BOSTON, MA – Harvard Business School celebrated the newly renovated Gallatin Hall the old-fashioned way – with an all-night party. As the HBS Bulletin notes, what better way to “road test” a dorm than to invite 73 friends over to sleep in its rooms and test its light switches, windows, and shower heads?

The gut renovation that stripped Gallatin down to its brick walls and concrete slabs transformed the McKim Mead and White building’s warren-like accommodations into the envy of the campus. Gallatin Hall is now ADA compliant, with universal access through a newly restored courtyard, teak rocking chairs and benches lining its elegant brick terrace. A glass-paneled second-floor footbridge ...[more]

The Harvard Innovation Lab passed a major milestone last week when the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) approved plans to transform the former WGBH building in the Allston section of Boston into an environment that advances collaboration and entrepreneurship.

“The Innovation Lab is an entirely new model for Harvard,” said Gabe Handel, Managing Director of the Dean’s office at Harvard Business School, in a release issued on Friday. “It is an innovation in and of itself.”

Physically located on the Harvard Business School campus, the Harvard Innovation Lab will encourage entrepreneurship and innovation University-wide.

Cherry Murray, Dean of Harvard’s School of Engineering, said, “I see the Harvard Innovation Lab as having the potential to ...[more]

Design is now underway for the Harvard Innovation Lab (Harvard I-Lab), a campus-wide innovation incubator located on the Harvard Business School campus in Boston.

In announcing the project, Harvard President Drew Gilpin Faust said, “The importance of innovation cannot be overstated. It is also of utmost importance and great interest to our students and faculty, many of whom are inventors and entrepreneurs. The lab will foster team-based activities and deepen interactions among both aspiring and experienced innovators across the schools of Harvard.”�

Harvard Business School Dean Nitin Nohria said, “Our goal is to drive innovation by connecting entrepreneurial teams, not only across the Charles River, but ...[more]

CINCINNATI, OH – As an article in the current issue of the Business Courier of Cincinnati notes, the building now under construction for Williams College of Business at Xavier will transform the school’s learning environment, but it won’t stop there. As part of the new Hoff Academic Quad (with Conaton Learning Commons), the project will provide the public face of Xavier, its towers flanking the newly defined entrance.

The school itself will immerse students in a business-rich environment that brings together not only students and faculty, but also Cincinnati’s business community, called the school’s “third stakeholder,” ...[more]

It’s dedication day for Harvard’s innovation lab in Boston, but the buzz has been building all fall.

Shepley worked with Harvard to fast-track the creation of Batten Hall and the i-lab, transforming the old studios of WGBH into a high-energy space for campus and community. Say goodbye to the studios where Julia Child and Zoom! were filmed and hello to workshops and wide-open (and wired) spaces.

Or should we say ‘Hi,’ in the spirit of the i-lab’s signature logo, which Shepley created as part of the innovation lab’s brand?

Even before today’s events, i-lab director Gordon ...[more]

Picking up where our annual posters left off, we designed and developed a series of bookmark-like cards for our 2010 annual mailing. They feature inspirational quotes on one side and architectural photo details on the other. The cards are die-cut with slots that allow them to interlock for assembly into a basic structure. These cards can also be used individually as bookmarks or pinned up for a daily dose of inspiration. A PDF of the cards can be downloaded here.

The format was inspired by the Eames House of Cards designed by Charles and Ray Eames in 1952. The original 32 interlocking cards featured ...[more]

A prime concern in the renovation of Gallatin Hall was the preservation of existing exterior masonry while ensuring the building’s energy efficiency. The masonry had behaved consistently through the freeze/thaw cycles of the previous 80 years, and we were concerned that complying with modern energy codes and LEED standards could have an adverse effect by moving the location of the dew point. Using energy modeling programs, we were able to determine that with 1” thick spray foam insulation, we could achieve an exterior wall assembly with an R-Value of 6 that didn’t drastically move the dew point from ...[more]