Harvard University - SEAS Northwest Annex

+ Overview

The Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences (SEAS) became a separate graduate school at Harvard University and the need for additional space became essential to their growth. Basement space was available in the Northwest Lab Building; however, occupancy was all but impossible as the space had originally been designated as a high-speed computer lab but was later filled with mechanical and electrical equipment serving both the lab tower above and an adjacent building.

HKT was asked to assess how to recapture more than 22,000 square feet of space. Together with our engineers, a plan was devised to relocate significant and complicated utilities while keeping existing labs online. The next step was to overcome the challenges of being subterranean and devise a plan with laboratories and support offices for teaching staff and students that would be both pleasant and accommodating. The design evolved into a very attractive series of spaces with careful lighting and thoughtful finishes, ultimately providing a comfortable environment for all its occupants. The program also included a machine shop to fabricate instrumentation for research experimentation which was acoustically isolated from the other laboratory and office spaces. This project achieved a LEED Platinum rating.

+ Project Details

• Client Harvard (SEAS)
• Project Type Renovation
• Size 22,500 sf