Collaboration Weave

Founded in 2021 through an enabling grant from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural & Artificial Intelligence at Harvard University assembles a world-leading research and training program with a mission to understand the basis of intelligence in natural and artificial systems. Its bold premise is that the two fields are intimately interconnected—the next generation of AI requires using principles that our brains use for fast, flexible natural reasoning and understanding how our brains compute and reason requires theories developed for AI.

Harvard University
Kempner Institute for the Study of Natural & Artificial Intelligence

Project Statistics

LOCATION
Allston, MA / United States

COMPLETED
2024

TOTAL SQUARE FOOTAGE
20,000 GSF

PROGRAM COMPONENTS
Computational Lab Space, Office Suite

IN THE NEWS

A Space for Researchers to Meet, and AI and Natural Intelligence to do the Same

Team

Charles S. Klee, LEED AP, Six Sigma LEAN Yellow Belt Certified
Principal-in-Charge

Jeffrey H. DeGregorio, AIA, LEED AP
Design Principal

Michael Mandeville, AIA
Project Manager / Project Architect

Olivia Humphrey, LEED AP BD+C
Project Designer

Yang Tian
Project Designer

Adaptable Collaboration Spaces for Harvard's New Kempner Institute

DESIGN

Adaptable Collaboration Spaces for Harvard's New Kempner Institute

Delivering a Hospital in COVID times

NEWS

Delivering a Hospital in COVID times

The new Women and Babies Center: an Integrated Care Model

PROJECT

The new Women and Babies Center: an Integrated Care Model

computational lab design
PAYETTE fit-out the Kempner Institute’s new space—a 20,000 SF computational lab and office suite, located on the sixth floor of the Harvard Science and Engineering Complex (SEC) in Allston, MA. The fit-out includes new office, collaboration and computation lab space housing the newly formed organization. The Institute has multiple elements including faculty offices, grad student computational research labs, hoteling areas, a flexible large meeting space for seminars and a central gathering space at the front door to the new institute.

low-carbon innovation

Throughout Kempner’s design, PAYETTE’s in-house Living Building Challenge (LBC) Research Group investigated low carbon architectural assemblies as part of the Building Science Group’s embodied carbon research and the project’s material goals. This impacted which materials were chosen during the design phase, and how the team advocated for low carbon materials during construction. The material choices for the Kempner fit-out resulted in an overall carbon reduction of 39% from the industry standard baseline! The biggest material contributors to this reduction include ultralightweight, environmentally preferred gypsum board, recycled glass wool insulation, embossed studs, FSC-certified (sustainably sourced) wood, 100% recycled nylon carpet with bio-based backing and PET felt baffle ceilings.

Photography © Robert Benson Photography