Harvard University’s ArtLab, a cross-curriculum space for the arts, is located on the school’s Allston campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Designed to be curated and adapted by its users, the 9,000 square-foot space will be available to students, teachers, visiting artists, and the wider community.
The building, a one-story “pinwheel-like” plan, consists of a series of studios, workshops, and media spaces that surround a common “Hub” space. 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. Surrounding spaces provide recording studios, sound-editing stations, and rooms for rehearsal, improvisation, and informal performance. The ArtLab encourages and expands participants’ engagement with interdisciplinary arts-practice research, serving as a collaborative activator for the school and the greater Allston and Cambridge neighborhoods.
The building, which complies to Massachusetts’ high energy efficiency standards and is projected to be net-zero, is constructed of lightweight steel columns and open web steel trusses on a concrete slab on grade. Framing is mechanically fastened, able to be assembled and disassembled easily and efficiently, allowing for the building to be transferred and given a second life when needed. The steel frame is clad in transparent insulated glass and lightweight high-insulating polycarbonate panels. These panels range from transparent to translucent to opaque, exploiting diffuse natural light and a street-level view by day, emerging as a glowing “lightbox” by night. These materials emphasize the building’s ephemerality while providing a robust and adaptable space for the arts. The roof is covered with photovoltaic panels, generating the power required for the building.
Architects
Barkow Leibinger, Berlin
Frank Barkow, Regine Leibinger
Team
Martina Bauer (Associate), Sebastian Awick, Johannes Beck, Jordan Berta, Jan Blifernez, Sophia Hannekum
Program
Artist Studios, Workshop, Video and Sound Studios, Exhibition and Event Space
Location
Boston, MA, USA
Size
9,000 sq ft | 840 qm
Construction
Spring 2018 - May 2019
Awards
2019 BSA Design Award, Honor Awards for Design Excellence, Winner
2020 AIT Award Public Buildings/ Culture, Recognition
Client
Harvard University
Architect of Record
Sasaki Associates Inc., Watertown, MA
Construction Manager
Lee Kennedy Co. Inc., Quincy, MA
Structural Engineering - Concept
Werner Sobek, New York
Structural Engineering - Executive
RSE Associates Inc., Watertown, MA
MEP/FP Engineers
BR+A, Boston, MA
Landscape Architect
michael boucher landscape architecture, Freeport, ME
Lighting
LAM PARTNERS, Cambridge, MA
Photos
Iwan Baan, Amsterdam