Originally published on January 7, 2026 by Philip Lamere for UrbanLandMagazine

FORUM, a life sciences building developed by Lendlease, is the first purpose-built life sciences building in Boston Landing, a mixed-use district in the city’s Allston-Brighton neighborhood. (Joshua Ford/Lendlease)

For life sciences companies, innovation is the lens through which every decision is considered. The drive to push the boundaries of what’s possible extends beyond their own breakthroughs, leading many firms in the sector to seek out resilient, forward-looking spaces. Although the specialized, energy-hungry nature of lab operations often clashes with environmental goals, a new project in Boston demonstrates how thoughtful design can support cutting-edge research while minimizing resource use.

FORUM, a 350,000 square foot (32,500 sq m) life sciences building developed by Lendlease, is the first purpose-built life sciences building in Boston Landing, a mixed-use district in the city’s Allston-Brighton neighborhood. Targeting LEED Platinum, the recently opened building employs numerous strategies that enable companies to meet stringent regulatory requirements, reduce their carbon footprint, and achieve net zero operations.

Because life sciences companies typically have higher-than-normal ventilation rates and use energy-intensive equipment such as fume hoods, cold storage, and autoclaves—which can present obstacles to sustainability—these facilities must be designed around optimized infrastructure. At FORUM, performance-driven mechanical systems help address the high energy demands of life sciences businesses, while as much of the load as possible has been electrified. FORUM is 97 percent electric, reducing its reliance on fossil fuels and helping future-proof the building against shifting energy markets and policy changes. Although the building operates on 100 percent renewable electricity for most of the year, all-electric heating alone isn’t practical during New England’s coldest months. To address this seasonal peak demand gap, Lendlease installed high-performance systems with state-of-the art heat recovery that ensure both energy efficiency and year-round reliability.