International firms Studio Gang and Henning Larsen have completed Breakthrough Properties' One Milestone. The life science development is part of the first phase of Tishman Speyer and the Harvard Allston Land Company's Enterprise Research Campus (ERC), a 14-acre mixed-use district in Boston's Allston neighborhood. Located on the southwest end of the ERC, One Milestone is intended to serve as a hub for creativity, science, and entrepreneurship. Its recently inaugurated two-building complex, spanning 47,380 sqm, was designed to serve Greater Boston's scientific community. The two firms began collaborating on the project in 2019 with the co-design of a strategic framework plan, breaking ground on One Milestone in 2023.
One Milestone West, designed by Studio Gang, comprises a seven-storey lab and office building (33m) with a two-storey mechanical level (42m), totalling 22,760 sqm. The ground floor is organized into a 325 sqm lobby, 158 sqm of flexible co-working, event, and educational spaces, 780 sqm of retail, including a 195 sqm restaurant with back-of-house support, and 930 sqm of loading and MEP plant rooms. Levels 2 through 7 contain the building's lab space, complemented by 232 sqm of planted terraces ranging from 17 to 73 sqm across floors.
The building's transparent façade is composed of long bands of solid zones interspersed with glazing, tuned to balance thermal performance year-round. Large opaque areas reduce bird collisions, while at ground level, the building steps back to create sheltered spaces for dining and socializing. On the upper floors, the carved form generates outdoor terraces on the north side with views over the neighborhood, while carving is kept to a minimum on the south to maintain optimal lab depth. Bio-swales and retention tanks are integrated throughout the surrounding landscape. The use of low-carbon concrete, insulation, and steel reduces the building's embodied carbon, and nearly half the materials used are Red List Free-compliant.
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From Brazil to Ukraine: 7 Conceptual Learning Spaces Expanding the Boundaries of EducationOne Milestone East, designed by Henning Larsen, houses a nine-storey lab and office building (42m) with a two-storey mechanical level (51m), totalling 24,620 sqm. Its ground floor includes a 325 sqm lobby, 158 sqm of flexible co-working, event, and educational spaces, 800 sqm of retail accommodating a children's daycare facility and coffee shop, and 930 sqm of loading and MEP plant rooms. The second floor is dedicated to 2,790 sqm of StudioLabs by Breakthrough Properties, individual turnkey laboratory and office suites ranging from 557 to 1,115 sqm designed for growing life science companies, alongside 270 sqm of semi-public flexible event space and an 84 sqm exterior terrace. Levels 3 through 9 provide the building's lab space and 427 sqm of planted terraces ranging from 65 to 186 sqm across floors.
The building's cascading form, positioned at the southeastern point of Allstonway, creates sheltered socializing spaces at its edges and references the historic architecture of the nearby Harvard Business School. Its scalloped cladding plays with light and shadow throughout the day, while full-height glazing and high-performance glass maximize daylight penetration and minimize heat transmittance, contributing to a 40% reduction in energy consumption from baseline. An L-shaped floor plan separates lab sections from office spaces, and the building's massing serves as a visual and acoustic barrier from the District Energy Facility for the residential buildings to the north.
Connectivity is our design driver. The cascading terraces bring the character of Allstonway upward through the building, giving researchers at every floor a direct relationship to the outdoors and the broader life of the campus. Floor-to-ceiling glazing and landscaped outdoor spaces ensure that the boundary between the controlled laboratory environment and the urban landscape around it stays deliberately, productively blurred. Working in parallel with our colleagues at Studio Gang on One Milestone West, we were able to ensure the two buildings speak to each other—each distinct in character, but united in their commitment to the street and the people who animate it — Daniel Baumann from Henning Larsen
The buildings feature original artworks by artists whose practices explore the life sciences and foster interdisciplinary thinking, including works by Ai Weiwei, Mungo Thomson, Eamon Ore-Giron, Ernesto Neto, Alexandre da Cunha, Goshka Macuga, Noémie Goudal, and Analia Saban, among others. The first phase of the ERC encompasses four new buildings by internationally renowned architecture practices, connected by Allstonway, a SCAPE-designed network of public green spaces anchoring the district. Alongside One Milestone, the campus includes The Atlas, a boutique hotel designed by Marlon Blackwell Architects that opened earlier this year; the David Rubenstein Treehouse, a conference facility designed by Studio Gang that opened in October 2025; and Verra, a 343-unit apartment building designed by MVRDV that began welcoming residents last year.
Also in the United States, Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG) is designing the National Juneteenth Museum, a 6,690 sqm institution planned for Fort Worth, Texas. Construction is scheduled to begin in fall 2026, with the building expected to serve as a national center dedicated to preserving the history and legacy of Juneteenth. In Finland, Snøhetta has developed a masterplan for Aino and Alvar Aalto's Paimio Sanatorium, reimagining it as a destination combining hospitality, wellness, cultural spaces, and arenas for international dialogue. In Oman, Foster + Partners has revealed a masterplan for a new development conceived as a self-sustaining agricultural and urban settlement designed to respond to the region's environmental conditions and landscape.
