The U.S. building stock is responsible for around 40 percent of energy
consumption, with housing nearly a quarter of that use. In 2014, Harvard GSD established the Harvard Center for Green Buildings & Cities to tackle the high energy and environmental costs of the industry. Yesterday, in collaboration with the international firm Snøhetta, the school completed their new headquarters which also doubles as a prototype for ultra-efficiency.

Named HouseZero, the facility was built with ambitious performance targets that serve as a model for retrofitting inefficient existing buildings. The result is a transformed pre-1940s building in Cambridge that requires zero energy for heating and cooling, zero electric lighting during the day, operates with 100 percent natural ventilation, and produces zero carbon emissions. Not only that, over its lifetime, the building will actually produce more energy than it uses, even covering the energy costs of its own production.

“Harvard HouseZero is an extraordinary physical example of efficiency and transformative design,” said Mohsen Mostafavi, Dean of Harvard GSD. “As a living laboratory, it equips Harvard students and researchers with an unparalleled, innovative infrastructure for exploration and research as they design the next generation of sustainable buildings and cities around the world.”

For building's interior, the architects used reclaimed white cedar shingles, ash and birch interior finishes, ultra high-slag concrete, natural clay plaster, and reclaimed brick and granite, all of which are said to be high performance and locally available. On the outside, shingles and a photovoltaic roof modernize the structure while maintaining its exterior aesthetic. 

In its ecological approach to green building, HouseZero employs both cutting-edge technologies and low-tech architectural design solutions. One example of this is the building's air system which has been designed to adjust seasonally. Relying on natural ventilation, sophisticated software and sensors automatically open and close windows to maintain a quality internal environment throughout the year. Sculpted window shrouds have also been designed to protect interior spaces from direct sun during the summer months.

As this will also serve as a one-of-a-kind living laboratory, as described by the press release, 285 sensors have been embedded that will produce almost 17 million data points a day. This sensory data not only prompts the building to adjust and reconfigure, but also generates fuel to inform future research involving simulated environments and the development of new systems that promote energy-efficiency, health, and sustainability. 

“HouseZero’s flexible, data-driven infrastructure will allow us to further research that demystifies building behavior, and design the next generation of ultra-efficient structures,” says Ali Malkawi, founding director of the Harvard Center for Green Buildings and Cities and the creator and leader of the HouseZero project. “By creating both a prototype and an infrastructure for long-term research, we hope to raise interest in ultra-efficient retrofits and inspire substantial shifts in the design and operation of buildings."