Regeneratively-designed building will include interconnected and adaptable multi-use spaces to support creativity and embrace future change.
A building to foster groundbreaking performance, public gathering, teaching, and international research, the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Creativity & Performance was designed by Haworth Tompkins (architect and design lead) and ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge (architect of record) in collaboration with theater and acoustic consultant Charcoalblue. Shawmut Design and Construction serves as the project’s construction manager. The David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Creativity & Performance will contain interconnected, adaptable multi-use spaces designed to support creativity and embrace future change. The center will include two flexible performance venues—the West Stage, where large-scale productions will be produced, and the versatile and intimate East Stage—as well as light-filled, state-of-the-art rehearsal studios and teaching spaces, a spacious public lobby, and an outdoor performance yard to host ticketed and free programming. The center will also include dressing rooms, technical shops, and administrative offices for the organization, as well as a modest café.
The A.R.T.’s new home has been conceived and will be programmed to center community. It will be open to all during designated hours of operation, offering free Wi-Fi, food and beverage service, public restrooms, gathering spaces, indoor and outdoor public art and performance, and room rental opportunities. Designed with a blend of environmental and social strategies to minimize embodied and operational carbon, maximize wellbeing, boost biodiversity, and enhance resiliency, the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Creativity & Performance embraces Harvard’s ambitious sustainability priorities. The building is designed to achieve the Living Building Challenge core accreditation from the International Living Future Institute in recognition that it gives more to its environment than it takes.
Conceived through core principles of openness, artistic flexibility, collaboration, sustainability, and regenerative design, it will be constructed with laminate mass timber, reclaimed brick, and cedar cladding to minimize its lifetime carbon budget. The building’s chilled water, hot water, and electric utilities will come from Harvard’s new lower-carbon District Energy Facility. It will capture additional clean energy from rooftop solar panels and leverage natural ventilation to reduce energy usage and enhance occupant comfort. Additionally, a green roof and extensive plantings will aid stormwater attenuation while increasing biodiversity and occupant wellbeing. Read more about this exciting project here.
Haworth Tompkins has completed Backstage at the Old Vic, a new build six storey extension to the Grade II* listed Old Vic Theatre, in London’s Waterloo marking a bold new chapter in the theatre’s remarkable 200-year story.
Pembroke Mill Lane, Cambridge picked up two awards at the 2025 Brick Awards last night, including winner of the Education category for outstanding architectural design, craftsmanship, and innovation in educational spaces, as well as a Special Award for Excellence.
Haworth Tompkins is working with The Castle to shape a long-term vision for the future of its spaces, building on the facility’s already strong commitment to sustainable operations.
American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, along with Harvard Capital Projects, Shawmut Design and Construction, Haworth Tompkins, ARC/Architectural Resources Cambridge, and Charcoalblue, marked a major construction milestone with the ceremonial topping off of the David E. and Stacey L. Goel Center for Creativity & Performance.
Haworth Tompkins picked up three awards at last night’s BD Architect of the Year Awards ceremony including the coveted Gold Award for the 'best of the best', as well as winning Best Architect Employer of the Year, and Higher Education Architect of the Year.
Rother District Council has unanimously granted planning permission and listed building consent for the De La Warr Pavilion Masterplan, launching this major capital project to transform heritage for community, creativity & skills that will both preserve its iconic heritage and transform it for future generations.
The Warburg Institute highly commended at the Camden Design Awards
Completing The Court Theatre: A Landmark in Ōtautahi Christchurch’s Cultural Renewal
| 28.07.25 | Haworth Tompkins reveals plans for the redevelopment of Grade I listed De La Warr Pavilion → |
| 13.05.25 | Haworth Tompkins to lead design of affordable housing in £2.5 Billion York Central Regeneration → |