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]

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 nationally and internationally, in an interdisciplinary ...[more]

Shepley hosted the Greater Boston 2010 Affordable Housing Development Competition awards ceremony last night. Sponsors of the design competition, now in its tenth year, include the Federal Home Loan Bank of Boston, the Citizens’ Housing and Planning Association (CHAPA), and the BSA.

Five teams of graduate students in architecture, planning, business, and law, who partnered with developers and design and financial mentors, presented proposals for projects in Brookline, Somerville, Salem, Lowell, and Boston.

A proposal to redevelop the derelict Shawknit Mill in Lowell took top honors in this 10th anniversary competition. The ...[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]

Good design means that universal design doesn’t have to be obvious, says Shepley Bulfinch project architect Tricia DeLauri in “Balancing Tradition” in the March 2008 issue of College Planning and Management magazine.

She and Sara Elsa-Beech, project manager for the recently completed renovation of Charles Pratt Hall at Amherst College, discuss the challenges and opportunities when ensuring ADA compliance for historic renovation projects.