MCPHS Press Releases

Press Releases

MCPHS Opens $35M Richard E. Griffin Academic Center

On Wednesday, April 1, Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences officially opened the Richard E. Griffin Academic Center, a new six-story academic building at 670 Huntington Avenue in Boston’s Mission Hill neighborhood. On hand at the event were Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino, MCPHS President Charles F. Monahan Jr., Boston City Council President Mike Ross, and State Representative Jeffrey Sanchez. The $35M building was designed by Perkins+Will of Boston and built by Bond Brothers of Everett. Construction of the facility began in September 2007 and was completed in January 2009.

“I’m delighted to be here today to celebrate the opening of this new academic facility. It will provide much-needed space for the College’s students, allowing them to receive a top-notch education as they prepare for a career in health care,” Mayor Menino said. “Boston is proud to be the home to such wonderful institutions that are continually working to raise the standard of medicine – and I’m proud to support institutions like MCPHS that realize the benefit of investing in their students and this city.”

The striking brick and glass building contains nearly 50,000 square feet of interactive classrooms, faculty and staff offices, state-of-the-art simulation labs, a technology center, a 250-seat auditorium below the street level and a glass-enclosed top floor event space offering stunning views of downtown Boston. The new structure houses the College’s School of Nursing, School of Physician Assistant Studies, School of Radiologic Sciences, and the Offices of Government and Professional Affairs, College Relations and Development. The facility is named for Richard Griffin of Bedford, New Hampshire. Mr. Griffin, founder of Critical Care Systems, Inc. in Nashua, New Hampshire, is a 1971 graduate of the College and a member of the College’s Board of Trustees.

“The growing need for talented professionals in nursing, physician assistant studies and radiologic sciences helped drive the vision behind the Griffin Center, and I thank Mayor Menino and the Mission Hill community for helping us grow to meet this demand,” said MCPHS President Charles F. Monahan Jr. “As the oldest college in Boston opens this state-of-the-art facility, we sit in a unique position to use more than 185 years of history to educate the future health care leaders of tomorrow.”

The Griffin Center’s flatiron shape is defined by the intersection of the Mission Hill street grid and Huntington Avenue, which meet to define the very small (7,500 sf) footprint of the facility.
The building is green in many respects: the lot was cleaned of any gasoline residue (the site was previously a gas station); a white membrane covers the roof to help mitigate the heat-island effect (without it, the building would contribute to Boston’s urban microclimate); rainwater flows into a special piping system to recharge groundwater; and carpeting and paint have low volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The Griffin Center is consistent with the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) green certification requirements.
Glass plays a major role in the building, in function as well as in design: dramatic windows let in an abundance of natural light. Large, glazed first-floor windows allow pedestrians to see right into the building. The entire first floor is devoted to student life, featuring a lounge area with comfortable seating and a wi-fi computer area. “Light wells” bring natural light from the lobby down to the below-grade auditorium.

View a slideshow of the Dedication

###