Expanding the Kennedy School Legacy and Resources at Harvard

The Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA, plans an extensive reconfiguration, including the construction of three new buildings, elevating the courtyard, and linking the campus through common and support spaces beneath the courtyard. They also intend to rework existing spaces.

The architect for this ambitious project is Robert A.M. Stern, designer of Harvard Business School’s Spangler Center. They have been tasked with creating a campus that speaks to Harvard Kennedy School’s mission. Plans include a “Gateway Building” that will connect the existing Taubman Building and Belfer Center, and will contain meeting spaces and faculty offices; and the “West Building,” which will connect the Taubman Building and the David Rubenstein Building, and will house classrooms, meeting spaces, and faculty offices, and will provide an inviting new entrance to the campus. The largest element of this construction will be the new “South Building,” which will connect the existing Littauer Building and the proposed “West Building,” and will contain a dining facility, a campus kitchen, classrooms, meeting spaces, and faculty offices.

According to Executive Dean John Haigh, the overall goal for the new classrooms is to “support teaching that brings more experiential and problem-solving activities” into its pedagogy. There will be more emphasis placed on the student experience, effective teaching, and collaborative research. The campus itself will be more unified and cohesive.

Landscape architect Michael Van Valkenburgh was selected for the outdoor space design. Plans are under way for beautiful new courtyards and outdoor spaces, which will make the campus more pedestrian friendly and welcoming.

Disruption is expected in the short-term, but the final outcome will be a tightly integrated campus. The expected completion date for the project is early 2018.

For more information, read the full article here in Harvard’s online magazine.

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