Harvard ArtLab, Cambridge

Harvard organized an RFQ/RFP process to seek an appropriate design team for the ArtLab. After an initial RFQ (Request for Qualifications) phase, the remaining teams produced a proposal intended to expand upon their body of work, team structure, proposed working structure with the client and local community, and show a "design direction." This portion of the presentation included a design narrative, references, functional diagrams, and atmospheric sketches. Barkow Leibinger's team promoted intense collaboration with all stakeholders as well as an ultra-light, efficient, adaptable design strategy. 

Harvard University’s ArtLab is a cross-curriculum space for the arts. The expressed ambition of the ArtLab and its programming were to be an interdisciplinary and community "bridge," a building for encounter between Harvard and Cambridge’s dispersed art locations. An assemblage of studios and workshops rotates like a pinwheel around a central Hub space. The ensuing structure embraces this continuity of function between permeable, different-height volumes as well as a glowing polycarbonate skin. The Hub, which can be opened and closed by a series of four large sliding partitions, enables performances and exhibitions, cultivating interactivity at the ArtLab’s center.  

The location of the ArtLab is at a juncture between Harvard's old campus across the Charles river, its burgeoning new campus, and the Allston neighborhood. The lightness of the façade and industrial character of the construction create a beacon and waypoint, a tool for diverse users to manipulate. Because the surrounding site is rapidly developing, the construction was required to be temporary, ultra-light, and sustainable. 

Harvard has committed to net-zero building methodologies. In addition to being demountable for re-construction elsewhere, the project is projected to be zero net and energy is supplemented by rooftop photovoltaic panels.  

Being lightweight and demountable, the building skeleton is made of an optimized steel frame. The building was therefore constructed quickly and delivered on time and on budget. Barkow Leibinger and Sasaki worked very closely with subcontractors to intensively detail the building envelope. In the façade, the polycarbonate panel’s plastic mixture is unique, made specifically for this project by Sabic to achieve strict insulation requirements. Exploiting the façade’s glowing effect, the large supergraphic signage designed by Zak Group announces the building’s energy and engagement.  

Email interview conducted by John Hill.