Completion Date: 2003
Size: 250 acres/100 hectares

When Harvard University found itself running out of space in Cambridge, they turned to us to craft an innovative framework for expanding across the Charles River into Allston. The key challenge for Harvard was how to invest in an integrated campus in Allston with the qualities of urbanity and vitality that exist in Cambridge.

Our team analyzed land and infrastructure systems, compiled projected needs for program growth and physical resources and matched those with existing resources. We designed three distinct strategies for expansion and identified the critical steps needed for implementing each. Each framework charts a different path toward academic growth, but all share a strategy to make the Charles River the living room of the campus.

Long-term strategies include development of the river's edge, creation of new open spaces and improvements in campus connectivity. Early action recommendations identified key investments in transportation and infrastructure, preparation of priority sites and buildings and advanced efforts to obtain regulatory approval and community support for short- and long-term plans. Scenarios for growth gave Harvard a working tool and prepared the University for the expansion it required for continued growth.