2008 Harleston Parker Medal for "Most Beautiful Building in Boston" Awarded to Genzyme Center

CAMBRIDGE, Mass.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Genzyme Corp. (NASDAQ: GENZ) announced today that its global corporate headquarters, Genzyme Center, is the 2008 recipient of the Harleston Parker Medal, a unique design award presented periodically by the Boston Society of Architects (BSA) and the City of Boston. 

The Harleston Parker jury is charged with identifying the most beautiful building or other structure built in the greater Boston area during the past decade. The jury evaluated approximately 170 nominations from BSA members and partners for the award, which was established in 1921 by Boston architect J. Harleston Parker. 

In its report to the BSA, the jury states: “In addition to the Genzyme headquarters building’s striking physical aesthetic, the project has had a catalytic influence on the Boston area design and policy making community, representing the marriage of design and innovation and setting the stage for a new standard of sustainable design in the region. The jury was particularly impressed by the quality of life that the project fostered and the care given to the well-being of all those who work in and visit the facility.” 

“Genzyme Center has surpassed our expectations in many ways, and we are incredibly pleased with the positive impact it has had both on our employees and on the larger community,” said Henri A. Termeer, chairman and chief executive officer of Genzyme Corp. “We have learned so much from this experience and we are utilizing that knowledge as we move forward with other new buildings and expansion projects around the world.” 

Genzyme Center in 2005 received the highest rating issued by the U.S. Green Building Council, the nation’s foremost authority on environmentally responsible building practices. Genzyme Center earned a Platinum certification under the Council’s LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System™, which was created to define “green” building by providing a common standard of measurement. Since then, two other Genzyme projects have received LEED certifications, including the company’s new Science Center in Framingham, Mass., which received a Gold certification last year and is one of only 10 laboratories to achieve this high rating. 

Consistent with Genzyme's commitment to the environment and corporate responsibility, all of the company's renovation projects and new facilities worldwide are being built to high environmental standards. Genzyme is conducting major R&D, manufacturing and office expansion projects in the United States, Belgium, China, France, the United Kingdom and the Netherlands, and is rapidly expanding its commercial operations in countries around the world. 

In its report, the Harleston Parker jury also noted that: “As a self-described ‘symbol of progress’, Genzyme Center has, in fact, already served as a kind of ‘demonstration project’, pointing the way to a future where collaboration and clear goals can yield results that work at the many different levels necessary to create a successful 21st-century workplace.” 

About Genzyme Center

Designed by the Stuttgart, Germany-, and Los Angeles-based architecture firm Behnisch, Behnisch & Partner, in collaboration with Boston-based Next Phase Studios Architects, Genzyme Center is a twelve-story, 350,000-square-foot building located in the Kendall Square neighborhood of Cambridge, Massachusetts, a world-class center for biomedical research and innovation. Situated on the former site of an industrial plant, the building is helping to transform a polluted “brownfield” into a vital urban community. 

A striking glass exterior and soaring central atrium allow natural light to flood the interior of Genzyme Center, creating an exceptional working environment for employees and significantly reducing the need for artificial light. Daylight is distributed within the building through a natural-light-enhancement system. On the roof, sophisticated mirrors called heliostats track the path of the sun and help direct light inside. A chandelier made of prismatic tiles casts sunlight entering the atrium into the surrounding workspaces. Reflective panels, a “light wall” made of polished aluminum strips, and the surface of a reflecting pool further enhance the flow of light. Along the glass exterior, computer-controlled blinds automatically track the sun’s position and open to desired angles to let light in while deflecting heat and glare. 

Genzyme Center’s energy efficiency results from the building’s extensive use of natural light, concrete construction, and an insulating second layer of glass covering one-third of the exterior. The use of bi-product steam from a nearby power plant means that no additional fossil fuels are utilized for heating and cooling. The installation of highly efficient plumbing and fixtures is helping to reduce water usage. 

Genzyme Center’s design enhances communication by encouraging informal meetings in the building’s common spaces, garden areas, and in the top-floor cafeteria with its sweeping views of the Boston cityscape. Various terraces, corners and walkways are furnished to encourage spontaneous conversations. Offices are small, while the amount of common space per employee is significantly greater than in a typical U.S. office building. These features help foster a higher level of interaction, collaboration, and creativity. Employees enjoy abundant natural light, windows that open, and the ability to control workspace temperature and light levels. Most have direct views to the outdoors from their offices or workspaces. The work spaces are furnished with ergonomically adjustable furniture made from natural and sustainable materials. Eighteen gardens located throughout the building help bring the outdoors in. 

Nearly 75 percent of the materials used in Genzyme Center contain recycled content, and over 90 percent of construction waste was recycled. Since the building opened, more than 15,000 visitors have toured Genzyme Center. 

Genzyme Center has also received awards from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Energy, the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment, the Royal Institute of British Architects, the Association of General Contractors, the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association and the Environmental Business Council of New England. For more information about Genzyme Center, including a virtual tour of the building, please visit www.genzymecenter.com. 

About Genzyme

One of the world's leading biotechnology companies, Genzyme is dedicated to making a major positive impact on the lives of people with serious diseases. Since 1981, the company has grown from a small start-up to a diversified enterprise with more than 10,000 employees in locations spanning the globe and 2008 revenues of $4.6 billion. In 2007, Genzyme was chosen to receive the National Medal of Technology, the highest honor awarded by the President of the United States for technological innovation. 

With many established products and services helping patients in approximately 100 countries, Genzyme is a leader in the effort to develop and apply the most advanced technologies in the life sciences. The company's products and services are focused on rare inherited disorders, kidney disease, orthopaedics, cancer, transplant and immune disease, and diagnostic testing. Genzyme's commitment to innovation continues today with a substantial development program focused on these fields, as well as cardiovascular disease, neurodegenerative diseases, and other areas of unmet medical need. 

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