Located at the confluence of flows from Harvard College & Harvard Square, the project integrates town & gown to create an open, urban campus

Conceived as a transformative addition to one of Harvard College’s residential houses, two interiorized courtyards mirror the public and private characters of the existing exterior courtyards while presenting a more outward expression towards the urban community. These interiorized courtyards are formed by pulling apart the normative double loaded corridor to carve multistory communal spaces into which dorm rooms, tutor suites, and smaller common areas bleed into. This exaggerated condition, complemented by a continuous, ramped circulation system, departs from the hierarchical, discrete spatial configuration of the existing house. The new holistic model encourages chance encounters that form the basis of university learning and living. 

Carving two courtyards within the normative double loaded corridor to shape a holistic residential model for learning and engagement.
The larger, more public courtyard anchored by the dining hall, frames the iconic tower of the existing residential college

The smaller, more intimate courtyard with split level ramps destabilize the hierarchical arrangement associated with floor levels 

Double Exterior Courtyards of existing (L) Double Interior Courtyards of extension (R)  

Circulation: Isolating Vertical Entryways (L) Integrating Ramps (R)  

Tutor Suites: Grounded (L) Interspersed (R) 

Dining: Discrete Secluded (L) Unifying Central (R)  

Common Spaces: Discrete Secluded (L) Interspersed Extroverted (R) 

Site is situated within the woven town and gown fabrics 

Transitioning between
Physically open but visually closed quads of Harvard Yard
Visually open but physically closed quads of the River Houses 

Integrating town and gown flows between Harvard Yard and Harvard Square 

Ground Floor Plan (L) Spanning Upper Floor Plan (R) 

Section connecting new with old 

Dorm room with moveable partitions 

Contemporary town and gown materials: triple decker wood siding and Harvard brick corten steel 

Lighting Studies 

A contemporary open front for the university and residential colleges