During the summer of 2016, the FAS Office of Physical Resources and Planning (OPRP) led a pilot project to transform Harvard Hall 202 from an old, worn, flat-floor lecture hall into a bright, modernized, flexible 60-seat classroom. The room was designed with moveable tables and chairs to support several seating configurations from lecture-style to team-based learning. It also includes updated, easy-to-use AV technology and multiple fixed and movable writing surfaces to support group work.
A few years later in 2019, Harvard Hall (circa 1765) was taken offline for an extensive 7-month exterior restoration to preserve and repair the historic masonry façade and wooden cupola. Because the project required the entire building to be closed, it provided a unique opportunity to holistically re-imagine how innovative classroom design and advanced AV technologies for the entire building can support Harvard’s teaching and learning environments, enriching the educational experience for students and faculty alike for decades to come. This project included the renovation of the lobby, four lecture-style classrooms, and the replacement of the building mechanical system.
The FAS Office of Physical Resource and Planning team worked closely with an advisory team for the programming and design phases for this project. The advisory team was comprised of representatives from eight different administrative and College departments that have a stake in classrooms, learning spaces, and instruction. The team engaged in a series of program development activities which helped establish a shared vision for the conceptual design. The process consisted of discussions on project scope, goals, priorities and challenges, trends in pedagogy and classroom design, as well as FAS classroom and enrollment utilization statistics. The programming effort also included outreach to faculty in the form of a classroom design workshop.
The final design of these classroom spaces was a community effort. Harvard Hall 101 (formerly 104) remains as a tiered floor lecture hall but now includes a new accessible ramp, height-adjustable teaching station, and improved acoustics and lighting. The other two first floor lecture halls were completely reimagined into four smaller classrooms to help meet the high demand of small courses. Harvard Hall 102 and 103 are now seminar rooms and 104 and 105 are 24-seat flexible classrooms. The final classroom, Harvard Hall 201, was transformed to mirror the highly popular team-based classroom 202. All spaces include state-of-the-art AV technologies.