisch Architekten, the 544,000sf building opened this fall to students. The project was also named Green Building of the Year at this year’s Green Building Showcase hosted by BE+. Read more about this unique project on page 20.
HP editor, Emily Langner, recently covered the Urban Land Institute’s (ULI) Fall Meeting. In one session, Meghan Webster, principal at Gensler, highlighted the importance of “inclusive innovation” on the future success of life sciences ecosystems, and said organizations are recognizing that “there is a potential within the immediate community to be able to drive the future talent in a much more diverse and inclusive way.” Read the full report on page 23. ULI’s Spring Meeting will be held in San Diego next April. I’m already planning my trip! Let me know if you’ll be attending.
We have one more issue before we move into 2022! December’s issue has a focus on Year-in-Review and Awards. We also have our Annual Green Supplement that will be sent out with the December edition, which will also include all of the winning projects from the BE+ Green Building Showcase.
I hope to see you all at an upcoming event (in-person or virtual). Networking is my favorite part of the job.
Enjoy the read!
Anastasia Barnes
